Carrier-locked Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S20 getting August 2023 update in the US

Samsung has rolled out the August 2023 security update for the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S20 in several countries, but due to carrier restrictions, the company was delayed in introducing the update in the US. But now some carriers have rolled out the update to these devices.

Notably, the carrier-locked variants of the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S20 are getting the update. More specifically, the Galaxy S21 series devices are spotted getting the update on two carriers, including Spectrum Mobile and Xfinity Mobile. While the Galaxy S20 is now getting the update on three carriers, including T-Mobile, Sprint, and US Cellular.

Users who own the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and Galaxy S20 Ultra can identify the latest update by the firmware version numbers G981USQS6HWGC, G986USQS6HWGC, and G988USQS6HWGC. While the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra are getting the update with firmware version numbers G991USQS8EWH1, G996USQS8EWH1, and G998USQS8EWH1 sequentially.

Ineligible One UI 6.0 (Android 14) Galaxy phones, see if your device is also on the list

The August 2023 update only brings a new security patch, so don’t expect any innovation or new features for the device; however, it may contain some improvements for the functions to boost the performance of the device. Meanwhile, it is fully focused on enhancing the security of the devices.

Samsung launched the Galaxy S21 device in 2021, while the Galaxy S20 was the predecessor series. Both of the devices are currently running on One UI 5.1, which is based on Android 13. However, the Galaxy S20 is no longer eligible for any other major update, while the Galaxy S21 will get two more major update in the form of One UI 6 (Android 14).