Category: Samsung Galaxy Note 5

While everyone’s attention this week has been focused on the events at Mobile World Congress, Verizon rolled out a bunch of updates to Samsung devices and a few Moto devices on their network.  The majority of the updates are focused on bringing the February Android Security Update to the Samsung devices as well as other minor tweaks and updates.  The Moto Z devices are getting the December patch.

Here is the rundown of the phones that Verizon updated this week along with the new build numbers.  I’ve linked to the release notes for each build that the carrier has published.

• Galaxy S8: NRD90M.G950USQS2BRB1
• Galaxy S8+: NRD90M.G955USQS2BRB1
• Galaxy Note 8: NMF26X.N950USQS3BRB1
• Galaxy S6: NRD90M.G920VVRS4DRB1
• Galaxy S6 Edge: NRD90M.G925VVRS4DRB1
• Galaxy S6 Edge+: NRD90M.G928VVRS3CRB2
• Galaxy Note 5: NRD90M.N920VVRS3CRB2
• Moto Z Play: NDNS26.118-23-12-7-1
• Moto Z2 Play: NDSS26.118-23-19-3

In all cases, the updates have been released and should be landing on their respective devices via an OTA update this week.

While the Android Oreo update is in the process of rolling out to the Samsung Galaxy S8 lineup, and is confirmed for the S7 series, there have been rumors to suggest that the 2016 Galaxy S6 series would also be getting the update.  Samsung, for their part, have not indicated one way or the other but thanks to T-Mobile, it looks like the S6 lineup along with the Note 5 will be getting updated.

Over the weekend, T-Mobile updated the support page for the Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+ and the Note 5.  The update is titled Phase: Complete: Version 8.0 Oreo with the following statement:

T-Mobile and the device manufacturer have agreed to support a new software update.

This is the most clear indication yet that the S6’s and Note 5 are going to get updated to Android Oreo.

If you are a T-Mobile subscriber and have a Samsung Galaxy Note 5, there is a minor update rolling out that should hit your phone this week.  The update is build N920TUVS4EQG1 for those keeping score and weighs in at only 25MB.  The hint of the type of update is in the size of the install package.  At 25MB, this is addressing minor bugs and issues with the phone and isn’t going to be uplifting big changes.

This is also backed up by the vague release notes from T-Mobile on the update.  They only list “various system improvements” in those notes.

T-Mobile has joined the list of carriers that have officially released the Android Nougat 7.0 update for the Samsung Galaxy Note 7.  The update was announced last week but will start rolling out to the two year old phablet starting today.  The update will bring the Nougat update and all the greatness it includes to the device as well as the March 2017 Android Security update.  For those who need a reminder, Nougat includes things like multi-window viewing of apps, improved Doze and lots of other features.  Here is a summary of the highlights.

This update will take about 15-20 min to download and install.  It is best to download the update via Wi-Fi as it is over a 1GB download.  Once it is downloaded, you will need to reboot your device after the install.

With the March Android Security Update rolling out, February’s update is just now being rolled out by AT&T to some Samsung devices.  The update for the Galaxy Note 4, Note 5 and S5 Active are just now hitting customers. The updates themselves are quite small, under 200MB, and only contain the security update changes & fixes.  To put things into perspective, T-Mobile released the February Android Security Update for the Note 5 on their network on February 1st, the day the patch was released.

The challenge of upgrades and security patches is a well trodden road that we don’t need to visit yet again.  But it speaks volumes of the problem facing the platform when one carrier is releasing a security patch some 5 weeks after it was originally released.

Samsung Galaxy Note 5

The update for these devices shouldn’t take long to download given their size.  Once you have the download completed, your will need to reboot your device to apply the update which, all in, should take about 20 minutes to get done.  For reference, the build numbers for the updates are as follows:

• Galaxy Note 4 – MMB29M.N910AUCS2EPK4
• Galaxy Note 5 – MMB29K.N920AUCS4CQB2
• Galaxy S5 Active  – MMB29M.G870AUCS2DPK5

Unless you just absolutely have to do so, I strongly encourage readers to avoid carrier locked devices from any carrier.  Updates tend to be much slower from carriers while unlocked devices from manufactures, as a general rule, will get updates faster.  That doesn’t always hold 100% true but close enough.  Obviously devices from Google like the Pixel and Nexus phones get updates the quickest.

Readers who own the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 on the AT&T network have a nice surprise waiting for them this morning.  The carrier has rolled out the July 1st Android Security Update to the device in what must be record time.  The update, a 22.6MB sized download, will give your Note 5 all of the security fixes and improvements from the first security patch released this month by the Android team.  Remember that there were two patches this month, one dated July 1 and the other July 5.  In the Release Notes, according to the Kernel version, this patch was compiled on July 4 so it will not have any of the fixes or driver updates that were in the 2nd patch.  Those, likely, will be rolled up into an August update for the Galaxy Note 5 on the carrier’s network.