As we know, the Korean tech giant officially ended software support in January 2026, but the brand has been rolling out a new software update globally. In most regions, including Europe and Asian countries, the update does not bring new security patches, but in the US it comes with February 2026 security patches.
This update seems mainly focused on system stability improvements; however, the changelog does not mention the changes or fixes except general security improvements. But as the company provided this software following support end, it should be important software.
Also, it could be a farewell update from Samsung. Users should install this type of software update, as it may fix various unknown critical issues to offer a smooth device experience.
The update is rolling out with build versions G991USQSJHZB1, G996USQSJHZB1, and G998USQSJHZB1 for the US-locked Galaxy S21, S21 Plus, and S21 Ultra, respectively. Meanwhile, in other regions, users are getting it with build versions G991BXXSJHZC2, G996BXXSJHZC2, and G998BXXSJHZC2.
This is not the first time when Samsung rolled out a software update to a retired Galaxy device. When critical bugs are identified in Galaxy devices, the brand sometimes releases fix updates to older, retired Galaxy devices as well.
