Galaxy Z Fold7/Flip7

[NeonNights]

Got the Fold6 back! I called ahead to confirm repairs were done and they said the phone was ready for pickup. Once I got there it took an hour wait for them to start and finish the validation step. I don’t know why they didn't complete it before I arrived. I am not too upset about it though and give the team at uBreakiFix a lot of credit for their patience and calm demeanor with customers. They genuinely want to help everyone and dole out good advice and alternative solutions for folks in a jam.

As for the Fold6, they replaced the inner screen, and I believe also replaced the metal frames and hinge cover. I know this because my old hinge had a nick on it but all edges of the phone now look brand new with protective tape that still needed removal. Overall, I'm super happy with the service and quick turnaround (9 total hours).

While temporarily using an old 6.3" Note8, I realized I will stick with a foldable and not entertain the idea of going to an S25 Ultra. The Fold6 front cover display is actually the same size as the Note8 slab phone, and the Fold7 front cover is even bigger. While at the uBreakiFix store I stared at a bunch of S24U and S25U phone cases and they all looked comically oversized and super wide than what I'm accustomed to. I know with 21:9 content there's not much size difference between what you see on a slab phone versus a foldable, but for everything else the foldable inner screen offers a more expansive view. I also prefer the easier one-hand use of a foldable. The battery life of the Fold6/Fold7 doesn’t bother me since it still gets me through a full day. The biggest sacrifice is losing the excellent camera array from the S25 Ultra.

 

[Bkdodger]

Got the Fold6 back! I called ahead to confirm repairs were done and they said the phone was ready for pickup. Once I got there it took an hour wait for them to start and finish the validation step. I don’t know why they didn't complete it before I arrived. I am not too upset about it though and give the team at uBreakiFix a lot of credit for their patience and calm demeanor with customers. They genuinely want to help everyone and dole out good advice and alternative solutions for folks in a jam.

As for the Fold6, they replaced the inner screen, and I believe also replaced the metal frames and hinge cover. I know this because my old hinge had a nick on it but all edges of the phone now look brand new with protective tape that still needed removal. Overall, I'm super happy with the service and quick turnaround (9 total hours).

While temporarily using an old 6.3" Note8, I realized I will stick with a foldable and not entertain the idea of going to an S25 Ultra. The Fold6 front cover display is actually the same size as the Note8 slab phone, and the Fold7 front cover is even bigger. While at the uBreakiFix store I stared at a bunch of S24U and S25U phone cases and they all looked comically oversized and super wide than what I'm accustomed to. I know with 21:9 content there's not much size difference between what you see on a slab phone versus a foldable, but for everything else the foldable inner screen offers a more expansive view. I also prefer the easier one-hand use of a foldable. The battery life of the Fold6/Fold7 doesn’t bother me since it still gets me through a full day. The biggest sacrifice is losing the excellent camera array from the S25 Ultra.

Excellent news I'm happy you have a great review and experience with your repair and hopefully your phone serves you well the rest of the way. I'm there with you I think the S25U is an excellent phone but the size of the screen on the go I prefer the foldable as well as carrying the phone daily it's so easy and convenient and comfortable in the hand. I'm simple when it comes to cameras so I'm not really missing anything that I can't get a good photo of with my ZF7. Both phones are excellent options and it's really coming down to individual preference.

 

[Cuesca]

Encountered my first problem with the Fold 7 today, woke up today to a dead battery after leaving it on the charger. It's a Belkin wireless charger and its the only one where the phone was incredibly hot while charging, so it might just be the charger. No idea why it drains the battery instead of charging. The same charger also caused a shutdown a few days earlier. Bought an official Samsung charger to see if that would fix it.

 

[Ludatyk]

While temporarily using an old 6.3" Note8, I realized I will stick with a foldable and not entertain the idea of going to an S25 Ultra. The Fold6 front cover display is actually the same size as the Note8 slab phone, and the Fold7 front cover is even bigger. While at the uBreakiFix store I stared at a bunch of S24U and S25U phone cases and they all looked comically oversized and super wide than what I'm accustomed to. I know with 21:9 content there's not much size difference between what you see on a slab phone versus a foldable, but for everything else the foldable inner screen offers a more expansive view. I also prefer the easier one-hand use of a foldable. The battery life of the Fold6/Fold7 doesn’t bother me since it still gets me through a full day. The biggest sacrifice is losing the excellent camera array from the S25 Ultra.

