Samsung·phone
Galaxy S21
Based on 61 credible posts from Bluesky, the forum & Hacker News. 40 filtered out as bot-like or off-topic.
High confidenceA large sample of owners; this score is stable. How we score
Scored November 11, 2026
We may earn a commission from this link. It never affects the score.
Owner reviews
Overall owner mood
Owners are split: 46% of 61 reviews are positive, 28% negative, and the rest mixed or neutral. Praise centers on camera and controls & input. The most common complaint is price & value (4 owners). Owners are divided on battery & charging and display. Owners with 6+ months of use feel about the same (38% positive).
What owners like
Camera praised by 5 owners (1 disagree)
“Since I switched to Samsung have had 0 qc issues and every camera has been amazing.”
Controls & input praised by 3 owners
“My favorite phone (alas, discontinued way too soon) was the Photon Q (work gave us phones way back) with slide-out physical keyboard.”
What owners complain about
Price & value raised by 4 owners (2 disagree)
“They're just too fucking expensive and they're barely any better than the previous models if not actually worse.”
Software & AI raised by 4 owners (1 disagree)
“Some kind of thermal failure, I was able to recover my data by keeping the phone in the freezer while I copied.”
Build & durability raised by 2 owners (1 disagree)
Owners are split on
- Battery & charging 3 like it · 5 don't
- Display 2 like it · 2 don't
Worth reading the reviews on these if they matter to you.
What owners talk about
- Battery & charging3 praise · 5 complain
- Price & value2 praise · 4 complain
- Camera5 praise · 1 complain
- Software & AI1 praise · 4 complain
- Display2 praise · 2 complain
- Controls & input3 praise · 0 complain
- Build & durability1 praise · 2 complain
Built from the reviews themselves — every quote links to the owner who wrote it.
Every credible owner review, most detailed first. Bots, off-topic comments, and ones that say nothing about using it are left out.
My Samsung Galaxy S3 died after 8 years. [...] My Samsung Galaxy S8 died at 7 years. Some kind of thermal failure, I was able to recover my data by keeping the phone in the freezer while I copied. [...] My Samsung Galaxy S21? [...] Having beautiful dead phones that have never had a broken screen or a hard drop is pretty depressing.
[...] I bought it a couple of months from when it was newly released and it just will not die. I've traveled with it, played all the games, thousands of photos, used it for nearly a year while I was doing gig driving (so plugged in and screen on for hours at a time), dropped countless times, and the screen has no cracks and the battery still lasts more than a day with regular use. For the past few years every new Samsung smartphone has piqued my interest, and the second my S21 dies I will buy whatever Samsung flagship happens to be the latest, but it just will not die.
Plus, saved just shy of $500 on the price of the new phone vs T-Mobile's price. Have to get new phone; my trusty Galaxy S21+ I've had for over 5 years now is starting to have charging issues. Figured might as well change carriers, too, I guess 😅 Here's hoping the S26 Ultra also lasts me 5yrs
[...] So I CAN touch-type and do it well - and keyboard + mouse is my goto jam. My favorite phone (alas, discontinued way too soon) was the Photon Q (work gave us phones way back) with slide-out physical keyboard. I "use" an S21, but even just entering my 4-digit pin is awkward with my left thumb - is there some other way to hold it? [...]
Personally, my recent and surprisingly greatest win was to set up my old phone (samsung S21) with the addictive apps, removing them completely from my iPhone. [...]
I have a S21 which was released in early 2022. [...]
I've been using this phone for a few weeks now, switching from a galaxy s21. [...] Don't expect flagship performance, but it's fine for daily use. Ah maybe just one thing: lots of accidental screenshots due to the placement of the volume buttons.
Samsungs Galaxy S21 is also really simple to fix stuff. The back is made of relatively flexible plastic connected via glue, which you can easily get under by blowing into the charging/speaker port. [...] Had to reattach the battery ribbon cable after my phone fell one too many times (I could have also just fixed it by pressing on the back in the right place, but I only really figured that out after I disassembled the phone).
