BUYER BEWARE!. Counterfeit Samsung S22 Ultra phones on Ebay
Summary: The discussion titled 'BUYER BEWARE!. Counterfeit Samsung S22 Ultra phones on Ebay' revolves around concerns about counterfeit phones being sold on eBay. A participant, sunny_world11, shared their experience with a phone they purchased, noting that while features like the camera and SPen Air action worked well, there was an issue with the screen having rounded corners, prompting them to question whether the front screen had been replaced. The thread features several responses, but most posts contain no additional content.
Dear Buyers BEWARE! If you plan to buy a "NEW" Samsung S22 (or other models) on Ebay!
My story: I wanted to upgrade my S21 FE phone to a S22 Ultra to have a great phone which would be reasonably priced and a phone that will work Internationally and has ESIM capability. The S22 Ultra model, I wanted , originally sold for $1299 when launched in 2022. I saw dozens of sellers on Ebay that are selling "NEW SEALED FACTORY UNLOCKED" models for around $350 and I decided to buy one.
I bought my phone from someone who had 100% feedback. I filtered the search to only include phones sold in North America. After ordering the phone, the tracking number showed DHL and then transferred to USPS. This was the first "Red Flag" because I presumed the phone was located in the USA. I now realize that even if the seller is claiming to be a US seller, you must first click on their Ebay ID and then click on "About" and you will see the country where the seller is located. Most of the sellers of these fake phones are located in China/ Hong Kong.
I did receive the phone in quickly. The outer shipping box had a sticker on it with 256 and some Chinese Characters which translated to "Wine". I did order the 256GB version in "burgundy" color. On the sticker was also "made in China". This is a "Super Red Flag" since Samsung pulled ALL phone manufacturing from China in 2019 (3 years before this phone was launched)
I still opened up the box and examined the phone. The Samsung phone box looked legit and was sealed and wrapped in cellophane. I "googled" if Samsung wrapped their phone boxes in cellophane and AI responded as NO because Samsung in environmentally responsible. What is funny is that other buyers were elated that the phone box came wrapped in cellophane since that provided confidence that the phone was factory fresh, but that should be a "red flag"
I powered on the phone and got the welcome screen and a QR code that I could scan with my old S21 FE to transfer files. The counterfeit phone was able to connect to my WiFi, but not able to find my internet. At that point I decided to stop trying to transfer files.
I went to the phone keypad and dialed *#06# and the phone displayed its IMEI number which agreed to the sticker on the box. I searched for the IMEI number on an IMEI Checker website and the phone was not "blacklisted", but it is easy to clone an IMEI number of an existing number that will pass this check.
I then entered the code *#0*# and the phone did not respond (you must make sure Autoblocker is turned off in the phone's settings to run this code) The *#0*# is supposed to open a Samsung diagnostic menu that allows many items to be tested, but the counterfeit phone did not respond. Some counterfeit phones may respond to this code, but the individual tests won't work.
Since I was in the phone keypad menu, the most glaring problem is that the AMOLED screen on the counterfeit phone had rounded corners, but the REAL phone (see attached picture below) will illuminate to show square corners. The rounded corners are only on the S22 and s22+ not the S22 ultra. Perhaps some counterfeits may have the square corner display, so you have to look at many things that are odd when determining if the phone is legit.
I then went to the "settings" menu and to the "About phone" entry. The software version was Android 14 and some of the other software was updated in 2024. There is NO WAY that an advertised "NEW, SEALED" S22 phone should have anything but Android 12 installed. Even the S23 phones were released with only Android 13, not Android 14 that was on my counterfeit phone! It is funny how uneducated buyers compliment and provide positive feedback because the phone came with updated software, not realizing that should be a red flag showing that this is not a new (older model) phone from a SAMSUNG FACTORY....it is a new phone from a Chinese Factory, with likely inferior parts.
There are many articles on the Internet that warn that a phone made in China can have malware installed that may compromise your sensitive information. While China assembles millions of iPhones, Apples does not let China load the software onto the phones.
After returning the counterfeit phone for a refund, I contacted other sellers of this phone and ask them if the phones they are selling have a square corner AMOLED display, have Android 12 still loaded, etc. The one seller wrote me back and said that they are not sure that their S22 Ultra phone met my requirements and I should look for another seller! My requirements and what any buyer should want, a real S22 Ultra phone manufactured by Samsung (as stated in the ad). If it was not manufactured by Samsung, it is NOT a Samsung phone!
Ebay should aggressively investigate all the sellers of these phones and perhaps contact recent buyers of these phones to have them determine if they want to return them for a refund. I don't trust anyone selling new S22 Ultra phones in the $300 price range. I will now buy and certified refurbished phone from a US seller.