Good thing everything went smoothly! So... is this you preparing for a trade-in for the ZF7? lol

 

[Bkdodger]

Encountered my first problem with the Fold 7 today, woke up today to a dead battery after leaving it on the charger. It's a Belkin wireless charger and its the only one where the phone was incredibly hot while charging, so it might just be the charger. No idea why it drains the battery instead of charging. The same charger also caused a shutdown a few days earlier. Bought an official Samsung charger to see if that would fix it.

Last night I had my phone on a wireless stand which I normally don't use in my bedroom and I noticed this morning it was not charging as it just did not connect to you back or it must have slipped a little bit away from it..

 

[mjschabow]

Encountered my first problem with the Fold 7 today, woke up today to a dead battery after leaving it on the charger. It's a Belkin wireless charger and its the only one where the phone was incredibly hot while charging, so it might just be the charger. No idea why it drains the battery instead of charging. The same charger also caused a shutdown a few days earlier. Bought an official Samsung charger to see if that would fix it.

I actually think I had a lemon, or maybe Smart Switch kind of killed it. I had trouble with Android Auto freezing, the phone getting really hot, etc. If it's Smart Switch that did it, that's actually kind of unacceptable that in 2025, an app to set up a new device causes that many issues.

 

[Cuesca]

I actually think I had a lemon, or maybe Smart Switch kind of killed it. I had trouble with Android Auto freezing, the phone getting really hot, etc. If it's Smart Switch that did it, that's actually kind of unacceptable that in 2025, an app to set up a new device causes that many issues.

I never used Smart Switch I just transfered all of my pictures/files to my Mac Mini then transfer them all to the new phone then just exported my contact list. The issues never started until I got this new charger in, hopefully its fixed with the Samsung official charger.

 

[NeonNights]

Good thing everything went smoothly! So... is this you preparing for a trade-in for the ZF7? lol

LOL. As they say, anything is possible.

The Fold6 feels literally like a new phone again so I'm in no hurry, but I continue to monitor for Fold7 deals.

 

[NeonNights]

@Ludatyk, am I remembering correctly that you go caseless and just rely on insurance?

I am considering the same since a lot of these new cases are much more expensive than in the past. Ninety dollars for a Thinborne?!?! Come on! It has less material but costs more. At least there's a 30% coupon code for that, but still pricier than past phone cases.

Anyways, my point is these cases are getting close to the cost of insurance deductible, so might as well forgo the case. Does caseless make you even more careful with the phone? I still worry for the unexpected accidents, such as this particular pair of shorts I have where the pockets will push out the phone when I sit down -- learned that the hard way when my phone fell out of the car (but with a case on at the time).

 

[HouseLannister]

Does caseless make you even more careful with the phone?

In general I go for very thin cases or skins because caseless makes me paranoid about putting down my phone on hard surfaces. I have gone caseless many times, but I have mental hangups about getting scuffs and scratches and find myself unfolding a microfiber cloth to put on the desk or using a deskpad under my keyboard so I have lots of nice soft surfaces for my phone. (I am also that weirdo that parks their car away from other cars even if it means a longer walk, and I own a 2011 Prius, so it's not a nice car or anything.) Just easier to get a dbrand skin and not worry about that kind of stuff.

 

[Ludatyk]

@Ludatyk, am I remembering correctly that you go caseless and just rely on insurance?

Yeah, I prefer how the device feel in hand without the case. And having the luxury of insurance make it possible, if I didn't have it... then I'd certainly snap a case on it.

I am considering the same since a lot of these new cases are much more expensive than in the past. Ninety dollars for a Thinborne?!?! Come on! It has less material but costs more. At least there's a 30% coupon code for that, but still pricier than past phone cases.

I went the AliExpress route... paid $35 for it. Only use the back portion of it since I don't like how the top part of the case interferes with gestures (maybe it's just me), but more than anything it's for MagSafe support.

Anyways, my point is these cases are getting close to the cost of insurance deductible, so might as well forgo the case. Does caseless make you even more careful with the phone?

Not necessarily, I'm still cautious regardless for the simple fact I don't wanna deal with repairs lol. Plus I'm not a case kind of person anyways, I didn't have one with the Fold 2 and 4... but decided to grab one of those thin cases for MagSafe support.

