Samsung Galaxy A10 used and refurbished

The Galaxy A10 is a simple 2019 smartphone that doesn't pretend to be more than it is. It has a 6.2-inch screen with a small V-shaped notch, a light plastic body, a single rear camera and a 3400 mAh battery. For calls, texts, WhatsApp and checking bus and train times, it's all you need.

At SWOPiFY you'll find used and refurbished Samsung Galaxy A10 phones – the model came in a 32 GB version, in black, blue, red and gold. Before any phone is listed, SWOPiFY partners check it, and if something isn't working as it should, they send it to a repair centre first.

What can the Galaxy A10 do?

The IPS screen has HD+ resolution, or 720 × 1520 pixels. That's enough for reading messages, browsing and short videos, although small text isn't as sharp as on Full HD displays. Sound comes from a single speaker. Series are more comfortable to watch with headphones, and you can plug them in without an adapter, because the 3.5 mm jack is still there.

The front is glass, while the back and frame are plastic. The phone weighs 168 g and has no water-resistance rating. You won't find a fingerprint reader either – you unlock the screen with a PIN, pattern or password. The Galaxy A10 has no NFC, so contactless payments with the phone are out.

Processor, cameras and battery

Inside is an octa-core Exynos 7884 with 2 GB of RAM. Messaging apps, email, internet radio and maps work, but with several apps open the phone slows down noticeably, and new 3D games are too heavy for it. On the back there's a single 13 MP camera with autofocus and an LED flash. In good light, photos for Messenger or the family album turn out fine; after dark, quality drops quickly. The 5 MP front camera handles selfies and video calls.

The battery is 3400 mAh. With calls, messages and a bit of browsing, it usually makes it to the evening. You charge the phone through a microUSB port, not USB-C, so check that you have a cable with the right plug at home. There's no wireless charging.

What should you look out for before buying?

The built-in storage is just 32 GB, and it's the slower eMMC type. The system takes up a good share of it, leaving little room for photos and apps. The saving grace is a dedicated microSD slot – you don't have to choose between a memory card and a second number. There's FM radio too.

The Galaxy A10 no longer gets updates. It stopped at Android 11 with One UI 3, and in May 2023 Samsung ended security patches for it. New vulnerabilities won't be fixed, and some apps, banking ones included, may stop working on it over time. It's best suited to being a backup phone, a child's first phone or a simple phone for calls for an older person – without logging into the bank. If you want a fingerprint reader and a bigger battery, look at the Galaxy A10s.

You can filter Galaxy A10 phones by:

• storage – 32 GB;
• RAM – usually 2 GB;
• colour;
• price range;
• condition.

All units have the same amount of storage, so really you're only choosing condition and colour. Get a microSD card for a phone like this straight away. Even a small card will stop photos and voice recordings from clogging up the storage after a few weeks.

What does the technical check involve?

Before a Galaxy A10 goes on sale as refurbished, it goes through a 44-point checklist, including:

• screen – touch response, brightness, dead pixels and the condition of the glass;
• battery – cell health and physical condition;
• the 13 MP rear camera and the front selfie camera;
• connectivity – Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and mobile network;
• SIM and microSD card detection;
• 3.5 mm headphone jack and microUSB port;
• speaker, microphone and side buttons.

Can you trust a refurbished Galaxy A10?

A refurbished Samsung Galaxy A10 from SWOPiFY is a used phone. SWOPiFY partners have checked it, and if it needed repairs, it got them before being listed. We don't pass it off as new and never suggest that it is.

Every purchase is covered by a warranty. The appearance and battery health of each unit are described by one of four grades: Premium, Excellent, Good or Fair. For a phone that will sit in a drawer just in case, a cheaper unit with scratches on the casing is often perfectly fine.

Got an old smartphone you no longer use?

Hand it over through the buy-back programme, and its valuation will lower the amount you pay for your next phone. You don't waste time on ads and haggling, and a device that was gathering dust can still be useful to someone.

Have a look at the Galaxy A10 phones and pick the one whose condition best fits what you need it for.