Tag: Android Security Update

Following in the footsteps of Verizon from last week, T-Mobile has released the Android Oreo update for the Moto Z2 Force on their network.  The update, which is just shy of 1GB in size, brings all of the goodness of Oreo to the 2017 flagship device as well as the December Android Security Update.  The new build, like Verizon, is ODX27.

With the size of this update, you will need to download it via WiFi and will need to have 80% battery life on your phone before you can install it.  The install process will take about 10-15 minutes after it is downloaded.

OnePlus has begun the process of rolling out an update to their OxygenOS Android variant to their 2017 flagship phone, the OnePlus 5T.  The updates build of OxygenOS is 4.7.6 and in normal OnePlus fashion, is slowing going out to a select number of users today with a broader deployment happening over the course of the next few days.

The update is still based on Android Nougat 7.1.1 so for those hoping this would bring Oreo to the flagship, you have to still wait a bit.  OxygenOS 5.0 is in beta with an early 2018 release expected.  This 4.7.6 update brings a lot of fixes to the camera, other system improvements as well as the December Android Security Update patch for the device.

The venerable Samsung Galaxy Note 5 keeps on keeping on.  Samsung today has released an update for the 2015 phablet that brings the December Android Security Update to the phone.

The new update is build NRD90M.N920GDDS3CQL4 for those keeping score at home and it is aimed at the unlocked variants of the Note 5.  It is a very small update, coming in at 17MB.  That means that this update is essentially only the December Android Security Update.

T-Mobile customers who are carrying the Samsung Galaxy S8 or S8 Plus, there is a new software update that has been released for you.  The update brings the December Android Security Update to the devices but nothing else is mentioned in the release notes by T-Mobile.  It likely contains some performance fixes and bug fixes, especially given the size of the update files.

For the Galaxy S8, your new build is G950USQS2BQL1 and is 130.66MB in size.  For S8 Plus owners, you are getting build G955USQS2BQL1 and it is slightly smaller at 127.11MB.  The updates have been released by T-Mobile so you should start seeing the OTA updates for them as soon as today.

Good news this morning for those of you who have an unlocked Essential Phone.  The company has begun rolling out an update that brings the December Android Security Update to the device.  It will make Essential one of the first beyond Google themselves to get the December update out to end users.

The update is build NMJ51B for those keeping score at home and, based on Essential’s twitter post about the update, it appears that the update contains only this security patch.

We’re currently rolling out a software update (build NMJ51B) with December security patches.

— Essential (@essential) December 5, 2017

It is possible (likely) that there are some other minor updates in the build but clearly the main focus is on the December security update.

The Google Pixel 2 lineup, particularly the XL, have had a raft of user complaints about the displays on the devices.  The two chief complaints have been around the color saturation and “burn-in” on the screen, particularly with the navigation keys on the screen.  For their part, Google has rightfully explained that some of the issues are related to the P-OLED display that is used on the Pixel 2 XL but committed to having updates out for the lineup to address those issues.

Those updates are a part of the November Android Security Update which was released yesterday.  In amongst those updates, there are two specific items for the phone that address these items.  First, there is now a new color saturation setting in the Display settings of the device.  Now you have the option to select “Saturated” to enhance the color vibrance.  This should help enhance the colors on the phone, particularly the XL model where the complaints have been the loudest.