Google Pixel 5, US Version, 128GB, Just Black - Unlocked (Renewed)

I was worried it wouldn't really be unlocked based on some of the reviews here, but I decided to try it out since we get 90 days to return if anything. Went to Cricket and successfully activated - hooray! Waited to order my screen protector and case until I knew for sure. The phone literally looks and feels new. If you look closely, the screen does have some very light scratches, but once I put the screen protector on, you can't see them at all. I'm so glad I went for it. It came with a charger, but I found it charged very slowly, so I just am using my same charger from Amazon that I used for last phone. I was able to transfer over most of my apps, contacts, and messages from my previous phone (galaxy 9) within about 15 minutes maybe less. Super easy, the phone does all the work for you. I love that the only apps it comes with are google apps, most of which I use anyway. I also noticed it has pretty good battery life. When it first arrived, I charged it and left it on (although didn't really use it at all) and that charge lasted for a week and 3 days before I went to Cricket to activate. I charged it that Saturday night and used it a considerable amount to transfer/ setup everything to my liking, did some Amazon shopping, note taking, little bit of Youtube and Spotify. Now it's Monday noon and I'm still at 44% . That far exceeds my expectations. The phone itself lives up to all the spec descriptions and has been easier than I thought to get used to navigating. The only thing I miss from my samsung s9 is the LED notification light, but I can get used to that. So glad I was able to get my hands on the pixel 5, I think it's so much prettier than the 6 and it's practically the same size as the galaxy s9, which is perfect for me. This is a great value for your money. There are a lot of cheap phones out there, but I think this one is on par specs and feature-wise with the more expensive flagships. Overall, highly recommend. If I don't update this with negative feedback in the future, that means I'm still happy with my purchase! Update: originally purchased Jan 2022. It's now August 2024 and this thing is running just as smoothly as the day i got it. I have run out of storage a couple times, which did make some apps run a little slower, but I backed up my photos & videos and deleted a bunch from my phone and it went back to normal. It doesn't have all the cool new camera features as the new pixels, but I still really like the camera and the photo magic eraser tool is really handy! It does rarely heat up more than normal, but if you leave it alone and let it cool down, it tends to be fine for heavy usage again. I will also note that I have dropped my phone plenty of times (with case & screen protector) and it is practically unscathed, still going strong after 2 and a half years. Normally the 2 year mark is when i start to have strange issues with a phone screen or performance but haven't had any with this one. Honestly, I think this is the first smart phone i haven't had any weird malfunctions with.

For many generations, Google has skimped on some of the details with their phones. They do have some of the best cameras, and also because Pixels use the base version of Android unmodified by the other manufacturers (i.e., Samsung's Touchwiz interface), updates to Google Pixels come much faster. But in an attempt to build "flagship" phones at lower prices than the competition, Google has been notorious for cutting corners. For example, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 4 both got low ratings due to small batteries that didn't last much past lunch, or for limited RAM. On the Pixel 5, they put in a good battery and decent RAM, but went with an aluminum housing instead of glass like the competition, and they used a step-down microprocessor rather than the top-of-the-line chip in the competition. It's that slower microprocessor that's earned this phone most of its lukewarm attention, but I'm here to tell you, for 99.9 percent of us users, the chip they went with is still plenty fast and capable. My previous phone was a Pixel 3 that eventually the battery pretty much just bulged until it burst out of the case. It never had good battery performance so I was constantly keeping it charged (hence the battery exploding), and I ran into some issues with crashing because there was only 4GB of RAM. But otherwise, it was a solid phone that I enjoyed a lot. So when it was time to upgrade, I went with a newer Pixel. But my budget didn't allow me to go with the shiny new Pixel 6 Pro, I had to settle for a refurbished Pixel 5. And I'm here to tell you, I don't feel like I've compromised one bit in that decision. This is also a good phone, which fixed the things that were broken about the Pixel 3. I like that, unlike the Pixel 4 and Pixel 6, it has the fingerprint sensor on the back, similar to the Pixel 3 - right where my index finger intuitively finds it every time I need it. I find the phone plenty fast - the step-down chip keeps up with all I need it to do. I kind of like the aluminum case; it's not as slippery and easy to drop as phones housed in glass. It's a good solid performer all the way around. And even though it's refurbed, it feels completely new. Want a great phone but don't have a lot of bucks to spend on the Pixel 6 or a Samsung Galaxy S22? Get a refurb Pixel 5 and don't look back.

