Update [November 05, 2016]: Despite the recall, if a customer still decides against exchanging his or her Galaxy Note 7, Samsung is rolling out an update to limit the charging of Note 7 battery to maximum of 60%, reaching which will stop the battery from charging. While Samsung has taken the duties for global sets, in US, it falls on each of the carrier. Today, Sprint has released the update as build N930PVPU2APK1 for its Note 7 users, which is already available as an OTA.
Installing PK1 update on your Sprint Note 7 will limit the battery charging on 60%, thus preventing it from exploding while charging, an issue that eventually led Samsung to recall and stop selling the Note 7. The battery icon will change to grey from green with this update, while the recall message will displayed every time you charge your Note 7, or wake up, or do a power on and off.
Update (September 20, 2016): US Cellular has announced the Note 7 update too, one that brings the green battery icon, and it comes as build N930R4TYS2APHE. Read the info below to know more about the update which is being issued by all US carriers right now, with Samsung’s duty to take care of the update in rest of world.
Like the AT&T and Verizon, T-Mobile has also come out with an update of its own for the Note 7 sets, that brings home the battery icon in green color. The update comes as build N930TUVU1API4. Read right below to know more about the green icon positions and Note 7 recall.
AT&T too has issued a similar update like Verizon’s that installs the green battery icon at three places in UI, and warns users if its finds the battery defective and fire-prone, providing them Samsung’s toll free no. and recall program info. The software version for AT&T Note 7 is N930AUCS2APHE, and it comes in size of over 100 MB. Read more right below about the Verizon’s update to know more about this.
Verizon has announced a new update for its Note 7 users, that does the must: telling users that there Galaxy Note 7 unit is safe for use. It comes as build N930VVRS2APHE, and is obviously based on Android 6.0.1.
Verizon and Samsung have done a good job in preparing the update for both safe and not-so-safe Galaxy Note 7. If the update detects that the device is using explosion-prone battery (one that is not made in China), then it would throw a pop-up message asking users to stop using the phone right away, because it may overheat posing a threat of fire and burn.
While, if the battery is safe to use, and thus the device, it will show the green battery icon we told you about yesterday, to signal that this device is safe to use. If it’s not safe, then you will see the white/grey colored icon in the status bar at the top of the screen, left to clock, and you would get the above-mentioned pop-up message asking you to stop using the device, and call at given toll-free no. to learn more about it.
For safe Galaxy Note 7 sets, the green battery icon appears in the status bar, power menu (when you hold the power button to see power off option) and Always on Display screen.
August is ending, but we haven’t heard from Samsung anything about when the company plans to release the Android 7.0 Nougat update for its devices. A word or two would have been helpful on when we could expect Nougat to release and on which devices first, but there is no such information available.
Though, there are some tidbits available from an interview given by its chief, Koh Dong-jin. He said Samsung want to do enough testing before releasing the update to public, and that it could take 2-3 months for the Note 7.
We know from experience that S series leader Galaxy S7 will receive the Nougat update before the Note 7 — latter requires extra customization for its S Pen and related features — so, when Nougat update drops for Galaxy S7 would definitely put us in better position to guess its release for Note 7.
While we’re talking Android Nougat, do read when we thing the Android 7.0 update will drop for HTC 10, Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7.
International Galaxy Note 7 Nougat update
Expected release date: October-November 2016.
Samsung’s one Korean executive has opened up about the Nougat update for the Galaxy Note 7 a little bit, and what he said would hold true, even if not entirely fascinating to hear. What he said about Note 7 Nougat update is that the company would look to bring stable release, which would require it 2-3 months of work.
Granted, we all want stable release that’s, well, stable, and holds good in day-to-day usage, and doesn’t suffers from memory leaks, and is good at freeing up RAM as and when needed, but we don’t want to wait 3 months, right?
Especially when LG G5 in Korea has already bagged Nougat for limited no. of sets, while V20 from LG launches next month with Android 7.0 pre-installed. And now that Nexus devices look set to receive the Android Nougat update on August 22, we will have a date to count from until Samsung delivers the Note 7’s 7.0 update.
So, Samsung, you really need to keep up the software update game. Look no further than Motorola to learn a thing or two. Granted, theming out the whole Nougat update for a touch of TouchWiz, err, Grace UX, takes time, but when you say it’s 2-3 months, we’re obviously gonna get disappointed by fair margin. Your software shouldn’t be such that causes delay with software update, no?
