A new Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Oreo build has appeared online, adding more weight to the speculations that the phone might receive the stable OTA in the coming days, probably alongside the Galaxy S8 and S8+.
In early December 2017 when Samsung had already opened the Galaxy Beta program for S8 and S8+ users in the U.S., a Galaxy Note 8 Oreo beta build came out of the blues. With this firmware, users of the Note 8 on major U.S. carriers were able to unofficially download and install Oreo on their phones, but this wasn’t – and still isn’t – anything a mainstream user would want to go through.
It’s still unclear why the Galaxy Note 8 wasn’t part of the Galaxy Beta program. However, it is this dilemma that has led to even more stuff being uncovered about the flagship’s Oreo update. Mid-January, another Note 8 Oreo build popped up online once again and while some thought this was it, well, it turned out not be the public release of the OS.
Now, as of this writing, another Note 8 Oreo build with firmware version N950USQU3CRB1 has just appeared online and even more interesting, it has the latest Android security patch for the month of February – one that has yet to be announced by Google.
So far, all the Note 8 Oreo builds that have been found in the wild are still in beta and we’d assume that the latest build CRB1 is no different. As expected, it runs the latest Samsung Experience 9.0, the company’s skin that succeeded the underwhelming TouchWiz, making its debut with Android 7.0 Nougat.
Google is expected to publish this month’s Android security patches for the Pixel and Nexus phones this coming week, probably on Monday. It’s after Google publishes its bulletin that we expect Samsung to publish one of their own, with OTA updates to follow in the coming weeks all the way to next month, depending on the device you own.
As usual, Samsung phones trail Google’s when it comes to receiving software updates. If anything, this is why we are here ranting about the Galaxy Note 8 Oreo update – a time when Pixel users are looking forward to receiving Android P 9.0 developer preview 1. However, the leaked Note 8 Oreo beta has Android security patch level dated February 1, 2018, and therein lays the first puzzle of this update.
The latest details of the Note 8 Oreo update come courtesy of Android Central forums and while the original poster has done a pretty impressive job providing screenshots of the update, there isn’t much that we can gather from these shots.
For instance, how did they get the new Oreo build installed on their Note 8? Which country is the firmware available for download? Is their Note 8 unlocked or carrier-branded? If the latter, which carrier are they using? Is rooting required to install the new build?
So far, there are more questions than answers, but we have a few points to make regarding the Galaxy Note 8 Oreo update:
- Samsung never released an official Galaxy Note 8 Oreo beta update. All the Oreo builds doing rounds are unofficial and thus if you choose to download and install them, do it at your own risk.
- Part of the risk you’ll be taking flashing the Oreo build on your Note 8 is that there won’t be OTA updates for you.
- Since the current builds are beta versions, you’ll be stuck on the unstable version until you roll back to Android Nougat, which is when you can receive OTA updates as usual, including the one to install the stable Oreo once it’s available for download.
- The stable version of Android Oreo will be ready for download after it starts – or completes – rolling out to the Galaxy S8 and S8+. The S8 pair should receive the OTA in the coming days and it’ll take several weeks before all units get Oreo.
- Samsung will roll out the Oreo beta to the Note 8 depending on regions, most likely beginning with the local market of South Korea, Europe, and the wider Asian market.
- In the U.S., carriers mostly determine when updates roll out to phones. T-Mobile is already testing the update for Galaxy S8 users and it could start rolling out before the end of this month. If anything, the official Note 8 Oreo update should be ready for download in the U.S. beginning late this month or early March. In fact, some references in the leaked firmware – service provider software version SAOMC_SM-N950U_OYN_TMB_OO_0016 – suggest this could be a T-Mobile build.
As pointed out, details about the origin of the latest unofficial Galaxy Note 8 Oreo build remain unclear, but we have a hunch that all the goodies could be located here. We still don’t know a lot about this development, but if it’s to be believed, especially on the aspect of the Android security patch level, it suggests that the Note 8 will receive the Oreo treat this month.
So, if you are among the few who have already flashed the Oreo build on your Galaxy Note 8, now would be the perfect time to start considering how to get back to the previous installation. Otherwise, you won’t even notice when the stable version and other important OTA updates roll out.