I am using a family members phone to write this review, because the "excellent condition" Google Pixel I bought is by far the worst and most unusable phone I have ever used. Upon seeing this phone I was convinced to switch from iPhone and that was a huge mistake. When I first got the phone I transferred all my stuff over to it including apps, pictures of my twins being born, and texts with people who are no longer here etc, and it successfully transferred and I was able to see them there; so after a week I sell my old phone, only to see days later that all my apps and pictures were deleted from this phone as if they were never transfered; I lost everything with no way to get them back. That should have been the first sign but anyways I got this phone about 8 weeks ago and around the 4th week is when it started to glitch even worse; after a full charge my battery would be back to 0% after about four hours of being off the charger; it takes about 16 hours for the battery to charge back up to 100% and sometimes the percentage will go down while actively saying it is charging (I have tried multiple wall chargers and portable chargers); it is virtually impossible to type coherent sentences because the keyboard doesn't register most of the letters I am typing and will insert random punctuation and emojis into my sentences, it makes me mistype my passcode often and then my phone locks up; do not open multiple tabs or apps while on this phone because if you switch to another app it'll delete everything you were doing on the previous page; most apps are not compatible to be downloaded to this phone even with the newest updates; my screen freezes a few times a day; for the past few days I have had to deal with the phone calling emergency contacts while I am not even using the phone; the camera has an automatic timer of 10 seconds so don't try to get any quick pics because the feature won't turn off no matter how many times you try; your photos cannot be viewed as a whole, if your photos somehow don't get deleted you will still have to decide which album to open and view photos there instead of them being collectively together, most of the time you'll just give up because this phone gives you about fifteen albums to search through; you can't use any features without unlocking your password such as camera, flashlight, changing music or anything; and then what has prompted me to write this is that this morning I turned my phone on and it froze as usual but this time it wouldn't let me restart or turn it off, it has been stuck on this screen for quite a few hours and I am realizing it is completely broken now. I can't believe I wasted hundreds of dollars on something I have barely been able to use.

I've had every Google phone dating back to the Nexus line, only getting maybe 2 of them brand new. I've always purchased used, year-old models from Amazon or eBay as I'm not the "need the newest one" kinda guy I was back in the mid-late 2000s. It's been a mixed bag of results, as I've received some great condition phones that were only listed as "good" condition, and some clunkers that were listed as "excellent/like new". For example, the Pixel 3XL I purchased on Amazon a few years back was listed as excellent but had a large scratch on the screen that my fingernail could get stuck in. This Pixel 5 was in the best condition that I've ever received a used phone in--no blemishes or scratches, even under very close examination. I'm very happy with the purchase. As for the phone itself, despite a few gripes, it's a solid entry in the Pixel lineup. Pros: -The battery on this is the best I've used, possibly ever on a smartphone. It lasts all day no problem, even under heavy usage. I'm frequently left with 30-40% battery when I go to bed, which is fantastic, especially for a used phone. -I love that they brought back the fingerprint scanner. Even though it's "old tech" it works so much better than the face unlock I've had on previous Pixels. Others may disagree, but this is my favorite unlock/security method to have on a phone. -The camera is great. While it may not have the snappiest photo processing, it does take a great picture. -I really dig the green color and am a fan of not having a glass back. I always seemed to end up with cracks, even with a case, on my glass-back phones. Sure this back is plastic, but it doesn't feel super cheap--it has a tile-like feel. -There's no wasted front real estate. It's got an edge-to-edge screen, so no forehead or chin that would make the phone unnecessarily larger. -While this is a person-to-person, carrier-to-carrier issue, on my Pixel 4XL that I bought used from Amazon, I was locked out of WiFi calling on that device by my carrier. I read that this happens to some AT&T customers when they purchase a preowned phone. It took me MONTHS of contact and threatening to switch carriers to get that finally activated. No such problem on this phone Cons: -I've always had the XL models of the PIxel and they did away with that for the 5, so this is smaller than I'm used to. And I kind of miss the larger size. -Not super wild about the left-aligned hole-punch front camera. I think I'd rather have it in the center. -While I did mention I like the edge-to-edge screen, the sacrifice for this is having the front speaker hidden under the glass. As others have mentioned in reviews for the Pixel 5, this is noticeably a worse sounding phone than my 4XL, and probably a few generations before that. Overall, the sound is disappointing. -As this is a review in 2022, as of now it just seems like the Pixel 5 is a forgotten entry for Google and aftermarket manufacturers. Sure there are still plenty of cases and accessories that are compatible, but I've found that a few popular case manufacturers don't make Pixel 5 cases anymore. For example, I have a leather Bellroy case for my 4XL that I loved, and wanted to get one for my 5. I look on their site and they have the leather case available for the 2, 3, 4, 5a, and 6--not the 5! And when I contacted them to ask about it, they said they will not be making any more and "tend not to reproduce older cases as they become obsolete very quickly", which doesn't make a ton of sense since cases for older Pixels are available on their site. I've noticed a few other manufacturers not having Pixel 5 cases as well. Overall I really do enjoy the phone. It's in wonderful condition and the battery life helps reduce the sting of the small gripes that I listed above.

