update to Galaxy S21: After the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S22, Galaxy S20, and recent foldable models, Samsung has now released the September 2023 security patch for the Galaxy S21 series. The rollout began recently in Europe and select Asian countries. The latest security update should soon reach the 2021 Galaxy flagships in other markets, including the US.
The September SMR (Security Maintenance Release) for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra comes with the firmware build number G99*BXXS9EWI1 in Europe and Asia. The update is already widely available in the former market, but only a handful of countries in Asia are currently receiving the latest security patch. Samsung should cover the phones with the new SMR in more markets in the coming days.
As confirmed by the official changelog, the Galaxy S21 lineup isn’t receiving anything more than this month’s security fixes with the latest update. The Korean firm has already revealed that the September SMR patches more than 60 vulnerabilities across the Galaxy family. At least four of those were critical fixes patched by Google. Most of the remaining vulnerabilities were classified as “high-severity” issues by the Android maker and Samsung.
Samsung’s September update is also available for the Galaxy A71
update to Galaxy S21: Along with the Galaxy S21 series, Samsung is also pushing the latest security update to the Galaxy A71. The rollout for the 2020 premium mid-range model has begun in India. The device is picking up the new SMR with the build number A715FXXU8CVI3, SamMobile reports. A screenshot shared by the publication shows that the update has an OTA (over the air) file size of 485MB.
The OTA file size and the build number suggest the Galaxy A71 is getting more than just the latest security fixes here. However, the official changelog supplied by Samsung doesn’t mention anything else. Maybe some minor bug fixes or optimizations. Don’t expect major new features, though. The Galaxy A71 will no longer get feature updates. It arrived with Android 10 onboard and received updates until Android 13.
The September update for the Galaxy A71 should reach other countries in the coming days. Samsung will also push the update to the 5G version of the phone. As said earlier, the company has already rolled out the new SMR for most of its eligible flagship models as well as some mid-rangers, including the Galaxy A52 and Galaxy A72. If you haven’t received the update yet, you can manually check for it from the Settings app.
