Samsung Galaxy S21 FE Review: An Overlooked Bargain

[@seanb.]

I have this model but never experienced the disconnecting issue in RCS.

[@AndroidDigest]

Very good to know! I'll pin this comment

[@seanb.]

@@AndroidDigest im really waiting for the one ui4.1

[@phillippugh2161]

I've had mine for 2 months love it ,the best deal for a flagship phone I paid under $500 for mine

[@AndroidDigest]

Yeah it's a crazy good deal.

[@eventurav]

I paid 450 for mine and I love it, although mine is the exynos version, there's no lag at all when gaming or heavy using it

[@sarah4hp]

Getting this phone, hopefully tomorrow, and I am so excited to finally upgrade 😍

[@MrOldskool1974]

Got mine on Swappa, sealed and brand new for $540. I got the Unlocked 256gig 8 gigs of ram in white. It's been a great phone so far.

[@mwill4904]

I got mines 3weeks ago i love it ! Plastic back feels premium in its own way!

[@MTTech]

Regarding the RCS issues, did you check whether the "carrier services" app is installed? Without this installed, RCS in Google Messages will display "connecting". Also, good video. Glad to be apart of it in regards to the proximity sensor of the S20 FE

[@AndroidDigest]

Yes, I tried it with carrier services installed and uninstalled and made sure the app was updated. I also made sure that the app was added to the battery optimization list to make sure it wasn't being optimized. And I tried adding the messages app to the same thing. No matter what I did with any of those things, I still had the RCS issue. Which is just a little weird

[@MTTech]

@@AndroidDigest Another thing I've done to fix this issue is clear the cache and storage for the Google Messages app, and reopen the app so it repopulates everything. But if you've already tried this, then I don't know what else might be causing this issue.

[@gino_58_nl24]

My last phone was the S10+ and now have the S21 FE simply because i don't have the budget to buy the S21+ but i am happy with it. i paid €449 for it.

[@AndroidDigest]

it's a great phone overall! Hope you enjoy it

[@RB-gx4qg]

Good call. It's a great phone, just bought one for a friend. At 549. And they had an S9 ... So this phone is blowing their minds still. They love it. I have an 21 ultra myself... I wouldn't say that my phone is 600+ better.

[@AndroidDigest]

Exactly. It's a great value. Not the best phone but a good bargain

[@indrasoebagjo]

I have been using this phone for 5 weeks now. The main concern is the overheating issue eventhough I only use it for sosmed and YT. I have to use casing to prevent my hand from "burning" from the hot back near the lenses and the very hot aluminium side walls. The second concern is the battery that drains rather quickly. I put most of my apps in Deep Sleep to conserve battery. Good thing the fast charger does do a good job charging 0 - 100% in 50-60 miuntes. Th camera is very good and I'm satisfied with it. My phones uses the Exynos 2100 and this morning (25/6) I updated the software and hope performance will improve. Cheers.

[@AndroidDigest]

See I'm using the version with the Snapdragon processor, so that's not something I can speak as much to. I didn't really have overheating issues in my unit. Hopefully you get better performance soon with less overheating!

[@indrasoebagjo]

@@AndroidDigest After 4 updates the overheating issue has improved greatly.

[@tolgaalp7151]

Totally good Phone, I bought 2 Month ago, battery life and Screen time good enough after software update. S22 has only better Camera Chipset and Glass back (Not durable) but worst things 3700mh battery, smaller Screen and bad Selfie Camera. But much expensive than S21 FE.

[@AndroidDigest]

Exactly; you hit the nail on the head

[@sd2009in]

I got this phone last month, the Exynos version. But I'm really disappointed by the cameras... The main sensor is great but the Ultra Wide has very soft images and the Telephoto doesn't kick in till you hit 10x. Also the quality is soft for telephoto. My old OnePlus 6 takes some photos better than the new S21FE. Not sure why I'm getting such results, every reviewer online is raving about how good the cameras are but I can't seem to agree to that. Any tips as to how I can improve quality?or something I could have done wrong?? I picked this one over the S22 (due to the bigger battery) but now I wish I had spent some more and got the S22+. Hope someone can help with the camera outputs.

[@z1k304]

I have the same Exynos Version. Let's wait for update. Mine's working fine.

[@sd2009in]

@Elite Eclipse it's OK... Stereo speakers so it's louder than a typical mono speaker system. But not by a lot. You'll hear it well enough indoors but don't expect much outdoors or if you're looking for a speaker phone type.

[@sanaguchi505]

also had the exynos variant. the camera seems to be fine with me. uw cam is quite soft to me but still sharp. and, the tele cam sometimes doesn't switch but when i put it in 1x and back to 3x, it works.

[@sd2009in]

@@sanaguchi505 you "had" it?? did you get rid of the phone? i find the UW very soft and the telephoto just doesn't use the telephoto lens at 3x.

[@sanaguchi505]

@@sd2009in oops. supposed to be have. probably ur phone has problems, maybe let samsung check it?

[@brickshott2211]

Definitely agreed! Got this phone at a discount, SD (8/256gb version) and I'm quite satisfied with it 👍

[@sabrinamerrick1271]

Had the S20 FE. Was a good phone

[@TheBostonTom]

I been saying this for months. I like that it's a little smaller then the plus. I got it for $500 and a $100 gift card. It was a great deal.