[...] As it is, I hold my S21 with left hand, type with index finger of right - it's abysmal in terms of performance, but it's all I got.. [...] My favorite phone (at least in terms of idea, execution wasn't perfect) was the Motorola Photon Q - full-size with slide-out keyboard. At least I could somewhat type quickly even if the keyboard wasn't great. [...] I can probably type 10-20x as fast on my MS Natural keyboard (only one I can use for more than 30-40 minutes without RSI getting bad).. No wonder I don't "live on my phone" - I use it when necessary, and prefer my 40"+ 4K screen + real keyboard.
I recently had my phone (Galaxy S21) stop charging and the SIM not be recognized anymore. [...] So, it doesn't HAVE to be difficult to disassemble a phone, unless incentivised to do so, it is another revenue stream for manufacturers if they make it so that only they can repair it (pairing components cryptographically, to which they only have the keys to... [...]
[...] I updated my Galaxy S21 to Android 15 and I hate it. The new design occupies TOO MUCH space, I could check almost all my notifications (I only have 3-4 apps that send me notifications) with a quick scroll from the top, but now a single notification occupies like 1/5th of the screen, making it much more difficult to take a look at all my notifications at once. The other stupid thing, they moved the media playback to the quick settings panel and made it a tiny widget on the lock screen, on the bottom, where you barely pay attention to it. [...] Now, whenever I listen to music, I cannot control playback from the notifications panel or the lock screen, I must manually open Spotify and control it from there. [...]
I went from S20 to S21 to S24. Before that every Android phone I had was good but qc issues would pop up or some new phone would come out with much better features (eg camera quality is really important to me). Since I switched to Samsung have had 0 qc issues and every camera has been amazing. [...]
I bought Samsung S21 from some shady reseller because original Samsung store was trying to steal my data by a promotion where I need to give them my bank account number and they will send my 20% of phone price back, then when I returned with phone to home and turned on phone I saw a message saying "this phone is a property of Polkomtel (on of carriers operating in Poland), it will be locked if you stop paying the bills", shady reseller agreed to replace my phone with another one not fucked up by a greedy carrier who is making incomes private (selling expensive phone in subscription model for people with no credit rank, often abusing this subscription model as low rate credit (they are goi g from carrier straight to lombard) and making loses public (they will lock my phone if someone dont pay)
I have been trading in my phone every year to get the new Samsung S2x (now S24) model since S21. [...]
I recently tried to migrate my Grandmothers Galaxy S21 phone to an iPhone and we had to return the iPhone because try as I might I could not get get her 30000 text messages (including 1000s of images and messages from people that are now dead) to transfer over intact. The built in services transfer failed as did third party software. Honestly I can’t tell you much about transferring the other way, but interoperability is definitely not seamless in this respect.
i put off getting my phone (galaxy s21) fixed for SO LONG thinking it was gonna be expensive, but it turned out to just be a disconnected cable that cost 25 bucks to fix lmao the amount of stress my old phone (s8) caused not having enough battery to make it through a day, let alone cold winter air
looking to upgrade from a galaxy s21+, i'd like a stylus for doodling on the go and a good camera and as little ai bullshit as possible, and i guess decent for games even though i don't game on my phone much i was lookin at the s25 ultra but was hoping to get some suggestions!
[...] I just use my phone for the camera for all of these. It's a Galaxy S21 because I don't need a new one. [...] Reasonably cheap on sale. The backdrop is cloth clamped onto a T-stand.
For me it was "want camera", and I chose the top SKU (P8 Pro) because I wanted maximum camera. "Buy a camera" doesn't work because (a) I don't want to pocket two devices, (b) most point-and-shoot dedicated cameras that are actually better are more bulky, too, (c) even entry-level good digital cameras are $500 (e.g. a ZV-1F or something), so even the combo with a midrange phone often comes out more expensive and (d) a seperate camera makes it really annoying to send photos anywhere on the go. That said: I came away fairly unhappy with the Pixel 8 Pro camera, which my book has a too editorialized post-processing look that I simply don't like. In retrospect, I think I should have gone for the Xperia in that generation, which appears to have been the last phone with high-end smartphone camera gear that took neutral-looking shots. My S21, despite having a worse sensor and optics, took subjectively nicer photos. I've now updated my definition of "maximum phone camera" to be more choosy ...
