Samsung Galaxy Note 8, 64GB, Midnight Black - Fully Unlocked (Renewed)

I had a Samsung Galaxy 5 for a number of years. I don't upgrade frequently, but I finally needed to upgrade to be able to use some newer apps. This Samsung Galaxy 8 Note has been a great upgrade in capability, features, and is compatible with apps that I wanted. I love the slightly larger size and upgrade of features that I used on the Galaxy 5, such as how the Gallery works now. Very pleased with quality and newer technology that comes with this phone. Using available tools, I had no problem transferring content from my older phone. I'm used to Android, so I was able to get apps via either play store or via installing APKs directly. Very happy that I finally upgraded!!! UNFORTUNATE UPDATE - IF PLANNING TO USE AT&T I purchased this phone less than a year ago and have loved it ever since. However, last week I found that I was no longer able to make or receive any phone calls. "Call Ended" would happen every time. After much investigation and trying all recommended suggestions (for a week now), it appears that the model that I have SM-N95OU1 is not compatible with the ATT 4G network, even though the listing for the phone when I bought it clearly says that it is "Cellular Technology 4G, 2G" compatible. I knew that 3G was planned to be phased out and would not have purchased a phone that was not compatible with 4G. My husband's Note 8 (same as mine or so I thought) is a model SM-N95OU (does not have the "1") and it is working with the 4G and making calls fine. The only advise that I have found at the ATT and Samsung support sites is to get another phone or switch carriers (such as T-Mobile). We have a bundled plan with ATT, so switching carriers will be a major change for our household. I am also very unhappy at the thought of having to buy another phone after less than a year - for which I saved a $100 gift card to purchase. I'm not sure what I will eventually decide to do at this point. Perhaps ATT will yet do something to remedy this as it appears to have affected a lot of ATT users. But just want to share this experience and let people know that they should verify which specific model of Note 8 they are getting or they may find that although the WiFi for internet and SMS (for texting) work just fine, they won't be able to make or receive any phone calls on the ATT network if they receive a model SM-N95OU1 - at least not as of today when I am adding this comment to my original review (3/10/2022). I don't know about the compatibility of the SM-N95OU1 model with other plans as of this time (I just saw some users saying that they had gone with T-Mobile as an alternative). FYI, I am not changing my rating for the phone itself. It has been a wonderful phone up until now and it appears (based on my research to date) that this is an issue with the carrier not having included this specific model in the carrier's 4G network (if I am understanding correctly what other users are saying). But the phone has been great, which makes this development ever so much more disappointing.

Great phone! I ordered in black color. I've been using it heavily for two weeks now. The phone I received was unlocked and had the latest Android OS loaded with no carrier branding or apps installed (I'm talking totally clean OS with no bloat-ware apps) which is fantastic. The phone itself is in seemingly perfect condition with no obvious signs of wear or scratches. As mentioned above, I've been using it now for two weeks and the battery has proven to hold a charge perfectly and no hardware or software issues have surfaced. It came in a generic box with cheap, no-name, generic low wattage charger and short three foot USB-C cable. I'm ok with that given the phone itself was perfect and it had a truly clean OS build installed. My only complaint would be that the price of this phone went from $439 that I paid for it two weeks ago to today when I just checked and it is now reduced to just $400. So I got pinched for $39 for buying two weeks early it seems. I'd love it if the vendor refunded me but that $39 but it's not Amazon so I'm probably out of luck with wishing for that to happen. Oh well, it's a fantastic phone so I'm still very happy.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 I bought renewed was pretty good overall. It’s fully unlocked and works smoothly with no major issues. The screen is bright and sharp, and the stylus feels responsive like new. Battery life is decent for a phone this age, and all features work well. It looks clean with minimal signs of wear. For the price, it’s a solid deal if you want a powerful phone without paying full retail.

