Galaxy S21 may have received its final software update

Samsung launched the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra on 14 January 2021. Back then, the brand said that it would offer these devices with major OS upgrades for three years and security updates for five years.

Well, the five-year security update promise ends this month, and Samsung has just released a software update for the three devices, which may be their last. It brings the January 2026 security patch, which fixes 55 security issues.

Currently, Samsung is rolling out the latest update for the Galaxy S21 series in South Korea, its home country. It carries firmware version G99xNKSSCHZA5. Samsung should release the update in other regions over the next few days gradually.

To check if Samsung has made the update for your device, as well as to get it, go to Settings > Software update > Download and install. Once the brand releases it in regions outside Korea, we will make the new firmware available in our database.

With the software support for the Galaxy S21 series finally ending, your device is now more prone to security threats. Considering that, this is the right time for you to update to a new smartphone. If you are looking for a flagship model from Samsung, we recommend that you wait for a month and get the Galaxy S26.

However, if you don’t want to wait and get one at a discount, you can’t go wrong with the Galaxy S25 series. If you want to explore phones with foldable screens, there’s the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the Galaxy Z Flip 7, arguably the best devices in their segments. These devices will offer you 7 years of OS and security updates. 

It is worth mentioning that even though the software support for the Galaxy S21 lineup has finally ended, Samsung may still offer software updates to it.