Category: Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus

Samsung has finally started allowing the Bixby button on the S8 lineup and the new Note8 to be disabled… well, partially at least.  Bixby is Samsung’s assistant built into these phones and one of the biggest complaints about the Galaxy S8 lineup when it was released this summer was the fact that the dedicated hardware button for the assistant could not be disabled or remapped (to say Google Assistant).  Samsung stood by their decision and despite numerous hacks to get around this (which Samsung subsequently closed with software updates), pretty much forced the issue with users.  Until this past weekend.

A small software update for the Galaxy S8, S8 Plus and Note8 is allowing the button to be partially disabled.  In the Bixby settings, you can disable to button although it will still fire up if you long press the button.  The software update does not allow for remapping of the button.

Good news this morning for those of you who have a Samsung Galaxy S8 or S8 Plus on the AT&T network.  A new update is rolling out for both devices that brings Google’s Daydream VR support to both phones.

The update for the Galaxy S8 is G950USQU1AQGL while for the S8 Plus, you will get update G955USQU1AQGL.  These updates not only bring support for the Virtual Reality solution from Google, but also brings the August Android Security update along with several other bug fixes and patches.

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.

Sprint has released the June Android Security Update on their network for the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus.  The updates are 250MB in size and mostly consist of the security update but also have a few other minor performance improvements too.  For the S8, you are looking for build G950USQU1AQFJ while the S8 Plus will be getting version G955USQU1AQFJ.  The update is rollin g out now and should hit all devices over the course of the next week.

Along with the security updates, there are fixes for the Find My Mobile app as well as an LTE Roaming fix and a SMS fix for “(/5)OK”.

For those who have been waiting for the unlocked variant of the Samsung Galaxy S8 or S8+, you can now get your order in at Samsung’s website.  The company is offering both devices unlocked with a nice package of goodies along with it.  Orders are being taken now with shipments happening by May 30th.  Regardless of which one you order, Samsung is making an entertainment kit available for free with purchase that includes a standing case, a SanDisk 64GB MicroSD card and six free months of Netflix.

If you want a Galaxy S8, the outright purchase price is $724.99 while the S8+ is $100 more at $824.99.  Qualified buyers can apply for financing from Samsung which $30.21 per month for 24 months for the S8.  For the S8+, the monthly payment is $34.38.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus may have only been released last week but they are already receiving updates from carriers here in the United States that carry them.  AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon all have released updates to the new flagship devices which should be hitting those who own the phone via an OTA update over the course of the next few days.  The update is about 300MB in size across all of the carriers.

All of the updates contain the April 2017 Android Security update as well as baseband updates for each of the carriers.  These two reasons alone make this a must have download as it assures the security of the device as well assuring it will work optimally with your carrier of choice.  This update also addresses general performance improvements around the display and fixes some known bugs with the software.