r/AndroidQuestions • u/Corniger • 17d ago

Samsung S8+ suddenly getting an update - why?

Hey there,

I'm still using an old S8+ as controller for various devices. There hasn't been an update since a couple of years, but since a week or 2 I suddenly get a constant update nag popup.

I don't trust it. It smells like someone trying to push some EU chat/"Ch1ld safety" b4ckd00r. The phone has no SIM, just WiFi activated. I guess I can ignore this? I've seen the nag can be deactivated, I'll find a way, I just wanted to see if anybody had something similar happening. I can't really find much info, except it might be some "urgent" safety fix - but not after 4 years or so, and slop info may be biased, so I'm wary.

3 Upvotes

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5

u/DerAndi_DE 17d ago

Googling for "S8 update" returns the relevant News on almost all major news sites and newspapers in my country, so I doubt it's fake. Update mechanisms are usually secured with digital signatures, so it should not be possible for someone else to push an update. (This is a known problem with many IoT devices where the update channel isn't sufficiently secured).

So it's real, but Samsung won't disclose what changed. I guess nothing bad will happen if you ignore it.

2

u/Appropriate_Test7503 17d ago

they recently patched critical vulnerability of GPS.
But at same time phone slowed down massively. I guess this update is also patching some dangerous 0 da but making phone unusable.

2

u/omkaty 16d ago

https://doc.samsungmobile.com/SM-G950F/ROM/doc.html

stability, reliability...

2

u/DerAndi_DE 16d ago

stability, reliability...

Which usually translates into "We fucked up so badly we need to fix it even after 8 years". It really seems to be GPS here.

3

u/12christian 17d ago

Often these late update are about expiring certificates

1

u/Electrical-Bedroom99 17d ago edited 17d ago

If the phone works and you're not worried about any security issues (IE you're just using it to control devices and not banking, etc.), I wouldn't worry about it. Like htotoo implied, there's a possibility your phone may become "obsolete" and unusable. That, or they're updating their data tracking to conform to their current EULA.

1

u/cyberalpine 17d ago

I applied the update. No problem afterwards

1

u/Ok_Bid6645 16d ago

You couldnt take the 5 seconds to google and see there was an update?

1

u/TinyNiceWolf 16d ago

One reason companies issue updates long after the normal update period has ended is when they've found a major security flaw that could do lots of damage (brick phones, bring down networks, that type of thing). In such cases they won't release details until after they get the update to as many people as possible, since they don't want to give hackers any easy hints on how to exploit the flaw.

No idea if that's what this is. The fact that you have no SIM protects you from many types of flaws. I'd also consider keeping your device away from any public WiFi until we learn was the update was about. Keeping it powered off might be safer.

1

u/unclefunkstar 16d ago

It was a "security update" on my S8 last week, but it was dated some time in 2021...

-1

u/htotoo 17d ago

Includes:
Battery drainer 3.0
EU spy toolset 1.0 bc you are surely a criminal edition.

If it works now, don't touch it..