Samsung Galaxy S21: Software support ends, except for FE model
Samsung has ended software support for its Galaxy S21 series in February 2026, with the exception of the FE model.
Samsung's Galaxy S21 models from 2021 will no longer receive updates.
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The Samsung Galaxy S21 series, consisting of the S21 Ultra, Plus, and the base model Galaxy S21, which was released in early 2021, has not received Android updates for a long time. Now, the Korean tech giant is also cutting off security patches. Owners of one of these models should look for a replacement if they want to continue to keep their personal data safe.
Five Years of Security Patches
Samsung's Galaxy S21 series was originally only supposed to receive three years of new Android versions, thus only the update to Android 14. However, in February 2022, the manufacturer extended the warranty of some models by a fourth year of Android updates and a total of five years of security patches, so the devices received their last Android update in May 2025 with One UI 7.
This year, the five years of security patches also come to an end, as the manufacturer notes on its official support page. Most recently, the S21 series had only received security updates quarterly, as is customary for the manufacturer for many older devices.
This also applies to the Galaxy S21 FE, which was only introduced in early 2022 at CES 2022, shortly before the Galaxy S22 series. As a result, the FE model was the only model in the S21 series to receive the update to Android 16 in the form of One UI 8.
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7 Years Since Galaxy S24
Current Samsung models – since the Galaxy S24 series – now receive seven years of Android updates and seven years of security patches. With this, the corporation has caught up with Google, which has also promised such long software support since the introduction of the Pixel 8 and newer models. In contrast to Samsung, Google offers this for its entire smartphone range. At Samsung, entry-level and mid-range smartphones have at least been receiving new Android versions and security patches for six years. This is more than some other smartphone manufacturers promise for their devices.
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