Some Samsung phones were not getting Google Play system updates for months, now fixed [U]

Samsung has gotten way better about rolling out major Android updates, but it seems a problem is ongoing with Google Play system updates, as some Galaxy devices haven’t been updated in months.

Update 1/12/24: As reported by GalaxyClub, this issue appears to now be fixed. Models that were previously affected by delayed updates are now able to pull them down, though a Galaxy S20 Ultra apparently still brings back an error message saying that “updates are temporarily unavailable.”

Our original coverage follows.

First things first, what is a Google Play system update? Distributed outside of major Android updates, a Google Play system update handles certain system features, often tied back to Google products. For instance, the latest Google Play system update includes changes to the Play Store, support for QR code scanning in Wallet, and more. Often, these updates can even bring bigger improvements. In October, for example, Google delivered support for pairing Wear OS to multiple Android phones, disabled Nearby Share in work profiles, and more.

As reported by GalaxyClub, some Samsung Galaxy phones have been sitting on the same Google Play system updates for several months or even longer. The issue seems to be encompassing many different Galaxy devices across different versions of Android.

It was found that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy S23 Ultra were both stuck on the July 2023 update, while Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S21 were on the October update. Meanwhile, Galaxy A52 was on the September update, while Galaxy A34 was stuck on the August update. In all cases, checking for updates was either met with a message saying that “your device is up to date” or that “updates are temporarily unavailable.”

The exact cause of this is unclear, but it’s apparently not the first time this has happened. It was noted early this year that the exact same thing happened, with a variety of Galaxy devices struck on older updates.

For affected users, there’s nothing to be done, as Google Play system updates can’t be manually installed or sideloaded. That said, since it was fixed once before, it can presumably be fixed again.

More on Samsung:

• Samsung’s Android devices accounted for ‘half or more’ of Google Play revenue
• Galaxy A55 leaks with a bizarre protrusion around the side buttons
• Samsung has updated these devices to Android 14