Samsung released the July 2023 security update to several phones, including the Galaxy S21 series. However, the update was initially limited to Galaxy S21 units in European and Latin American countries. Now, the update has started rolling out to the Galaxy S21 lineup in the US, starting with the carrier-locked models.
The latest software update for the carrier-locked models of the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra bears firmware version G99xUSQS8EWG1. The update is currently available on Sprint's network, and we expect it to expand to other carriers within the next few days. It is a security update only, so don't expect it to bring new features or performance improvements. According to Samsung, the July 2023 security update fixes over 90 security vulnerabilities.
If you have a carrier-locked version of a Galaxy S21 series phone in the US, you can now check for the new update. To do that, navigate to Settings » Software update and tap Download and install. You can also download the new firmware file from our firmware database and flash it manually using the Odin tool on a computer running a Windows operating system.
Samsung launched the Galaxy S21 series in early 2021 with Android 11 onboard. The phones in the lineup received the Android 12 update in late 2021 and the Android 13 update in later 2022. The devices are expected to get the Android 14-based One UI 6.0 update in the fourth quarter of this year.
