Category: Android Security Update

Google has released the September 2017 Android Security Update for supported devices.  The update, as has been the norm for a while now, comes in the form of two updates.  The first update, dated September 1st, contains 33 specific updates for vulnerabilities all the way back to Android 4.4.  Of those 33, ten are marked as critical fixes.

The second patch, dated September 5th, contains a whooping 51 updates, three of which are marked as critical patches.  The second update is more driver or component specific fixes while the first patch is general Android system fixes that all devices will see.  All of the Google supported devices will receive the September 5th update.

Yes, you read that headline correctly.  The Nokia 5, the mid-range phone from parent company HMD Global, has the September 2017 Android Security Update rolling out to it today.  The update is just over 140MB in size and is primarily a security and patch update so don’t expect to see much in the way of new features.

For those that don’t recall, the Nokia 5 is a 5.2″ phone with a Snapdragon 430 SoC, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage (expandable to 256GB with the MicroSD slot), 13MP camera and a 3000mAh battery.  The phone was released in July primarily in Europe.  You can pick one up on Amazon for $319 but you will have limited LTE support here in the US.

With today being the first Monday in the first full week of August, it was expected that Google would be releasing the August Android Security Updates today.  Like clockwork, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific this morning, the updates were launched on the Android developer website and now OTA updates for compatible Nexus and Pixel devices are available.

As has become the standard practice on the Android Security Updates each month, the August update consists of two patches.  The first one, August 1st, is for general issues and fixes for Android.  There are 29 different patches or fixes in this update with ten of those updates being marked as critical updates.  Most of the fixes are to patch potential exploits for remote code execution and elevation of privileges within different parts of the Android platform.

Good news this morning for those of you who have the unlocked variant of the Samsung Galaxy S8 or S8+.  The July Android Security Update patch is currently rolling out to these devices along with a handful of other improvements to the phones.  The update was release Friday by Samsung and comes after several carriers released the update already to the devices on their networks.  If you have the unlocked version of either phone, you should see the update at some point this week.

For reference, the Galaxy S8 will be receiving firmware G950U1UEU1AQG2 while the S8+ will see build G955U1UEU1AQG2.  Both updates bring the July security patch but also brings improvements to the camera as well as a new ability to hide the navigation bar on the device.

Good news this morning for those of you who have a Samsung Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge on T-Mobile.  The carrier is now rolling out the July Android Security Update to these devices and it should be hitting yours sometime this week.  The updates are small, just over 50MB for each of the devices, and mostly focus on brining the July 2017 update to the devices.  There are a few minor fixes and improvements too but the security patch is the big news.

For those with a Galaxy S6, you are looking for version G920TUVS5FQG1 while the S6 Edge will be getting version G925TUVS5FQG1.  Both of these devices received the Android Nougat 7.0 update from the carrier last month.

There is a new update for the Huawei P10 that is rolling out now to device owners.  The update is for both the dual-SIM and single-SIM variants of the phone and it brings an updated security patch and other performance improvements.  The update is VTR-L09C432B150 or VTR-L19C432B150 depending on which variant you have in hand.  The builds are identical in updates and are about 270MB in size.

The update includes several improvements to the device including improvements to the camera app for more natural colors and adds a Moving picture feature which creates a small movie from your photo.  There are also battery performance improvements in this update, especially for times when you use your phone over a long period.