This is a "buyer beware" notification. Many people are happy with their cloned phone purchase. As they say "ignorance is bliss" I would not possess a phone with software from China.
sunny_world11
·2 months agoThank you for sharing, i just bought one made in Vietnam, Camera and SPen Air action are working fine, tested CPU z with snap dragon gen 1 and RAM, including the
*#06# etc...the only thing is the sceen round corner, so what is your thought? did they just replace the front screen?kensgiftshop
·4 months agoThere's a few items I wouldn't buy on Ebay, and a cell phone is one of them.
joeckstro_0
·4 months agoSo here's the thing so I did a search online for the imie and it said it was long to Verizon yet the ad said factory unlocked good for any carrier so I paid for a Sim I paid for service and it only worked for one call and then it won't work it said no service and they said that the phone was locked when I called back. As well as I noticed the battery was draining so fast way quicker than my old Samsung that 5 years old I turned the phone off at about 45%. I turned it on the next day and it was had no power at all so I'm returning it I've already put it in the mail I have a feeling they going to give me a hard time on getting my money back
joeckstro_0
·4 months agoI'm going to say this make sure you look at the seller and see where they're from just because it has an American seller ID make sure you get the address and I know there's all these people giving them for dirt cheap are all from China I don't trust anything from China and then the phones made it Vietnam I don't think they make them there either I thought they're made in Korea or South Korea so I'm just going to go buy me a legitimate phone from authorized retailer in the United States do not buy any high-end phones on eBay you don't know what you're getting can I spent like three or four hours trying to get that phone work
kibble-net
·5 months agoNecro post. This will likely be closed by a forum moderator due to its old age.
wavetech_warehouse
·5 months agoBeen buying Samsung phones off EBay regularly for the last 2 years, as we need various models for testing. Just this month, there are suddenly dozens of Samsung Fold 7 being sold for just 25% of MSRP by seller accounts created in March with 0 feedback. Same for the Samsung S25 Ultra. Listings are identical with no unique photos or a description of the device other than Samsung boilerplate. Totally sus! Ebay will start to care when their site becomes useless due to a flood of such listings generated by bots. This marketplace functions on trust.
gator08041971
·10 months agoPersonally, I have bought many phones on eBay over the years. Hell I just bought one two days ago.
But, I do a lot of research with the seller prior to buying. I have bought Samsung phones in the past, but none recently. For those and Apple, I switched to Amazon. Normally when buying phones from these two places, I'm looking for refurbished and by an established seller with a good history.
Do your research.
The last one I just bought was a Sonim XP10 to use as a spare while getting an exact model that someone has sent in for warranty repair. I also use one myself, been a robust phone. Personally I can't stand Samsung phones anymore, and I avoid Apple products for the most part. Though funny enough, I use an old 6SE to take photos for eBay! lol And the body shop I work for I use a non-cell activated 10R for photos of cars to write estimates from. But I got that so it was compatible with everyone's phone at the shop (they all have Apple)
Anyway.
You can buy from eBay, but you have to research and be smart about your picks. But ultimately its your choice where to buy from. My last two phones were bought from ATT, both were Sonim. The XP8 was 700 new, and the XP10 was 580 new. Now the latest Sonim (if you can find one) is 440? new. They keep getting cheaper! lol
But you can find those two models now ranging from 100-200 on eBay used.
tinsoldierunderground
·10 months agoThose of us who volunteer on these boards regularly counsel against buying phones on this site, if not electronics in general. The too-low price would be my first caveat. With the level of technology in today's phones, as well as cost, I've always found it best to deal with my service provider when I need/want a new phone.
joys-in-the-attic
OP10 months agoYou would think Ebay would jump at stopping this since it is an expensive item, but perhaps they like the revenue those sales generate.
My sister had to remove two Lexus branded rubber cup coasters ( a $10 item) because it violated the "trademark" policy, but crickets from EBay on the dozens of Chinese Ebay sellers of the fake Samsung phones. Some sellers have sold hundreds of these, but the buyers seem to be oblivious to the fact that the phone is fake.
I will leave negative feedback for this seller after I get a refund and I see that they are still selling the phone. I can give them the benefit of the doubt after they told me that their supplier said they were the real thing, but I just pointed out the details to prove they are fake and they should take them down from their site after I alerted them to the problem.
bonanza125
·10 months agoMost people in this community already know the stuff you talk about. Your story is pretty common around here. I don't buy phones on Ebay. You get what you pay for. All we can advise people to do is return the phone for a full refund. This is very important Ebay is not an expert at phones. They rely on you as the buyer to know exactly what you are purchasing and use common sense. If it's too good to be true then it probably isn't. So if you are paying a cheap price especially from China then expect the product to be cheap as well or fake.
12345jamesstamps
·10 months agoYou gave so much information...
Always go to the store where they are sold brand new...with a real MBG on a receipt.
Why buy someone else's problem or junk...
Unavailable member
·10 months agoI never buy ANY tech devices on eBay.
I always purchase from Apple or an authorized local seller.
tobaccocardyahoo
·10 months agoBuying a Samsung from other than a US based Authorized Samsung Reseller is a foolish move.
Ebay does not check the authorization of its sellers to sell Samsung products and only people who are willing to go through the Ebay Money Back Guarantee process should be risking such a purchase. Ebay honors its Guarantee but you get to wait for the return of your money.
Even if you received a genuine phone, your import may not have the same software on it or the same Samsung Guarantee as a product from an authorized reseller who is based in the US.