Tag: Android Security 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.

For those who have the ZTE Axon 7, you have a new update rolling out to you that brings a lot of improvements.  The update has just been released so it will take a few days to get to everyone.  Once you have it, you will have the August 2017 Android Security Update on your device along with multi user support amongst other improvements.

The multi user feature allows you to setup user profiles and those individuals can use the phone.  This sounds very similar to the way native Android setups multiple users.   You will also find that the Hiya app that ZTE uses for blocking spam calls has been moved to the Google Play Store for future updates.

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 readers who have the either the Samsung Galaxy S7 or the S7 Edge on AT&T, there is a new update heading your way starting today.  The update brings the June Android Security update to both devices.  The update follows a similar update from Sprint and T-Mobile for the phones on their networks.  It does not bring any significant new features and it remains on Android Nougat 7.0.

For the AT&T Galaxy S7, you are looking for build G930AUCU4BQF3 while on the Galaxy S7 Edge, build G935AUCU4BQF3 is your flavor of the day.  The updates are about 300MB in size, so not huge but certainly one you will want to download while you are on Wi-Fi just to make it all a bit faster process.

Yesterday, T-Mobile started rolling out the June Android Security update to the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge on their network.  Today, Sprint has followed suit.  The update is build G930PVPU4BQF3 for the Galaxy S7 while the S7 Edge will be getting build G935PVPU4BQF3.  The update for either device comes in at just under 300MB in size and it is recommended that it be downloaded via Wi-Fi and that you have at 50% of battery left prior to trying to install it.

The release notes for the updates are somewhat generic in describing what is addressed.  The security is improved thank to the new Android Security patch level but there are also “device stability & improvements”.  There are also performance improvements but again, not specific is called out.  This is similar to the T-Mobile release yesterday which just indicated “various system improvements”.