In the days leading up to major phone releases, we typically hear many reports of customers getting their devices early, which leads all of us to jealousy. However, that’s not always the case; backorders, shipping delays, and even extreme weather can be a factor in determining when you’ll get your hands on the newest bit of tech. Samsung has started shipping Galaxy S25 pre-orders ahead of schedule, and tracking numbers show that some people will be receiving their phones almost a week ahead of its launch date on February 7. However, depending on which phone carrier that customers are planning to activate their Galaxy S25 Ultra on, people might have to wait to activate their shiny new product until the phone’s actual release date.
Xfinity Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile are two of the more well-known MVNOs on the market, but for customers who have gotten their hands on their Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultras early, they’re out of luck. Multiple users on the Samsung Subreddit are claiming that they can’t activate their phones until February 5 or later (via Android Authority). According to the original poster, Xfinity Mobile’s customer service representatives told them that the Galaxy S25 Ultra SKU has yet to be added to the MVNO’s system, which is causing the delay. Another user commented that they are having the same issue on Metro’s network, and discussions seemed to dictate that a subroot of the issue stems from using eSIM cards; customers with physical SIM cards seem to be unaffected by any delay.
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Galaxy S25 anticipation is lukewarm
While this issue is no doubt frustrating for the people that use Xfinity Mobile or Metro, this is not the general experience of people that have received their new Samsung phones early. There are some promising Galaxy AI features on all three Galaxy S25 models, more background updates, better processors, and more RAM. However, there are plenty of reasons not to upgrade, too; Samsung’s QI2 support is half-hearted, there are no major changes to the cameras, and the designs are much the same as previous iterations.
Truthfully, we’ve been quite critical of a lot of Samsung’s decision-making with the Galaxy S25 series. We wouldn’t suggest buying a Galaxy S25+ if you already have a modern Samsung phone, and we’re not giving Samsung a pass for the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s poor battery life. In general, it’s more of the same. If you’re in desperate need of a new Samsung phone, however, and you don’t care about the Galaxy S25’s boring color lineup, you can unlock a $900+ discount on the Galaxy S25 Ultra and get a free pair of Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, too, by trading in your old phone.
