In summary:
- Samsung has ended software and security updates for Galaxy S21, S21 Plus, and S21 Ultra models, making them vulnerable to security threats.
- Tech Advisor reports the Galaxy S21 FE remains secure with ongoing quarterly updates, making it the exception to upgrade immediately.
- Users should consider upgrading to newer Galaxy devices that receive Samsung’s seven-year update policy introduced in January 2024.
Samsung will no longer provide any further software or security updates for the Samsung Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus and Galaxy S21 Ultra. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that newly discovered security vulnerabilities in this former flagship model won’t be patched.
If a new vulnerability requires immediate action, Samsung may still release an out-of-cycle security update for the Galaxy S21. But we’d advise you not to count on it.
These smartphones were released in 2021 and represented the best Samsung had to offer in terms of Android smartphones at the time.
In 2025, they received One UI 7.0 based on Android 15. The S21 received its last security updates in November 2025, as SamMobile reports.
In total, Samsung provided four major Android updates for the S21 series, as promised: Android 12 to Android 15, always combined with the corresponding customised user interface.
What you can do if you own a Galaxy S21
If you own a Samsung Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus or Galaxy S21 Ultra, the time has come to switch to a protected smartphone. Once a phone no longer receives security updates, it’s much more vulnerable to hackers, malware and data theft.
Check out our round-up of the best smartphones we’ve tested for our top recommendations overall. We’ve also chosen the best mid-range and best budget phones.
If you know you want trade like for like, you can find the best model for you in our best Samsung Galaxy chart. Or you can wait for the Galaxy S26, which will be released soon. Find out everything you need to know about it in our Samsung Galaxy S26 release and features article.
However, if you own a Samsung Galaxy S21 FE, you can hang onto it for now. It’s still receiving quarterly updates.
Galaxy S22 will only receive quarterly updates
There’s also a change for the Galaxy S22 generation. The Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22 Plus and Galaxy S22 Ultra (introduced in 2022) will no longer receive monthly updates, but only once every quarter.
On this page, Samsung lists all smartphone models for which it still provides updates.
According to Samsung, the following models will continue to receive monthly updates:
- Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Ultra, Galaxy S25 Edge, Galaxy S25 FE
- Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Ultra, Galaxy S24 FE
- Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy S23 FE
- Galaxy Z TriFold
- Galaxy Z Fold 4, Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Fold 6, Galaxy Z Fold 7, Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition
- Galaxy Z Flip 4, Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy Z Flip 6, Galaxy Z Flip 7, Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE
- W23, W23 Flip, W24, W24 Flip, W25, W25 Flip, W26
- Galaxy A56 5G
- Galaxy A53 5G, Galaxy A54 5G, Galaxy A55 5G
- Galaxy Tab Active5 Pro
- Galaxy XCover6 Pro, Galaxy XCover7, Galaxy XCover7 Pro
Quarterly updates will also be available for these smartphones and tablets:
- Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22 Ultra
- Galaxy S21 FE 5G
- Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
- Galaxy Z Flip3 5G
- Galaxy A04, Galaxy A04s, Galaxy A04e, Galaxy A05, Galaxy A05s, Galaxy A06, Galaxy A06 5G, Galaxy A07
- Galaxy A13, Galaxy A14, Galaxy A14 5G, Galaxy A15, Galaxy A15 5G, Galaxy A16, Galaxy A16 5G, Galaxy A17, Galaxy A17 5G
- Galaxy A23, Galaxy A23 5G, Galaxy A24, Galaxy A25 5G, Galaxy A26 5G
- Galaxy A33 5G, Galaxy A34 5G, Galaxy A35 5G, Galaxy A36 5G
- Galaxy A73 5G
- Galaxy C55 5G
- Galaxy M04, Galaxy M05, Galaxy M06 5G, Galaxy M07
- Galaxy M13, Galaxy M13 5G, Galaxy M14, Galaxy M14 5G, Galaxy M15 5G, Galaxy M16 5G, Galaxy M17 5G
- Galaxy M23 5G
- Galaxy M33 5G, Galaxy M34 5G, Galaxy M35 5G, Galaxy M36 5G
- Galaxy M44 5G
- Galaxy M53 5G, Galaxy M54 5G, Galaxy M55 5G, Galaxy M55s 5G, Galaxy M56 5G
- Galaxy F04, Galaxy F05, Galaxy F06 5G, Galaxy F07
- Galaxy F13, Galaxy F14, Galaxy F14 5G, Galaxy F15 5G, Galaxy F16 5G, Galaxy F17 5G
- Galaxy F34 5G, Galaxy F36 5G
- Galaxy F54 5G, Galaxy F55 5G, Galaxy F56 5G
- Galaxy Tab S11, Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra
- Galaxy Tab S10, Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra, Galaxy Tab S10 FE, Galaxy Tab S10 FE, Galaxy Tab S10 Lite
- Galaxy Tab S9, Galaxy Tab S9, Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, Galaxy Tab S9 FE, Galaxy Tab S9 FE
- Galaxy Tab S8, Galaxy Tab S8, Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra
- Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (2024)
- Galaxy Tab A11, Galaxy Tab A11
- Galaxy Tab A9, Galaxy Tab A9, Galaxy Tab A9 (2025)
- Galaxy Tab Active4 Pro, Galaxy Tab Active5
- Galaxy XCover5
Since January 2024, all new Galaxy devices receive updates for up to seven years.
This article originally appeared on our sister publication PC-WELT and was translated and adapted from German.
Author: Hans-Christian Dirscherl, Managing Editor, PC-WELT
Hans-Christian Dirscherl began his IT life with Autoexec.bat and config.sys, Turbo-Pascal and C, Sinix and Wordperfect. He has been writing on almost all IT topics for around 25 years, covering everything from news to reviews and buying guides.