DealNTech Mobiles, PCs, and All Things Tech
A key reason why people buy Samsung flagships is the software support. For the first year, Samsung promises monthly security patches. The latest flagships get preferential treatment, and the latest Android Betas and stable launches before other models.
It’s monthly patches for the first year or two, then move to bi-monthly patches. Then, it moves to quarterly patches and bi-annual. Since the S23 series just came out this year, it’s still on monthly security patches. Even last year’s S22 series is still on monthly patches.
The One UI 6 Beta program is going well, too, and we’re already on the third beta update. Samsung didn’t join Google’s Beta program in March/ April since Samsung makes its own Android skin and also adds its features on top of Stock Android. They also have their UI aesthetics and must optimize their first-party apps. As a result, One UI Betas are typically late. The Betas began rolling out in select countries in early September.
While the One UI 6 update is coming in about another month, probably in October, we now have the September 2023 security patch (Android 13) for the entire S23 lineup in the US.
However, note that the update is only for carrier-locked versions of the S23 series. It’s only out for carriers like Verizon and other US carrier phones. The update is yet to roll out for factory-unlocked versions and versions that use different network providers.
The firmware versions are S911USQS1AWHD, S916USQS1AWHD, and S918USQS1AWHD. We assume these are the respective version numbers for each model of the S23 series. Samsung still calls it One UI 5.1, and the update is mostly around 240-250MB in size. I
If you have a Verizon/ carrier-locked unit of the S23 lineup, you can download and install the software update right now. First, you’ll have to open the Settings app. Directly open it from your home screen, or you can find it in the App Menu, which you can obtain by swiping up or down on your home screen.
Go to the System Updates section and tap Check for Updates. If it displays that your system has a new firmware update, download and install the update. Since One UI doesn’t have seamless updates, the bootable system turns off during the update, typically taking a few minutes.
The update is also out for the Samsung Galaxy S22 series of phones. It brings the same September security patch, around 240MB in size. The firmware numbers are S908BXXS6CWH6, S908BOXM6CWH5, and S908BXXU6CWH5 for the S22 series. The update for the S22 series is also out in the European Union.
The changelog doesn’t say much. It mentions typical stability improvements, bug fixes, vague features, and performance improvements. The September patch apparently fixes 62 Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs). It also fixes 35 SVEs (Samsung Vulnerabilities and Exposures). Twenty-three vulnerabilities are of Google’s.
The 8 CVEs from Google (back in May) do not apply to Samsung’s phones. Samsung Semiconductor (the branch that makes and designs chips) has addressed 2 CVE Moderate issues and two Low items for Samsung phones. There could be marginal smoothness, performance improvements, and some undisclosed bug fixes.
We expect the update to roll out for other carriers and factory-unlocked phones soon. The update should make it to other regions soon. Samsung prioritizes updates based on factors like carrier, region, sales, etc.- and we can’t tell which region will get it first.
