Samsung definitively ended support for the Galaxy S21 series

While the internet is flooded with leaks about the upcoming flagship Galaxy S26 phones, set to be unveiled later this month, Samsung has quietly closed an older chapter. As reported by foreign media, the South Korean giant has definitively ended software support for the Galaxy S21 series, which arrived on the market in early 2021. For owners of these phones, this means the end of all updates.

Four years of support come to an end

Upon the launch of the Galaxy S21 series, Samsung promised four years of major operating system updates and five years of security patches. The phones originally came with Android 11 and gradually received upgrades up to Android 15. However, support is now definitively over – on Samsung’s official website, the Galaxy S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra models no longer appear in the list of supported devices.

The end of support didn’t happen overnight. Samsung had previously moved the S21 series from monthly updates to a quarterly cycle, which was a clear sign of the approaching end. Owners of these phones should consider upgrading to newer devices, as using a phone without security updates poses a risk.

Galaxy S21 FE still has time

The situation is slightly different for the Galaxy S21 FE model, which Samsung released almost a year later than the base series. This phone currently remains in the quarterly security update program along with the Galaxy S22 series. Similarly, the foldable Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 models from 2021 continue to receive updates.

Samsung definitively ended support for the Galaxy S21 series Adam Kurfürst News Adam Kurfürst News

Newer phones have seven years of support

Since the launch of the Galaxy S24 series, Samsung has significantly extended the support period to seven years of both operating system and security patch updates. The same promise applies to the current Galaxy S25 and is expected to also apply to the upcoming Galaxy S26. For comparison – the iPhone 13 from the same year as the Galaxy S21 will, according to current trends, be supported by Apple until at least 2027.

Are you still using one of the Galaxy S21 series models?

Sources: 9to5Google, Notebookcheck, Phandroid