Samsung S20 FE 5G?

S

Sid Post

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Oct 14, 1998
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I'm in need of a new cellphone and I'm considering the Samsung S20 FE 4G. Who here owns one? Do you like it? What's good or bad about it? And, how does it do in challenging reception areas? My S8 is pretty bad in rural areas with weak coverage.

TIA,
Sid

p.s. I don't really care about 5G as it is unlikely I will ever be in an area with 5G that works with my cell plan. It is bad enough, I have researched Sat phones for coverage! :(:mad::(
 
Sid Post said:
I'm in need of a new cellphone and I'm considering the Samsung S20 FE 4G. Who here owns one? Do you like it? What's good or bad about it? And, how does it do in challenging reception areas? My S8 is pretty bad in rural areas with weak coverage.

TIA,
Sid

p.s. I don't really care about 5G as it is unlikely I will ever be in an area with 5G that works with my cell plan. It is bad enough, I have researched Sat phones for coverage! :(:mad::(
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I've never used one myself but it scores ok, but not real high on the antenna here.
 
Yes, the reviews and specs look pretty good. The antenna spec is pretty good too but, that's not a good indication of actual performance in challenging environments. Before I spend that kind of money, I want to make sure it will work for me where I live.
 
Sid Post said:
Yes, the reviews and specs look pretty good. The antenna spec is pretty good too but, that's not a good indication of actual performance in challenging environments. Before I spend that kind of money, I want to make sure it will work for me where I live.
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Yeah talking to people that live where you live would be the best bet.
 
Unfortunately, the people I know all have either really cheap phones, iPhones, or Google Pixels. :(

I don't want to be part of Apple's invasive echo-system and I'm not a big fan of the Pixel phones either, hence my question about the Samsung option.

I started out with a One Plue One and moved on to an S7, then an S8. The S8 I have now is a bit tired and worn so, I need to upgrade for reliability and better reception as the current antennae system is pretty weak on my S8.
 
According to the website that I linked to, the S8 Plus has an excellent antenna. Maybe it has a loose connection or something?
 
I have the base S8, not the Plus model. And yes, I am in a weak area. However, in town with generally strong reception, sometimes I have 5 bars of reception and sometimes zero, all from the same physical location. I suspect I have an intermittent antenna connection issue in addition to a weak signal at my home. Sometimes a restart will fix things and sometimes not. The phone is ~3 years old now so, this is about average for me to need a replacement barring any physical hazards or general abuse (I use Otter Cases and screen protectors so, not much risk there).

I have done a factory reset so I have a clean start in case any patches weren't applied correctly, or I had an app problem or, even a malware / virus issue. Post reset demonstrates similar behavior so, I'm ruling out the Operating System or Apps being the issue. Right now it has only the basic apps and a clean O.S. load.

And thanks, I really appreciate your help with my quest to fix my phone or verify the new one is a good fit for me!
 
I don't believe that I have ever had a S8 on my bench. Usually the main things that I have to repair on phones and tablets around here is digitizers and charge port docks. I repaired a Dell Inspiron 15-3552 laptop for my sister a couple of years ago. The antenna wire posts broke loose from the WC (Wireless Card) with the posts still inside the wires.
I had to solder the antenna wires up because a new antenna wire and WC was too expensive. It wasn't an easy job but it worked, and the laptop is still working great!

dell-inspiron-15-3552-laptop-0-image-10.jpg dell-inspiron-15-3552-laptop-0-image-11.jpg
 
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Sid Post said:
I have the base S8, not the Plus model. And yes, I am in a weak area. However, in town with generally strong reception, sometimes I have 5 bars of reception and sometimes zero, all from the same physical location. I suspect I have an intermittent antenna connection issue in addition to a weak signal at my home. Sometimes a restart will fix things and sometimes not. The phone is ~3 years old now so, this is about average for me to need a replacement barring any physical hazards or general abuse (I use Otter Cases and screen protectors so, not much risk there).

I have done a factory reset so I have a clean start in case any patches weren't applied correctly, or I had an app problem or, even a malware / virus issue. Post reset demonstrates similar behavior so, I'm ruling out the Operating System or Apps being the issue. Right now it has only the basic apps and a clean O.S. load.

And thanks, I really appreciate your help with my quest to fix my phone or verify the new one is a good fit for me!
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Well according to the link, the S20 FE 4G rates 'outstanding' for the antenna, so it will probably work fine.
 
I have the cheapest Samsung smart phone (A51 model) and works just fine. I really don't know about low signal areas. All I do with a phone is make calls and receive text messages. Check the weather sometimes... that's about it. In a pinch I might check email, but it is not common. I always say.... if you want to get a hold of me, "text me".
 
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Text messages definitely work better in tough reception areas. Plus you can always reread a message if there is a lot of "noise" in the background! ;)
 
Reception also depends on your carrier. Some carriers advertise that there isn't enough difference in coverage between carriers for you to notice a difference. They lie.
I have an S10 and it's a good machine.
 
Yes, I gave up my Verizon cellphone after my move because even though their coverage was far superior to others in my personal experience at the time, their coverage where I live now was horrible!
 
I looked at the S20 FE a lot before deciding to get the note 20 ultra instead. The FE is a good phone, its a little lacking in ram, but if you aren't doing a lot of memory intensive tasks, it should be fine. Just as an FYI, the radios on the s20 series are really good. I actually got signal at my cabin where I had none before with my one plus.
 
unwisefool said:
I looked at the S20 FE a lot before deciding to get the note 20 ultra instead. The FE is a good phone, its a little lacking in ram, but if you aren't doing a lot of memory intensive tasks, it should be fine. Just as an FYI, the radios on the s20 series are really good. I actually got signal at my cabin where I had none before with my one plus.
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Thanks, that's super helpful! I'm not into gaming and similar things on my phone so, it's not a tablet replacement for me. The reduced RAM isn't likely to cause me issues as I generally don't do 'intensive' applications on my cellphone, more general use things like Whatsapp, email, YouTube and, normal phone call type things.
 
So the problem that my friends and I are running into is that the charging port becomes loose extremely fast. We have had ours for about a month or so and both the s20 and s20+ developed the problem. Sucks because for Samsung to even look at it I would have to send my phone in and I can not be without a phone thanks to my job. I would avoid the s20 series until they fix this problem.
 
So far, no issues with my S20 FE 5G model. You can also use wireless charging if you want to.
 
borage123 said:
So the problem that my friends and I are running into is that the charging port becomes loose extremely fast. We have had ours for about a month or so and both the s20 and s20+ developed the problem. Sucks because for Samsung to even look at it I would have to send my phone in and I can not be without a phone thanks to my job. I would avoid the s20 series until they fix this problem.
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They won't just give you a new phone and send the other phone in?
 
borage123 said:
I wish, bought it from Verizon and both Verizon and Samsung said im SOL
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I've been with Cricket for several years now and I like them. I haven't had any problems with my phone so I am not sure how they would handle it. I'm not sure if that model has the charge port soldered in place or not.
 
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