My Galaxy S21 5G is working just fine due to tireless battery care and multiple otter boxes over the years. But apparently, this phone was only promised 5yrs of support by Samsung instead of 10yrs like phones before it and after it? So my phone won't get anymore android or security updates.
I've had my current phone (Galaxy s21+) since early 2021 and I will replace this phone solely when it stops turning on after a reboot and not a single day sooner. They're just too fucking expensive and they're barely any better than the previous models if not actually worse.
I loathe oneui so on my S21 I loaded Google asop apps and pixel launcher and disabled everything Samsung I could. been doing fine on this for 5 years and 4 before that on my s9.
I have a few social accounts, but no apps installed on my primary, 2.5+ year old S21. I prefer to visit via browser (firefox, mostly).
My phone is 4 years old (a Galaxy S21). [...] Can't wait for my phone to stop working because $60 a month isn't enough.
I've had my Samsung Galaxy S21 for like 4 years now and I still miss the headphone jack.
I have a Galaxy S21 which is "high end" from 4 years ago — and the scroll is a bit choppy indeed. Not too bad, but I keep thinking my phone is maybe running low on battery.
To add to this for youtube the unhook extension is great to block everything other than search and playing vids Then I permanently block youtube and reddit on phone. I've explored quite a few blockers - AppBlock for android is the best I've used / has no bugs on my now older s21.
[...] I get the feeling the later galaxy phones are much worse than the S21?
The don't always seem to work either. My wife asked for one of the little USB-C to 3.5mm adapters of which I had a few from various Android phones over the years, and one from an iPhone and she couldn't get them to work on her Samsung Galaxy S21, I ended up buying hear some bluetooth earbuds (yes, she could have done it herself but she trusts my judgement on selecting these sorts of things).
I enabled RCS on my Samsung S21, but had to disable it after a day or two. It just didn't work reliably. But yea MMS sucks, would be nice with some common cross-platform alternative that worked well.
Fyi I tried this on my Galaxy S21 with both Brave and Chrome browsers and just got screeching noises in the audio
I just checked my Samsung S21 and there's no option to disable 2G. I can choose 3G only, or if I want to use 4G/5G I need to enable 2G as well.
FWIW, Samsung used a plastic back for their basic Galaxy S21. I like it personally (less slippery than my old S7 Edge), but it seems to have been controversial among the user base, and they switched back to glass for later versions.
I presume the S21 is a phone and it has done a nice capture for this image. Warning DT5.7 xmp 20260926153626.dng.xmp (18.6 KB) 202609261536261480×2000 1.29 MB
Anyone else with a Samsung galaxy s21 noticing massive battery drop? I lose more battery overnight with my phone doing nothing than I do during the day when I'm using it. [...]
This. Like when my phone power button was silently changed to summon Gemini and it got used precisely once to prompt "how do I change the power button on a galaxy s21+ back to a power button" Still makes me part of the 17.8%?
Samsung Galaxy S21. Default camera app. [...] I've had the same one since it released. This camera and how it handles the moon is the one truly exceptional thing about it.
I have a Galaxy S21 from 2021. Runs as fast as the day I bought it and the battery life is still all day after charging on the night stand. [...]
I fell into a god damn puddle today while holding my phone...RIP samsung galaxy S21 :( it is in rice jail rn. Will see how it is tomorrow. If it gets too hot, it gets turned off and Monday I'm off to a fucking TMobile.
[...] I got my galaxy s21 phone for under 100 and it was essentially brand new. [...]
Hi there.. thank you! It's just a feature on my phone..Samsung Galaxy S21 5G...
I've had my Samsung Galaxy S21+ for a good few years, and I ain't upgrading until this motherfucker dies on me
Finally, I got the moon to stay still! Caught on a Galaxy S21 at x30.
Fox just outside of GlacierNationalPark. Taken with my phone (Galaxy s21 5G - Refurbished) just before it ran away. SaveOurParks Wilderness FoxFriday Fox Wildlife PublicLand Animals Forest ForestFriday Nature Photography
I'm using my phone, a Galaxy S21. I found having a good mount for it helped a lot.
