Tracfone Samsung Galaxy A51 4G LTE prepaid Smartphone (Locked) - Black - 128GB - Sim Card Included - CDMA

I'm not entirely sure if I got a returned/refurbished phone or not - the packaging was immaculate (not at all like it had been repackaged). When I first turned it on I was greeted with an Android command-line boot screen, which I'm somewhat familiar with - I moved the cursor down to "wipe phone" and the next screen was the image I posted. There shouldn't have been a reason for me to get that screen at first power on.Having said that, the factory reset procedure went flawlessly, the Samsung transfer app worked beautifully to get all my information and apps moved to this new phone, and after a couple of logins the A51 was up and running. The main reason I bought it was because of its storage - I am so tired of running out of space with 32 GB phones. I keep NOTHING on the phones - I cleaned caches, I kept no documents, no photos, no music, I constantly moved apps to the SD cards - yet, after about a year or so of updates, all the storage space disappears. I have no idea where, as I run my phones excessively lean. So I opted for this 128GB model.It's a BEAUTIFUL phone to look at, stylish, black iridescent back, and a simply gorgeous screen. Very thin and slippery, however, and I'd read many reviews of breakage so I also ordered protective casing and screen protectors. I have never used fingerprint login on any of my other phones before and I've read that the tempered glass screen protectors make that feature difficult to use - I can't speak to that. Never used it before, don't miss it now.I'm 62. I'm not a gamer, so I don't need the highest/fastest processor. I need clear, bright, sharp visuals, a decent speaker, and enough speed so that I can play podcasts without stuttering. Reliable WiFi and Internet access are a must. This phone fits all of those criteria. I use it with Android Auto in my Toyota to listen to those aforementioned podcasts on my way to work, I access my email and make Amazon purchases via the device, what phone calls I make are clear and understandable, and it's plenty fast enough for the purposes I use these little pocket computers for. I added a 128 GB SD card (that card may have a fault or two because I still habitually move apps to the card - a holdover from my days with low-storage phones, and sometimes those moved apps need to be reinstalled after they've updated). But the phone itself, in spite of my wariness when I first powered it up, has been flawless. There are comments about this phone not being able to connect to mobile data through services like Tracfone, and the statements about the simple fix (checking which access point it's connecting to and adding the right one if it's not listed) are spot-on. I had that problem with a prior phone and so I knew to look for it when setting this up - sure enough, it didn't have the right access ID listed. I typed it in and it's connected fine from that point on. It's already updated itself to Android 11 and I am given to understand that it will soon update to Android 12. For the money, as a Tracfone user, this was a bargain and a half. I simply love this phone!Update as of May 25: The phone DID get Android 12,and the only thing was that I had to reenter the correct access point name for Tracfone (VZWINTERNET) in order to get data access. Everything else appears to have gone smoothly.

UPDATE Two months after using this phone.--Loudness is a big plus. I can hold this phone 5 inches away, it is loud enough to hear and speak with others. Due to radiation dangers, I like being able to use this phone without holding it to my ear.--4GB memory makes this phone work better than its contemporaries with 3 or 2 GB memory and slightly (lets say 50%) stronger CPU-Processor.--Receptivity with my home wifi and with cell phone towers is excellent.*** I use my Google voice phone number on this too! It works great on this A51. I like having two phone numbers on one phone. I have an Obi at home to use with my Google Voice. Now I have disconnected it, to use this phone as my Google voice connection.--- I like the huge, very high def. OLED screen--- Phone is very touch responsive. Much better than my old LG Rebel 4....I also use a stylus with A51. Cheap generic styluses work well on A51. You do not need to buy an official Samsung stylus.I have been building and using Windows PCs since 1997. This phone is one of the top 5 "computer" upgrades I have ever done. My old LG was pathetic compared to this A51 and its receptivity was fading, for whatever reason. With dropped phones calls and so on.___________________________________It rings loudly, but also those who phone me....their voices come in loud! Which I like! So I can hold it 5" from my mouth. This way I don't get all those LTE frequencies entering my skull and brain. Safer this way. Good way to stimulate getting brain cancer is to hold a cell phone at your ear for hours each day.I bought this on Black Friday at Amazon --- for $100It came with Android 10 and started to automatically upgrade to Android 11. Android 12 is alive, and being rolled out, but being doled out to Gooogle Pixel phones first. I cannot wait to get android 12My previous phone had Android 8 and was not going to upgrade above 8Android 11 is so much better and more logical than Android 8. It is 10 times better.With my previous phone, my reception and connectivity for voice phone calls via TracFone was getting worse and worse. Especially in my house. With phone calls breaking up etc. / With my new A51 these problems are gone.This A51 phone has the wifi-calling feature (old phone did not) which I can activate if I need to enhance my phone call reception when at home. This means that if necessary, part of my phone call is routed through the internet via my home wifi network. It hitches a ride with my wifi.### Just as a test, I have not yet activated wifi calling. No need to. Your case might be different. If you are in a rural area and have a home wifi network. For sure look into wifi calling. Go to settings >>> Connections>>>wifi calling with its on-off slider buttonThe OLED screen is very vivid and lovely. It has a blue light filter/damper for use at night. Battery life is good and probably very good.I have not really used the very high rez cameras much yet. Only briefly and they seem OKBottom line is that me talking reception is much better/ in fact I have zero problems. Thanks Samsung!! ... I never buy Apple