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Samsung has released its December security update for several more Galaxy devices in the US. We have reports confirming the update for the Galaxy S21 series, Galaxy S21 FE, Galaxy A54, and Galaxy A12. Some of these devices have received the new security patch in international markets too, while others haven’t. The company will cover them all with the December SMR (Security Maintenance Release) globally soon.
December update is available for the Galaxy S21 lineup in the US
Samsung is currently pushing the December security patch to carrier-locked variants of the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, Galaxy S21 Ultra, and Galaxy S21 FE in the US. The new firmware build number for the three flagship models is G99*USQS9FWL1. That for the Fan Edition (FE) phone is G990USQS9FWL3. It appears the rollout has begun for Verizon customers. Users on other networks or with an unlocked unit will get the update in the coming days.
As the build numbers suggest, this update is all about the latest security fixes—security updates have “S” as the sixth character from the last in the build number, while feature updates have “U.” SamMobile, which first reported the December update for the Galaxy S21 flagships, also confirms that there aren’t any additional goodies here. The phones recently received Samsung’s Android 14-based One UI 6.0 update with many new features.
With the December SMR, the Korean behemoth is pushing fixes for more than 60 vulnerabilities. At least seven of those are critical Android OS patches released by Google. The addressed security flaws could allow a threat actor to remotely access a compromised Android device. The latest security update patches the vulnerabilities on your Galaxy S21 flagship or the Galaxy S21 FE.
The same security fixes are also rolling out to the Galaxy A54 and Galaxy A12 users in the US. Once again, the update is initially available for Verizon customers. However, it shouldn’t be long before Samsung covers the two A-series devices with the December SMR nationwide. Users of these Galaxy devices in international markets will also receive the latest security patch within the next few weeks. You can check for updates from the Settings app.
Galaxy A12 won’t get Android 14
The Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 FE, and Galaxy A54 are receiving the December security update shortly after picking up Android 14. The Galaxy A12, on the other hand, will never get Android 14. It didn’t even receive Android 13. The budget handset debuted with Android 10 and received updates to Android 11 and Android 12. It will get security patches until the end of 2024.