About a month ago, unlocked Galaxy S21 models in the US received Android 13 and One UI 5.0, however this upgrade included a little out-of-date security patch (it had the October patch instead of the November patch, for those wondering). Now that the Galaxy S21 is unlocked, Samsung is releasing yet another Android 13-based update, but this one also lacks the most recent security patch.
Current firmware updates for unlocked Galaxy S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra models in the US are G991U1UEU5DVL1, G996U1UEU5DVL1, and G998U1UEU5DVL1, respectively. Although the December security patch is already available for Galaxy S21 models in other areas of the world and for some carrier-locked variants in the country, the update includes the November 2022 security patch.
The unlocked Galaxy S21 in the US still lacks the December security update.
Fortunately, the update doesn’t appear to be limited to security upgrades. We regrettably lack a changelog, thus we are unable to describe the additions and changes. After installing the most recent update, some customers may notice that their One UI 5.0 experience has improved because Samsung has presumably fixed any flaws that may have crept past it in the initial release of Android 13.
Speaking of installing updates, the procedure remains as usual. You can either wait for an update availability notification to pop up by itself, or try a manual over-the-air download from the phone Settings » Software update or upgrade by downloading the latest firmware from our website and installing it on your S21, S21+ or S21 Ultra using a Windows PC.