[@AndroidDigest]

Yep, in my opinion it's one of the most underrated phones on the market!

[@sabrinamerrick1271]

A good choice for those that don't want to spend flagship money.

[@Simplyyourdevice]

You're not alone with issues with RCS. There was a time I couldn't get my Z Flip 3 to stick. For the longest time it would connect to RCS. But now it's working. FYI : it was never a carrier issue.... Had the device on 3 different carriers. As for the FE.... It was really put in a bad spot in the line up. Shame you don't see this phone as a port in deal.

[@AndroidDigest]

How did you get it working on your z Flip?

[@Simplyyourdevice]

@@AndroidDigest start with turn off wifi in the settings of the message app, go to app info in settings. Clear memory/ clear cache. For me .... It took a bit for it to stick. At random, at times it will just stop working. Go into settings of the app and you'll see the wording " connecting " That's when I go and do all those things I just wrote. So far, it's been working for about 30 days plus.

[@cw1161]

@@AndroidDigest turn off enable chat features and leave off for a week ,then turn on and it will work immediately.I had same issue on T mobile s22 ultra.

[@johndaniel5661]

Great video!! Keep up the good work..

[@AndroidDigest]

Thanks so much!

[@sanaguchi505]

had the exynos variant. was disappointed at first because of the battery life. got only 4-5 hrs sot. but after a month, i got 7-8 hrs sot. it's a miracle 😭 for the camera, it's more vibrant and saturated... and it's leaning more on the cooler tones which i dislike about.. hoping for samsung to fix this via an update :)

[@DeFacto1991]

how do you like it so far, if you still have it haha. I'm thinking of getting it, only exynos version available tho. How is heating part, any heating in general and how is gaming ?

[@sanaguchi505]

@@DeFacto1991 i like it so far. it's good in gaming unless you are a hardcore gamer. im playing codm in low graphics and smooth fps and it performs well and just heats up a little. my phone sometimes heats up a bit sometimes even if the app is not intensive. maybe because of the temp of my place. it reaches to 50 degrees celsius

[@MRJLS15]

Got mine and love it 😀

[@AndroidDigest]

It's a great phone, gets most of the basics right!

[@gymrat974]

This phone or the pixel 6? I'm trying to decide.

[@AndroidDigest]

I think I gave a brief comparison in this video. It's a super tough thing. I went back and forth between them personally, so again it's hard to say. I think they will have similar battery life, similar performance, similar screen quality. I think the S21 FE will have slightly more brightness, it will have a pro mode for video (a mode where you can control shutter speed and a lot of minor stuff). And the S21 FE has a better fingerprint sensor. But the Pixel 6 has a SLIGHTLY better camera in my opinion, the software is more simple. The S21 FE has some extra features though. It's a super tough call. If you are bothered by a slow fingerprint sensor or if you get pretty dry hands I would get the S21 FE. If you want a simpler android experience and a slightly better camera to point and shoot I'd go with the Pixel 6, but you really can't go too wrong, both are great!

[@gymrat974]

@@AndroidDigest Thank you for the detailed response.

[@nikoladj99]

I bought myne 3 weeks aggo and its beast phone better than all iphones maybe iphone 14 pro or max but thats it...only samsung galaxy S22+ but battery is smaller>softwer great support great camera great gaming great no heating at all snapdragon 888 and looks great only plastic back feels not looks feels cheap but ur gonna put somthing aniway...great phone P68 sertificat i mean what do u want more could be flaship phone easily on dayligh u can see like in dark no difference at all.

[@AndroidDigest]

Exactly, it has pretty much everything you need

[@jamesfiddes9261]

Brilliant video thanks

[@AndroidDigest]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@lmeridien9956]

I purchased mine for 415 euro and 1 year free 150 minutes and 4gb per month.

[@Wayman_Simmang]

I totally agree. The fe is better deal

[@AndroidDigest]

Under $500 for prime day in the US too. A lot of good deals on it.

[@sisokoishak7714]

The best phone in 2022

[@AndroidDigest]

Well it's between the iPhone 13 Pro Max, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, and the Pixel 6 Pro. I'd lean towards Android for my personal opinion so I'd say the S22 Ultra, but it's a really close call

[@sisokoishak7714]

@@AndroidDigest s21 fe is the best choice for his price

[@hils.]

I can get for £300 256gb/8

[@PhillipLemmon]

At metro by t-mobile.... THIS PHONE IS $99 (switch carrier or new customer) I'm with cricket... The had the s20 fe but now they don't...... I'M SWITCHING TO METRO! BYE CRICKET!

[@yeehaw23smitty]

Your daughters ( or they could be nieces) are so very cute & darling.

[@AndroidDigest]

They are my daughters. And thank you!

[@Amit_Kumar_Pal]

300th like 😊

[@AndroidDigest]

Appreciated!

[@LuisAlvarado-]

battery drain fast👎👎

[@AndroidDigest]

Yeah everyone's use case is different. I had pretty good battery life compared to other phones

[@joanneazeez9938]

I have this phone plus the iPhone 13 💚🤍both phones thanks for sharing X

[@AndroidDigest]

Thanks! Yeah those are both good phones