Galaxy S9 & S9+ Are Getting A New Update In The US | #android | #security | #hacking | #aihp

Samsung‘s four-year-old Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ flagship smartphones are receiving a new software update in the US. The update is available to the carrier-locked variants of the phones and brings the March 2022 Android security patch. Unlocked variants have already picked up the March SMR (Security Maintenance Release). International versions of the Galaxy S9 duo have also already received it.

The March security patch isn’t the latest available as the May SMR is now rolling out to some Samsung devices. But it’s still nice to see the 2018 flagship duo picking up a new update at this point. The devices have already lived through the four years of promised software support. Samsung recently ended official support for the phones.

Perhaps this is the last update for the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+. Released back in March 2018, the devices completed four years in the market in March 2022. Early in that month, Samsung released the March SMR to the international versions of the phones. It then removed them from the official update list.

However, all this while, the March update hadn’t reached the US units of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+. The unlocked variants picked it up a couple of weeks back. The carrier-locked units are now joining the party too. This update comes with firmware version G96*USQU9FVB2 and should be available to all eligible users within the next few days.

Of course, this update doesn’t bring any new features or enhancements to the four-year-old Samsung flagships. But the March SMR does contain a lot of vulnerability fixes. Several of them are labeled critical by Samsung. So you’d want to install the update as soon as you can to keep your phone secure.

To update your Galaxy S9, simply navigate to Settings > Software update and tap on Download and install. If there’s no update available, check back again later. You may also get a notification once the OTA (over the air) package becomes available for your phone.

New Samsung phones will get five years of security updates

Samsung recently revamped its software support policy. It now promises four major Android OS updates to flagships and select premium mid-range models. The company will also offer an additional year of security updates, taking the total software support period to five years. The Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ aren’t eligible for this extended support. But if you get the likes of the Galaxy S22 flagship or the Galaxy A53 5G mid-ranger, you will get updates until 2027.