Galaxy S22 and S21 FE Enter Final Phase of Samsung’s Update Cycle

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February 2026 brings bad news for many Galaxy S series users. Samsung has ended update support for the Galaxy S21 flagship lineup and demoted the Galaxy S21 FE and Galaxy S22 series to quarterly patches. Users with these devices should consider upgrading to a newer model soon.

Galaxy S22 series and S21 FE will receive fewer updates going forward

Launched in early 2022, the Galaxy S22, S22+, S22 Ultra, and S21 FE are turning four this year, officially nearing the end of the road. Samsung has now quietly shifted these devices to quarterly security patches, ending monthly updates. At the same time, the company has pulled support for the main Galaxy S21 flagships altogether, as they turn five.

The Galaxy S22 series and S21 FE are also long past the window for major Android OS upgrades. There are only a handful of security patches left for these devices, and one last One UI update remaining. They will receive One UI 8.5 sometime this year, but One UI 9 (Android 17) is out of scope.

While you can continue using these phones well into 2026 without major issues, security patches will arrive less frequently. Moreover, Samsung will inevitably end software support for the Galaxy S22 series and S21 FE in early 2027. As such, upgrading now is a good idea. Newer Samsung flagships ship with a much stronger support policy of up to seven Android OS upgrades and seven years of security patches.

The Galaxy S26 series is just around the corner, with Samsung set to unveil its next flagship trio later this month. For long-time S22 and S21 FE users, it could be the most logical and future-proof upgrade path yet. You can even score free goodies such as a 65W GaN charger if you pre-order a Galaxy S26 through our Mystery Box program (US only).

Written by

Sumit Adhikari

Sumit, a life-long Samsung user, is passionate about technology and has been professionally writing on tech since 2017. He’s a mathematics graduate by education and enjoys teaching basic mathematics tricks to school kids in his spare time. Sumit believes in artificial intelligence and dreams of a fully open, intelligent and connected world.

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