Despite the snail’s pace of the previous update, Samsung’s rolling out its new One UI 8 update with Android 16 at an impressive speed. This week, the Galaxy S21 FE is getting its update, but this one is a bit more important when compared to others, as it will be the last major update the phone receives.
The phone was first released back in January 2022, and has since received three major updates. One UI 8 with Android 16 will be the fourth update, which Samsung promised at the release of this handset. That doesn’t mean you have to abandon the phone ASAP, as it will continue to work for a while. It just means you will no longer get any major updates going forward.
The last dance
As reported by SamMobile, the update is now landing in Asia, hitting users in Vietnam and Thailand. The firmware version comes in as G990EXXUIHYJ2 and will come in at over 2GB, making it a pretty large update. So while you can download it over your carrier data, it’s recommended to hop on a Wi-Fi network.
Just like other One UI 8 updates that have hit other phones, this version also comes with the September 2025 security update. So if you’re in the region and own a Galaxy S21 FE, you can head into the Settings menu to download the new update. However, we have seen Samsung pull back some recent updates, so it might be a good idea to wait, just in case there are issues.
One UI 8 isn’t exactly a complete overhaul like the previous update, but there are some new features that are worth taking advantage of. So, if you choose to wait, you wouldn’t really be missing out on much. However, it’s a nice way to end the update cycle for the phone, with a complete build that isn’t going to compromise the experience.