I recieved the phone much faster than the standard shipping indicated. Which is always a plus. The seller had two tiers of quality to choose from. Excellent, and good. I chose the lower tier, and to my surprise the phone came with little to no immediately visible wear. Screen is new, and battery life is great. Pleasantly surprised by this. If I ever needed to purchase another phone, I would definitely consider them. However I do know that they are an e-waste reseller. So consistency of quality might be a little bit tricky. I did take a chance on them, and did not regret it. These phones are tried and true. I really don't have a functional need for much else, and if I'm being honest, the Google Pixel 5 is still far from a no frills smartphone. Definitely my daily driver. I see no need to replace it with something newer. Good work Tech guys, and good work Google.

Barebones Android is the way to go for stability and usability. I've used a Nexus 5, Nexus 5X, Pixel 3A, Pixel 3, and now this one. When the SIM card in my Pixel 3A stopped working a few months ago, I replaced it with a free One+ phone from T-Mobile and was consistently disappointed with every feature, so I bought this one. Good stuff: * This is the last Pixel that offers free unlimited storage for Google photos. * The camera is about as good as the Pixel 3A, which took great pictures. * It's a pretty small form factor with just enough screen space and thin profile * Good enough battery life - it goes on the charger overnight and doesn't need charging during the day Less than perfect: * The one I got showed some small scratches in the camera lens, but is working fine. Perhaps I could get better pictures, but these are on par with my Pixel 3A, which is the best camera phone I've had. * Very minor quibble - I couldn't migrate all my data from the two old phones. Google gives you a few days to get old SMS messages backed up from old phones, and makes you factory reset if you want to do it after a week or so. I had already received a bunch of new texts I wanted to keep so I tried Microsoft SMS Organizer to backup and restore. It worked ok, but you have to make it your default SMS app, and it didn't restore images. * The default font in a lot of places is a blurry outline. I haven't figured out where to change this but setting the font to bold makes it a little easier to read. * This phone will only get updates until October. I have a small set of apps installed and rarely use a phone for browsing. Still it's worrisome that I will not get security updates at the end of the year.

This was my first time purchasing a refurbished phone. I was not sure what to expect from a refurbished, rated Excellent, phone. My Pixel 4a, a generation prior to this phone, does have wear and tears from over 4 years of use. I would not call my phone in excellent condition. This phone was in pretty good condition, no obvious scratches on the screen or back of the phone, but did have a small damaged area surrounding the USB-C port - which makes it, at least to me, not in excellent condition. The discrepancy between the sellers rating aside, this Pixel 5 has the OEM unlocking option *disabled*. Overall, the Pixel 5 is an excellent phone. I really like the finger print sensor in the back. But the lower than rated condition of this phone and disabled OEM unlocking option that led me to return this phone. The package was generic and not google's, and came with a cheap USB power adapter and a cable.

After having to return a locked Samsung phone to a vendor who claimed it was SIM unlocked, I decided I wasn't going to take another chance. Seems that's one of, if not the biggest, problems with buying renewed phones nowadays. Don't get me wrong they're a great deal but you'd think a vendor could have a way to check. I would think all they need is a SIM from any carrier that requires a SIM unlocked phone to work & they could check the phone. Unfortunately most would rather dump a locked phone on someone then make them jump through hoops to get a refund. I did a little research & found that all Pixels phones come SIM unlocked from Google and apparently even if a carrier SIM locks it, it can be unlocked again. So I got a Pixel 5. When it arrived, the frustration I went through with the previous purchase from another vendor, it just made my day! This vendor sent a beautiful mint condition Pixel 5 that after testing, exceeded my expectations. Not a scratch, everything works, & most surprisingly, a battery that holds a full charge! Thank you!