TheS1R's Posts

@Gilberto_VZW Actually, no surprise -- this appears to be a common occurrence across the S9/S9+ product line. VZW pushed out an update at initial device release which included SMR-FEB-2018. According to a VZW Corporate rep, Samsung had issues with applying updates to the S9/S9+ across the board (non-carrier specific) that forced them to withdraw and delay pending updates. There were no updates after that until VZW pushed out a second update including SMR-MAY-2018 on 5 June 2018. Several users (including myself) were able to download/install this update initially, but it seemed to "disappear" as most users did not receive notification of the update, not could they manually download it. On 15 June, VZW announced another update, which includes SMR-JUN-2018, but it was not available for download until yesterday. Hopefully, things will be smoother and more timely going forward...

Apparently, another NEW update is being pushed out as we speak to include SMR-JUN-2018 for both S9 and S9+. Yes, that is two updates in less than two weeks!      Current Software Update v1-5           Software Version: R16NW.G965USQS2ARF4           Android® Security Patch Level: 2018-06-01

           Updated: 06/15/2018 Hopefully, it will be pushed to my S9+ within the next day or two...

So... It appears that VZW has in fact released another NEW update including SMR-JUN-2018 as of 15 June 2018 (that is two updates in less than two weeks!), but it has not yet been pushed to my device:      Current Software Update v1-5           Software Version: R16NW.G965USQS2ARF4           Android® Security Patch Level: 2018-06-01           Updated: 06/15/2018 This could explain why some were not seeing the previous update on their devices. This also shows how quickly that updates CAN be made available! Hopefully, this will be pushed to all of our S9/S9+ devices within the next day or two.

It's very simple. Verizon has a different model for distributing software updates/patches from some venders (e.g., Google and Apple), where the software comes directly from the the manufacturer to consumer devices, as opposed to other vendors (e.g., Samsung). Samsung provides updates to the carriers (e.g., Verizon), and Verizon then performs their own testing and verification prior to releasing software to their customers.

FINALLY! Verizon pushed out R16NW.G965USQU1ARE6 with SMR-MAY-2018 today -- it appears to be security updates only, but I have yet to see any release notes. Too bad that Samsung released SMR-JUN-2018 today in parallel...

Unfortunately, VZW is not pushing out security updates for the Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ in a timely manner. The "latest" firmware for my Galaxy S9+ is dated 10 March 2018, which includes Android® Security Patch Level of 2018-02-01 (nearly four months old). Samsung has released three (3) subsequent security updates since the 1 February baseline (dated 1 March, 1 April, and 1 May 2018 since that time, and the 1 June update will be released in a few days) -- each of these updates addresses multiple Critical (as well as additional High, Moderate, and Low) level Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs). Unfortunately, security updates are more than just "everything (being) okay with your phone" or noticeable performance issues. They are just as important as (and probably more important than) functional updates affecting the usability of the device. Just ask Equifax about the effect of unpatched systems on their customers, their reputation, their stock value, etc. Samsung releases security updates for Android OS related security issues released by Google as well as patches for Samsung-specific security issues on a monthly basis for "current" models (defined as Galaxy S series (S9, S9+, S8, S8+, S8 Active, S7, S7 edge, S7 Active, S6 edge+, S6 Active), Galaxy Note series (Note 8, Note 5), and Galaxy A series (A5 (2016), A5 (2017), A8 (2018)). The updates are dated the first day of each month, and they are typically released (i.e., made available to carriers) by Samsung within a few days (reference https://security.samsungmobile.com/workScope.smsb). Verizon definitely has the latest (dated 1 May 2018) as they have already released updates on 23 May 2018 for both the Galaxy S8 and S8+ including Android® Security Patch Level of 2018-05-01: (https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/software-updates/) Samsung Galaxy S® 6 last updated 05/02/2018 Samsung Galaxy S® 6 edge last updated 05/02/2018 Samsung Galaxy S6 edge + last updated 04/26/2018 Samsung Galaxy S7 last updated 04/19/2018 Samsung Galaxy S7 edge last updated 04/19/2018 Samsung Galaxy S8 last updated 205/3/2018 Samgung Galaxy S8+ last updated 05/23/2018 Samsung Galaxy S9 last updated 03/10/2018 Samsung Galaxy S9+ last updated 03/10/2018 The security updates released by Samsung to the carriers are OS-specific, not device specific. Every other "current" Samsung device supported by Verizon Wireless has security updates newer than those on the Galaxy S9 and S9+ (dated 1 February 2018).