Samsung ended official support for the Galaxy Note 9 in September last year. That wasn’t surprising given that the device had been on the market for four years as of August. What is surprising or unexpected is that the company is releasing a new software update for the 2018 Note model. Yes, the discontinued Galaxy smartphone is getting an update, six months after Samsung ended official support for it.
Spotted by SamMobile, the Galaxy Note 9 is currently receiving its latest update in the UK and Ireland. The new version is introduced with firmware build number N960FXXSAFWB3 and includes a fairly recent security patch. The device receives the SMR (Security Maintenance Release) of February 2023.
As of this writing, Samsung has not yet released the March SMR for Galaxy devices, although it is already available. So, technically speaking, the Galaxy Note 9 is getting the latest security patch.
The February SMR contains more than 50 security vulnerability fixes. Seven of these are Galaxy-specific patches straight from Samsung. The rest of the patches come from Google and other Android OS partners.
At least five of these have been classified as critical vulnerabilities by the Android manufacturer. They could potentially lead to remote code execution if a threat actor exploits them in the wild. The almost outdated Galaxy Note 9 is protected from all these vulnerabilities with the latest update.
Samsung is rolling out a surprise update to the Galaxy Note 9 in some markets
This update for the Galaxy Note 9 rolled out in the UK and Ireland about a week ago, but hasn’t rolled out to other markets yet. Considering that Samsung is under no obligation to provide official support for the phone, the latest update may not be released in all markets.
The company has released updates for discontinued phones worldwide in the past, but in most of those cases, the update fixed some critical bugs. That doesn’t seem to be the case this time. Rest assured we’ll let you know when Samsung brings this version to the US.
As usual, your Galaxy Note 9 will notify you when a new update is available. You can also check for updates manually from the Settings app. As future updates are not guaranteed for this device, consider upgrading to a newer model.
If the S Pen is a necessity for you, Samsung’s new Galaxy S23 Ultra has it too. It will be officially supported until at least February 2028 – four major Android OS updates and five years of security updates. No other Android smartphone currently surpasses this.
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March 07, 2023
