Galaxy S21 gets its third Android 12-based update, now with December security patch

The Galaxy S21 series' public Android 12 rollout started a lot earlier than we had anticipated, with Samsung taking just a month or so longer than Google to update one of its devices to the latest version of the OS. Samsung followed up the initial release with a new update to iron out some bugs soon after, and today, the company is releasing yet another Android 12-based update for its premier flagship lineup.

Yes, in less than a month, Samsung has now released three Galaxy S21 updates based on the latest version of Android and One UI! The latest update is rolling out in some European countries at the time of this writing and sports firmware version G99xBXXS3BUL1. Sadly, the only thing that this particular update brings is a newer security patch, the one for December, to be exact.

So if you're facing some bugs and issues on Android 12 and One UI 4.0 even after the first two updates for your Galaxy S21 series phone, well, this one probably won't fix them. Thankfully, though, the list of Android 12 issues for the Galaxy S21 lineup is nowhere near as long as that for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3. The stable One UI 4.0 update for Samsung's latest foldables is so bad that it's bricking some devices and has been put on hold.

In any case, if you own a Galaxy S21, S21+, or S21 Ultra, the December security update can be downloaded from the phone's Settings » Software update menu once it's available in your country (use our dedicated tool to find out if the update has been released in your country). You can also manually upgrade by downloading the latest firmware from our archive and using a Windows PC to install it on your phone.

Join SamMobile’s Telegram group and subscribe to our YouTube channel to get instant news updates and in-depth reviews of Samsung devices. You can also subscribe to get updates from us on Google News and follow us on Twitter.

SamsungGalaxy S21

OverviewHands-OnReviewSpecificationsFirmwareBuyScreen ProtectorsCasesWireless ChargersWired ChargersWireless EarbudsBattery PacksDownload ModeHard ResetWipe Cache