Samsung Galaxy S21 Series Android 12 Update Paused Due to Google Play Compatibility Issues: Report

Samsung Galaxy S21 series recently received the company's One UI 4 update based on Android 11, weeks after Google released the update for its Pixel smartphones. Despite being the first manufacturer after Google to release Android 12 for compatible devices, Samsung has reportedly paused the update rollout for its flagship Galaxy S21 series in South Korea, after a compatibility issue with the Google Play system. The reports of the Android 12 update for the Galaxy S21 comes a few days after the update for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 was reportedly paused after bugs were reported.

According to a report by Tizen Help, the One UI 4 update that was rolling out to Samsung Galaxy S21 series smartphones in South Korea has been paused, due to incompatibilities with Google Play. The report also cites a response from a Samsung forums moderator (translated from Korean) that explains that a compatibility issue was detected in a few devices after the Android 12 update.

While the post by the moderator does not shed light on what issue involving Google Play is affecting Galaxy S21 smartphones in South Korea, it states that Google is attempting to fix the issue on the affected devices. The company plans to resume rolling out the One UI 4 update based on Android 12 update to users once Google has acted on the issues, according to the post.

The report of the update being halted in South Korea comes a few days after the One UI 4 update for Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 was said to have been halted after reports of issues after installing the update. Users in South Korea allegedly complained that the update has “bricked” their smartphones, while others claimed their handsets went into recovery mode after the update. Others have also reportedly faced issues like screen flickering, slow performance, audio not working, and applications not working.

Samsung's update to One UI 4 based on Android 12 for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra smartphones was announced on November 15, alongside an update for the company's Galaxy Watch series including the Galaxy Watch, Galaxy Watch Active, Galaxy Watch Active 2, and Galaxy Watch 3. The One UI 4 update brings new customisation options, better privacy and security features, and the company previously revealed the roadmap for releasing the update to its other smartphones over the course of the coming year.