Samsung's delayed security update rolls out first in U.S. to surprising T-Mobile locked series

The August security update for Samsung phones and tablets has yet to surface and we are closing in to the halfway mark for the month. There are 50 bugs that are getting fixed with the update. 35 of the bug fixes come from Google with one considered critical and 34 listed as moderately severe. One patch was contributed by Samsung's chip designing unit, Samsung Semiconductor.

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Only 14 of the 50 bug fixes are only for Galaxy smartphones and tablets with most of the bugs giving attackers a way to access a victim's device. Once they are able to get inside a phone, the criminals steal personal data without obtaining the necessary permissions and they can also cause the phone to crash. The August update has started rolling out now carrying firmware version M556BXXU3AXG7. Besides correcting and patching the flaws discovered, the update also improves the stability and performance of the devices that receive the update and have it installed.

You might think that Samsung would make sure that its flagship phones would get the update first but surprisingly the Samsung Galaxy M55 is the first Galaxy device to receive it. That phone carries the model number SM-M556B. If you own the Galaxy M55 or whenever you receive the update, you can install it by following these directions. Go to Settings > Software update > Download and install.

While the decision to start with the mid-range Galaxy M55 does sound surprising, Samsung occasionally will send out security updates to non-flagship devices first. Still, it does seem strange that those with a Galaxy S24 series handset aren't receiving the August security update first. The Galaxy M55 was released in Europe and is powered by the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 application processor (AP). The phone was released this past March.

In the U.S., the August update will be arriving shortly for the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra which will start receiving it this week. Unlocked models and Galaxy Note 20 series phones on the T-Mobile or Sprint network will receive it first. The firmware version ends with the letters "HXH1." Other U.S. carrier-locked models will also receive the update soon. This is still a surprise since the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra were both released four years ago.