Update (Jan 20, 2:15 pm ET): The article has been updated to reflect the latest phones receiving the January 2023 update, including the Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4, Fan Edition, phones, and more.
What you need to know
- Samsung has begun pushing the January 2023 update to its Galaxy smartphones.
- The Galaxy Note 10 series was among the first devices to receive the update.
- The update addressed some moderate and high-level vulnerabilities.
We've entered a new month and a new year, which means phones will start receiving the latest monthly security patch and the first update of 2023. Samsung is usually pretty quick about releasing monthly security updates, and that remains true as we dive into the new year with the January 2023 patch.
Normally you'd expect the latest flagship models like the Galaxy S22 or Samsung's foldable phones to be the first to receive a new update. However, this does not appear to be the case this time around, as the first models to get the update are the Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+, which started receiving it on January 2 (via SamMobile) with firmware version N970FXXS8HVL3. The devices are nearly four years old and no longer receive major OS upgrades, but Samsung still offers software support with quarterly updates.
That said, the Galaxy S22 series has started receiving the update in the United States as of January 6 (via SamMobile), and other regions are likely to follow. Per SamMobile, Galaxy Z Flip and Z Flip 5G are also among the first foldable phones to be updated.
As for what's included in the patch, Samsung's security bulletin for January appears fairly minimal, with no critical vulnerabilities addressed but quite a few high-level and moderate ones relating to Samsung Knox, NFC, the Secure Folder, and WifiSevice.
As of January 20, these are the Galaxy models that have begun receiving the January 2023 update, along with the countries where they first started receiving it (latest models in bold):
Samsung Galaxy S:
- Samsung Galaxy S22/S22+/S22 Ultra (S90xU1UES2BVL4/United States)
- Samsung Galaxy S21/S21+/S21 Ultra (G99xBXXS5DVL3/Europe)
- Samsung Galaxy S21 FE (G990EXXS3DWA6/Latin America)
- Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (LTE = G780GXXS3DWA3/Europe, 5G = G781BXXS4GWA3/Europe)
- Samsung Galaxy S10e/S10/S10+ (G97xFXXSGHWA3/Europe, S10 5G = G977BXXSDHWA3/Europe)
- Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite (G770FXXS6HWA2/Spain)
Samsung Galaxy Z:
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 (F936U1UES1BWA2/United States, F721BXXS1BWA2/international)
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 (F721U1UES1BWA2/United States, F721BXXS1BWA2/international)
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 (F926BXXS2DWA3/Latin America)
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G (F707BXXS7IVL1/Europe)
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip (F700FXXSAIVL3/Italy)
Samsung Galaxy Note:
- Samsung Galaxy Note 20/Ultra (4G = N98xU1UES3GVL1/United States, 5G = N98xBXXS5GWA8/Brazil)
- Samsung Galaxy Note 10/Note 10+ (N970FXXS8HVL3/Switzerland)
Samsung Galaxy A:
- Samsung Galaxy A73 (A736BXXS2BVL3/Malaysia)
- Samsung Galaxy A72 (A725FXXU4CWA2/international)
- Samsung Galaxy A52 5G (G97xFXXSGHWA3/Australia)
- Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G (A528BXXU1DWA4/international)
- Samsung Galaxy A02 (A022FXXS3BWA1/Asia)
- Samsung Galaxy A41 (A415FXXS2DWA2/Europe)
- Samsung Galaxy A31 (A315FXXS2DWA2/Europe & Asia, A315GZHS2DWA2/Asia)
- Samsung Galaxy A50 (A505GUBS9CWA2/Latin America)
- Samsung Galaxy A10 (A105MUBS8CVL1/South America)
Samsung Galaxy M:
- Samsung Galaxy M42 5G (M426BXXU4CWA2/India)
- Samsung Galaxy M31 (M315FXXU3CWA2/Panama)
We expect plenty more models to be updated throughout the month, so check back to see if your model is receiving the latest security patch. You can also check out SamMobile, which does a great job of tracking monthly update patches for Samsung smartphones.
To update your Samsung phone, navigate to Settings > Software update > Download and install. Note that updates may start rolling out in one region but may take longer to reach additional regions.
The January patch starts arriving as rumors of One UI 5.1 start cropping up ahead of Samsung's next major smartphone launch. We expect new features to arrive with this update, but it's unclear when it will arrive.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 is one of the most unique phones on the market thanks to its folding display and nostalgic clamshell design. It's also very powerful and gets monthly updates to stay secure.
