Last week, Samsung published the official Maintenance Release for the month of December that included up to ten fixes for vulnerabilities discovered in its own software alongside others discovered in Google’s software. As at the time of this writing, a handful of Sammy handsets are now receiving the update.
Beating the expectations, the rollout started with Samsung Galaxy A5 2016, which received December’s Android security patch last week. In addition to installing the latest security patch, the update also improves charging stability of the A5 2016 as well as the overall performance and system stability. Carrying software version A510FXXU4CQL1, the update weighs about 200MB, which means you shouldn’t expect new features or huge changes to the device, but it’s needed for security purposes.
This week, Samsung continued with the rollout, this time taking the goodies to Galaxy C7 users. This is a phone that is mainly sold in China, but it’s also available here in Kenya and other markets as well. Since the update is rolling out in China, it should also mean that those rocking the phone in other markets are also receiving December’s Android security patch. As expected, Samsung Galaxy C7 users will get fixes for numerous Android exploits alongside stability improvements. The update comes with software version C7000ZCU2BQL2 and is dated December 5, 2017.
Those using the Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 and Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 have also joined the party. If your Galaxy J3 2017 or A3 2017 hasn’t received any update in the recent past, make sure you don’t miss out on this one because it should bundle several important fixes to exploits like KRACK and Blueborne that have been targeting Wi-Fi and Bluetooth services, respectively. Where the Galaxy J3 2017 is getting firmware version J330FNXXU2AQK8, those on the Galaxy A3 2017 can expect an update with software version A320YDXU1BQI2.
Note that all of these updates are rolling out over the air (OTA), which means they are staged and as such, not all units will receive them at once. If you can’t wait for the OTA notification, now would be a perfect time to try a manual update via the Settings>Software update>Download updates manually. Before you do this, however, make sure you have a strong Wi-Fi connection and the battery is at least 50%.