I waited a bit to review because I wanted to get familiar with this new device before I do. My Note8 works great so far! And for anyone wondering (because I also did at first), It is a a legitimate Samsung product, I did my research on the real vs fake ones when I received It, because of the decent price point, I was also a bit skeptical. It didn't come in it's original box, because I think these are refurbished, but it looks like new, works like new, and AC/USB charger + stylus was also included. And that's pretty much all I need. So, all in all, it was a good purchase, a good bang for the buck, a good working product, and a smooth transaction overall. It also arrived sooner than I had expected, so that was exciting! I am very happy with my purchase and would buy again from this vendor. Plus, It's a pretty decent and reliable model, the Note8, I'll be using it for years to come- even when it's time to upgrade, I'll just buy another Note8- It's especially good for someone like me (with ADHD) who needs all the help I can get to reduce that paper clutter and finally get organized. And all at a very reasonable price point for what you get! So thank you to the vendor, for offering and delivering a good and honest product.

Ordered this for my girlfriend after spending a year with my Note 8. Sure I could have shelled out $800 + for a new Note 10, But why? perhaps if I was uber rich and needed that little extra bit of ram. I added a 256 sd card and migrate as many apps and photo, music onto the SD card so this works out just great for the both of us. Having a phone that is IP68 rated is a big plus as well since we love to get wet. All in all the phone was in nearly new condition, I had no issues at all with the device, it was unlocked and able to except my CDMA SIM with T-Mobil in the US then i took it to the Philippines and swapped out for a globe sim card withno issues whatsover. Do your wallet a favor and pass on this years latest and greatest and get the note 8. Maybe the battery life is just slightly less performing but that's easily overcome with even the smallest portable battery back that is the size of a bic lighter. I really like the bluetooth capibility to pair multiple speaker sources and create a pretty convincing stereo sound on my kitchen while cooking with "Fire" Ok! in summery I got more than I paid for in my opinion. I am a happy customer. Oh, it also came delivered on time so "Bam'.

So, if Amazon posts my review, I want to say that the seller FIRST AND FOREMOST. and reviewers should have mentioned that a NANO sim card is required for this device EVEN if you already have VERIZON as a carrier, and you have a Verizon SIM card from your previous phone. So to future buyers, if you have a Samsung phone that is a 5th generation or OLDER ( (it may be Samsung generations 6 &7 but I wouldn't know because I had a Galaxy S-5) if you purchase this phone, even if you have VERIZON, you will need to go to a Verizon store and get them to install a NANO SIM CARD for this phone, or purchase a SIM CARD CUTTER here off Amazon. The issue is that any Samsung 5th generation or older, have Micro SIM cards, and this phone requires a Nano SIM card which is smaller than the Micro SIM card, it took me about 20 minutes trying to fit my Micro SIM card into the phone, before I finally got on GOOGLE to ask how to put my CURRENT Galaxy 5 SIM card into this phone, and that's when I found out that this phone takes a Nano SIM card. So I received my phone this past Wednesday, but I couldn't use it until I took it to a Verizon store for them to installed the nano SIM. NEEDLESS, to say I had to wait about 2 hours total to be seen because it was Black Friday, and EVERYBODY AND THEIR MAMA (LITERALLY), was up in there. Anyway, here comes the fun part, I had a SWEET PREPAID account that I have had for about 7 years, where I paid 50.00 a month for UNLIMITED EVERYTHING. So guess what? When the associate tried to activate my phone, it wouldn't allow her to complete the activation unless I chose one of the CURRENT pre-paid plans, so my 50.00 a month plan is now a 70.00 a month plan. So for those on pre-paid accounts you WILL HAVE TO CHOOSE A NEW PLAN for the phone to be activated. It just would have been nice to know all of this beforehand. I still would have bought the phone, I just would have plan more accordingly. So the take away here is: A- Even if you have Verizon, if your phone is a 5th generation or older, you will need to purchase a Nano SIM card (If you go to a VERIZON store they will install one free of charge), OR you can buy a SIM CARD CUTTER off of Amazon. B- If you are in a pre-paid account, depending on how old your plan is, you will have to upgrade to a CURRENT PRE-PAID plan which will MOST DEFINITELY be higher than your current plan. These are the things you need to know before purchasing this phone. PS: If you go to Verizon to activate, go ahead and buy an ORIGINAL charger for this phone, because the charger that comes with the phone is GENERIC, and my phone keeps giving me the message to connect the phone to the ORIGINAL CHARGER for a faster charge. So basically I will have to go and pay for an ORIGINAL charger, because we all know when a phone gives you that message you are killing the battery. This phone DOES NOT use the STANDARD generic android charger. You will have to get what's called a C-type charger when buying a generic android charger for this phone. I hope this helps somebody because I studied this phone and the reviews for about 4 days before finally deciding to get the phone, for only most of this information not to be mentioned. Everyone is not a techky-type, so some of us need to know this information about the difference in the SIM cards and chargers, because not only that; but some of us are not changing or upgrading phones every other generation and I would've REALLY appreciated if someone had mentioned this - its actually a big deal.

