Category: Samsung Galaxy S7

File this one under “What took so long?”.  After the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge were updated to Android Oreo by all the major carriers here in the United States, the unlocked variant of the 2016 flagship devices remained on Android Nougat.  Normally the unlocked phones get these major updates first but for whatever reason, Samsung never rolled it out.  That, thankfully, is changing.

If you have an unlocked Samsung Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge, the South Korean company has finally released the Android Oreo update to US owners.  It is a hefty update at just under 1.5 GB so make sure you are on WiFi before you download it and that you have at least 50% of battery life left before installing it.

Following the release of Android Oreo on AT&T and Verizon, Sprint has now begun rolling out the update to the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge on their network.  The updated build is R16NW.G93xPVPU6CRE7 and it comes in at a 1.7GB on the download.  The update has been released by Sprint so you should see it at any point if not already.

Essentially, the update is the same that was pushed out to AT&T and Verizon customers.  It brings the April Android Security Update Patch and all of the goodness that comes with Android Oreo.  It also brings the new Samsung Experience 9 user interface and experience to the 2016 flagship.

[Update:  Verizon has pulled the update twice now and it looks like it is on hold]

Good news this morning for Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge owners on Verizon, Android Oreo is on its way.  The carrier has released the update to Oreo on their network with it rolling out to owners over the course of the next several days.  The update for each device is around 1.2GB in size so you will want to make sure you download them via WiFi.

For the Samsung Galaxy S7, you are looking for software update NRD90M.G930VVRS4BRC3 while on the S7 Edge, NRD90M.G935VVRS4BRC3 is the Oreo update for you.

AT&T has begun the process of rolling out an update for the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge on the carrier’s network.  The updates for both devices are small at 46.5MB and bring the Android Security Update patch to the December 1, 2017 level.  The patch also brings a fix to the BlueBorne Bluetooth exploit on both devices.

For the Galaxy S7, the updated build is G930AUCS4BQL1 while for the S7 Edge, you are looking for build G935AUCS4BQL1.  Given the small size of the updates, you can download them via your mobile data account but it is always recommended that you download them via WiFi.  After it is downloaded, expect about a 10-15 minute install and a required reboot.

T-Mobile has released an update for the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge on their network that is aimed at improving roaming on the devices.  Build G930TUVU4BQH7  for the S7 and build G935TUVU4BQH7 for the S7 Edge are the updates you are looking for on these respective devices and they should be hitting your device over the course of the next few days.

The biggest change in this smallish 200MB update is improved IMS Roaming.  What is IMS Roaming you ask?  Essentially it is an interconnect between T-Mobile and other carriers to allow you to make VoLTE calls, video calls and media sessions to someone on another carrier in another country.  It isn’t super sexy and unless you do international travel, it isn’t a big deal frankly.  But it is good to see T-Mobile improving support for it (and Samsung for that matter).

For readers who have the either the Samsung Galaxy S7 or the S7 Edge on AT&T, there is a new update heading your way starting today.  The update brings the June Android Security update to both devices.  The update follows a similar update from Sprint and T-Mobile for the phones on their networks.  It does not bring any significant new features and it remains on Android Nougat 7.0.

For the AT&T Galaxy S7, you are looking for build G930AUCU4BQF3 while on the Galaxy S7 Edge, build G935AUCU4BQF3 is your flavor of the day.  The updates are about 300MB in size, so not huge but certainly one you will want to download while you are on Wi-Fi just to make it all a bit faster process.