I've had samsung Galaxy's for longer i can remember, lol I still have my Galaxy S21+ and loooove it! When I had the black death screen I even paid to have it fixed instead of upgrading bc I love it so much, lol And when it's time for a new phone, I'm sticking with the Galaxy's
So they didn't have the Google pixel 6a what I wanted so I got the Samsung galaxy s21 5g ultra tbh I kinda like this phone 😅 🤔 😂 😐 😬 🙃
[🦄 Entry 1] 🏔 Quick Mountain Drawing: Drew this on my phone. --------- Materials: ▪︎ Sketchbook App ▪︎ Samsung Galaxy S21 ===== snowymountains mountain landscape quicksketch digitalart art
[...] As I already had the big telescope set up, I decided to try capturing Saturn with my phone at the end of an imaging session. Stacked video frames, Samsung Galaxy S21, Skywatcher MN190, 2x Powermate & 14mm eyepiece. [...]
Sorry about that guys, someone took my phone and made it into a AI profile or some shit, reverting things right now I Also had to buy a new phone which is a Samsung Galaxy S21, also had to tell Samsung that the old phone i had has been stolen
Galaxy S21 long-term: how it holds up
When problems show up
- Battery & chargingtypically around 4.5 years · 2 reports
The claims, and the evidence
What the brand claims
No published claims on file for this product yet.
What owners report
“[...] I bought it a couple of months from when it was newly released and it just will not die. I've traveled with it, played all the games, thousands of photos, used it for nearly a year while I was doing gig driving (so plugged in and screen on for hours at a time), dropped countless times, and the screen has no cracks and the battery still lasts more than a day with regular use. For the past few years every new Samsung smartphone has piqued my interest, and the second my S21 dies I will buy whatever Samsung flagship happens to be the latest, but it just will not die.”
after 1 yearView on Hacker News“I've been using this phone for a few weeks now, switching from a galaxy s21. [...] Don't expect flagship performance, but it's fine for daily use. Ah maybe just one thing: lots of accidental screenshots due to the placement of the volume buttons.”
“Plus, saved just shy of $500 on the price of the new phone vs T-Mobile's price. Have to get new phone; my trusty Galaxy S21+ I've had for over 5 years now is starting to have charging issues. Figured might as well change carriers, too, I guess 😅 Here's hoping the S26 Ultra also lasts me 5yrs”
after 5 yearsView on Bluesky“[...] As it is, I hold my S21 with left hand, type with index finger of right - it's abysmal in terms of performance, but it's all I got.. [...] My favorite phone (at least in terms of idea, execution wasn't perfect) was the Motorola Photon Q - full-size with slide-out keyboard. At least I could somewhat type quickly even if the keyboard wasn't great. [...] I can probably type 10-20x as fast on my MS Natural keyboard (only one I can use for more than 30-40 minutes without RSI getting bad).. No wonder I don't "live on my phone" - I use it when necessary, and prefer my 40"+ 4K screen + real keyboard.”
Common Galaxy S21 problems
Problems most owners who mention them agree on, plus ones owners are split on.
- Software & AI4 owners report this (1 disagree)View on Hacker News
“I updated my Galaxy S21 to Android 15 and I hate it.”
- Battery & chargingOwners split: 5 complain, 3 happyView on Bluesky
“I lose more battery overnight with my phone doing nothing than I do during the day when I'm using it.”
- Price & value4 owners report this (2 disagree)View on Hacker News
“I bought Samsung S21 from some shady reseller because original Samsung store was trying to steal my data by a promotion where I need to give them my bank account number and they will send my 20% of phone price back, then when I returned with phone to home and turned on phone I saw a message saying "this phone is a property of Polkomtel (on of carriers operating in Poland), it will be locked if you stop paying the bills", shady reseller agreed to replace my phone with another one not fucked up by a greedy carrier who is making incomes private (selling expensive phone in subscription model for people with no credit rank, often abusing this subscription model as low rate credit (they are goi g from carrier straight to lombard) and making loses public (they will lock my phone if someone dont pay)”
- Build & durability2 owners report this (1 disagree)View on Bluesky
“so idk what happened with the bsky mobile app today but it took out an extra 7 or 8% of my phone battery, even though I used it around the same amount of time yesterday it got to the point where my phone DIED, I may yap on the Internet a LOT, but this thing (Samsung Galaxy S21+) friggin NEVER dies”
- DisplayOwners split: 2 complain, 2 happy