Background: I've owned and loved dearly a Note 4, followed by an LG Stylo 4. While the Stylo was a bit of an upgrade over the Note 4, the Note 8 is leaps and bounds above that. So my comparisons will be against those two models. First off, i'm cheap. So there's no way I'd pay full price for the latest Note - it's just not worth that premium price. Thus I started with the Stylo 4 a few months ago - an excellent value phone in many ways. Now that Note 8s are "ancient", they're much more affordable so they're finally in my cheapskate price range. The Note 8 is *blazing* fast compared to the Note 4 or Stylo 4 (with the Stylo being considerably newer than the Note 4, it wasn't hardly any faster). The Note 8 does everything almost instantly: Open apps, switching between apps, loading web pages. Wowsers it's QUICK! Next, battery life. The Note 4 was terrible, even with a brand new battery. Between the Samsung and AT&T bloatware, and the fact that it's just older less power-efficient, I'd rarely get through a day on the Note 4. The Stylo 4 has unbelievable battery life - I could often go two days without charging even with moderate to high usage. The Note 8 is darn near that, amazingly, despite the fact that it performs MUCH better than the Stylo. I'm not in constant worry about using the GPS and wanting to plug it in at the same time. Or play Word with Friends and watch the battery go down a perctange point every few minutes, which it did on the Note 4. Of course the Note 8 has the venerable stylus which is great for note taking or precision taps on the screen. The Stylo 4's stylus is NOT precision the way the Note's is, but it's really good for lots of things including writing notes (that look like you wrote in crayon). The Note 8's is top notch. A number of people complain about the position of the Note 8's fingerprint sensor. I often unlock the phone with my left hand and then tap with my right. So the position seems fine to me. I also unlock it with my right hand and, while it's a little bit of a stretch, it's not that bad really once you get used to it. However, the Stylo 4's fingerprint sensor is really in a perfect spot, so kudos to LG on that one. The Note 8's screen is... amazeballs. It seems to be brighter than the Stylo's, but also has richer colors. It's a joy to look at. The Note 8's speaker is also louder and clearer than the Stylo's. It's what you'd expect from a premium phone. The curved screen is pretty pointless to me. It's gimicky and makes things hard to tap reliably when they're near the edge - even worse if you're using the stylus. I just don't see the point of it, other than it looks cool. Meh. I haven't used the camera much, so I can't comment on that. But I was excited to write this review and endorse the Note 8 so I figured I'd pass on that one. All that I've said is about the Note 8 in general. In particular, the one I bought was this refurbished one. The phone arrived in "near mint" condition. Screen was flawless. Popped my AT&T SIM chip and booted it. Absolutely no problems connecting to anything. It was completely as advertised. However, I did have to run about a thousand system updates over the course of several nights. Now it's up to Android 9, which seems to have battery life improvements and some very nice UI simplifications and streamlining. All things considered, buying this phone now that it's dropped in price so much over new is a really great deal. You won't be sorry upgrading from the Note 4, or the Stylo 4 which is still a current model (even though the Note 8 is older).

I love it. I only use Samsung Note phones. Having pen and being able easily take notes, make sketches, etc., for me, is the most important part of Samsung Note phone product line. It has great camera for photos and video. In my opinion, it is the "best" camera, because, I always have it with me. The quality of pics and video is good enough to make "professional" quality pics/video. If I need something better I have my Nikon and Lumix cameras, but I can't put those cameras in my pocket and have it every time I need it. Next is screen - screen is incredible. When I am using my phone outside, I had friends asking me time after time "what phone you have? - how can you see screen on your phone when I can't see anything on my?" The answer is simple; it is Samsung Note and it has one of the best screens. Even my refurbished Note 8 has better screen in comparison to some of the new phones. Bottom line, refurbished Note 8 is great balance between $$$ and value. It is incredible phone, very fast, great screen, great reliability, all the functions which one can ask for and is build like a tank.