 

[NeonNights]

In general I go for very thin cases or skins because caseless makes me paranoid about putting down my phone on hard surfaces. I have gone caseless many times, but I have mental hangups about getting scuffs and scratches and find myself unfolding a microfiber cloth to put on the desk or using a deskpad under my keyboard so I have lots of nice soft surfaces for my phone. (I am also that weirdo that parks their car away from other cars even if it means a longer walk, and I own a 2011 Prius, so it's not a nice car or anything.) Just easier to get a dbrand skin and not worry about that kind of stuff.

Ditto.

And without fail, someone will still think my car needs companionship. I would vent to my wife with the following photos.

 

[NeonNights]

Yeah, I prefer how the device feel in hand without the case. And having the luxury of insurance make it possible, if I didn't have it... then I'd certainly snap a case on it.


I went the AliExpress route... paid $35 for it. Only use the back portion of it since I don't like how the top part of the case interferes with gestures (maybe it's just me), but more than anything it's for MagSafe support.


Not necessarily, I'm still cautious regardless for the simple fact I don't wanna deal with repairs lol. Plus I'm not a case kind of person anyways, I didn't have one with the Fold 2 and 4... but decided to grab one of those thin cases for MagSafe support.

Ah, good point, I forgot about MagSafe...

No issue with AliExpress? I've never ordered from there out of paranoia. Rakuten took over Ebates and I do use it occasionally, but I remember when Rakuten was new many years ago and their website design was very risky to use and would pre-populate other people's credit card info when I tried to checkout.

 

[Ludatyk]

Ah, good point, I forgot about MagSafe...

No issue with AliExpress? I've never ordered from there out of paranoia. Rakuten took over Ebates and I do use it occasionally, but I remember when Rakuten was new many years ago and their website design was very risky to use and would pre-populate other people's credit card info when I tried to checkout.

I use PayPal when purchasing through AliExpress... minor issue comes with shipment, because how annoying tracking can be since it has to be imported. Kind of makes it clunky to keep track of it... but I have bought plenty of watch bands from them, stands and cables.

 

[SteveJUAE]

I actually think I had a lemon, or maybe Smart Switch kind of killed it. I had trouble with Android Auto freezing, the phone getting really hot, etc. If it's Smart Switch that did it, that's actually kind of unacceptable that in 2025, an app to set up a new device causes that many issues.

Never had issues with smart switch, if anything its only got better over the years

Not that I use android auto but again no issues it connects fine, but my car is relatively new

 

[lyunmac]

Never had issues with smart switch, if anything its only got better over the years

Not that I use android auto but again no issues it connects fine, but my car is relatively new

I never used Smart Switch until this year when I realized I could copy all my texts among my Galaxy devices without having to wipe the phones when I swap SIMS.

 

[NeonNights]

Not sure if it's my imagination but my inner screen replacement seems brighter than my previous one, even on auto brightness.

 

[M5RahuL]

I actually think I had a lemon, or maybe Smart Switch kind of killed it. I had trouble with Android Auto freezing, the phone getting really hot, etc. If it's Smart Switch that did it, that's actually kind of unacceptable that in 2025, an app to set up a new device causes that many issues.

Interesting.. Got a F7 last week and used smart switch .. Been experiencing random freezes, device getting hot and the SOT sucks... Bought it unlocked from the Samsung experience store here in Dallas. I've been using smart switch between my Notes, Ultras and Folds for a few years with no issues...yet!

 

[M5RahuL]

Ditto.

And without fail, someone will still think my car needs companionship. I would vent to my wife with the following photos.

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That's ALWAYS the case with me as well.. No matter how far I park, someone will park next to mine!! Used to really irk me years back (especially when I bought my first ever M5 ) but..whattaya gonna do!

 

[M5RahuL]

Is anyone else seeing high RAM usage on their F7 ? My S24U, S25U and F6 hover around 5.xx normally, but the F7 stays around 7.xx. All these devices are set up identical

 

[HouseLannister]

All these devices are set up identical

Hmmm? They’re all on Android 16?

 

[M5RahuL]

Hmmm? They’re all on Android 16?

Good catch.. But the S25U is..(albeit beta)

 

[mjschabow]

Interesting.. Got a F7 last week and used smart switch .. Been experiencing random freezes, device getting hot and the SOT sucks... Bought it unlocked from the Samsung experience store here in Dallas. I've been using smart switch between my Notes, Ultras and Folds for a few years with no issues...yet!

Yep. It's actually kind of soured me on Android a bit, which sucks because I've been completely content with my S25 Ultra. Wish I never tried this phone because now I'm sitting here knowing that the iOS process is seamlessly and Samsung can't handle it.