Samsung JANUARY 2026 update. EoL for the S21 series?

[ironass]

Samsung have begun rolling out their January 2026 update. As the S21 series celebrated its 5th birthday a few days ago, (29 Jan 2021), and the S21 series has reached its official EoL, (End of Life), this looks to be the last update, security or otherwise, for these devices.

On a personal note, my S21 Ultra, (G998B), has performed flawlessly for the last 5 years and has been one of the most reliable phones I have ever owned.

Software information

 

[olbriar]

Samsung have begun rolling out their January 2026 update. As the S21 series celebrated its 5th birthday a few days ago, (29 Jan 2021), and the S21 series has reached its official EoL, (End of Life), this looks to be the last update, security or otherwise, for these devices.

On a personal note, my S21 Ultra, (G998B), has performed flawlessly for the last 5 years and has been one of the most reliable phones I have ever owned.

Software information

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I totally agree with your success and long run with your S21 Ultra. I can't imagine moving on. By far the best phone I've owned.

 

[mikedt]

I'm still using a Note 20 Ultra, now on it's 6th year, still very happy with it. I know it's officially EOL from Samsung, but as long as it still works and is supported by the apps I use, I'll keep using it. I only ever charge it to 85% in the settings, and the battery is still good.

All the new devices seem to offer now is AI features, which from what I've seen it's something I don't really like. I asked an AI chatbot about Tank Man, and it suggested we change the subject.

I have a Macbook Air I bought new in 2015 that still works perfectly, although it's now running MX Linux KDE rather than MacOS Monterey.

 

[Hadron]

My s21 hasn't received a January update yet: last update was in December.

The hardware reliability has been great, apart from the fingerprint scanner becoming more glitchy recently (which may of course be software). After 4.5 years of use I still find Samsung's software experience a step backwards from a less cluttered, more vanilla android. Which does mean that when the device does finally reach EOL I will have a dilemma to resolve...

 

[ironass]

My s21 hasn't received a January update yet: last update was in December.

The hardware reliability has been great, apart from the fingerprint scanner becoming more glitchy recently (which may of course be software). After 4.5 years of use I still find Samsung's software experience a step backwards from a less cluttered, more vanilla android. Which does mean that when the device does finally reach EOL I will have a dilemma to resolve...

The Exynos S21 Ultra, G998B, is still my back-up phone and I would like to extend its life with a custom ROM that gets regular Google Security patch updates but sadly such ROM's are few and far between. Ideally, a custom ROM from Lineage would be my first choice but no such luck so far. 😢

 

[olbriar]

My S21 ultra is installing the last security update as I type. I have a different view of the EOL dilemma than most. Though I am sorry that the phone is losing it's support, I'm also relieved. It wasn't long after I purchased the phone that an update, likely an OS, caused a communication error between the phone and my hearing aids. With the BLE randomly dropping connections, I would often miss calls and texts with the phone thinking it was connected to the aids when it wasn't. If I anticipated a call or received a call, I would turn my aids off so I could communicate without losing the connection. It was a nightmare until I recently purchased new aids. The EOL gives me clear sailing until the phone struggles with app updates or simply dies.