Actually, much would depend on when the Galaxy S7 (and S7 Edge) receive the Nougat update. The S7 will most likely be the first Samsung device to rock Nougat — though, the first one to come pre-installed with Nougat could be Galaxy C9 — and hence, one the S7 gets the update, we can think of Note 7 receiving the 7.0 build within 1-2 months of that.
Right now, we think the Galaxy S7 Nougat update would start rolling out in October end, and if that happens, November release for international Note 7 looks very likely, followed by carrier variants in US and Canada.
AT&T Galaxy Note 7 Nougat update
Expected release date: January 2016.
We’ve explained above why we think the international Note 7 will get the update by November 2016. You only have to add a month or two to that time-frame to get release date for the same update for AT&T Note 7, because the carrier is one of the worst performer when we’re talking software updates.
Though, a big telling sign will be when the carrier’s Galaxy S7 receives the Nougat update, because that will precede Note 7’s 7.0, with the latter taking place within a month of that. Find all updates from AT&T for the Note 7 at the official page here.
Sprint Galaxy Note 7 Nougat update
Expected release date: November-December 2016.
If the international variant gets the Android Nougat update by October 2016, then given that it should take more than a month extra for Sprint to test and approve the update for its devices, model no. SM-N930P, the update could arrive by November 2016.
Else, it should definitely hit Sprint Note 7 sets by December, because Sprint is one of those carriers that has shown in last year with Marshmallow that it takes updates seriously, and is perfectly able to release the update in timely fashion once it’s out for global variant.
Once again, when Android 7.0 hits Sprint Galaxy S7 would be a tale-tell sign as regards Sprint Note 7 Nougat update, which should happen within 30 days of the former.
Sprint released a new software update for Note 7 today, build N930PVPU1APH9! The update aims to improve battery life, add Wi-Fi calling settings, improve system stability and performance, and lastly, adds latest security patches.
T-Mobile Galaxy Note 7 Nougat update
Expected release date: November 2016.
T-Mobile is pretty quick with updates, and so its variant of Note 7 should not be bargaining for more than 30 days extra from the date the update rolls out for global variant of the Note 7.
As said above repeatedly for each Note 7 variant, the carrier’s Nougat update for the Galaxy S7 would be a good indicator for the Note 7, as one could simply add around 30 days to latter to get expected date for former.
All in all, we believe T-Mobile Note 7 should be beaming up with Nougat build by November. You can keep up with the updates available for the T-Mobile Note 7 at the official page here.
T-Mobile has confirm that Note 7 will get the Android 7.0 Nougat update for sure (it was obvious anyway), and will be sure to let us know when it’s ready at Samsung, and goes into testing at the carrier. We will be sure to let you know about this, so keep watching this space.
Verizon Galaxy Note 7 Nougat update
Expected release date: December 2016.
Not so friendly with updates, although improved a lot with Marshmallow, Verizon should be updating its Galaxy Note 7 before December 2016. Once again, things will depend on when international Note 7 receives the updates, as we could one-two months of extra wait to that for Verizon’s variant.
While, adding a month to Verizon Galaxy S7’s Nougat release should hold good too, if you are keen on finding out expected Nougat release for the Note 7 at Verizon. To keep track of all software update available for the Note 7 from Verizon, check the official page here.
Verizon brings another update to its Galaxy Note 7, coming in as N930VVRU1APIA. We don’t have the changelog with us yet, but it should be out soon. September patch level from Google should be part of it.
US Cellular Galaxy Note 7 Nougat update
Expected release date: November 2016.
Like T-Mobile, US Cellular keeps up with Android software updates in a impressive manner given the struggles of carriers like AT&T and Verizon, so its Nougat update should be out by November end we believe. Any software update from US Cellular for the Note 7 would be shown by the carrier at the official page here.
Canadian Galaxy Note 7 Nougat update
Expected release date: November 2016.
T-Mobile and Canadian variants of Samsung devices are almost a copy of each other, which could be why we’ve seen both of them get updates together. Hence, the Nougat release for Canadian Note 7 would be same as that of T-Mobile: November 2016.
We will keep an eye on when Galaxy S7 in Canada gets the Nougat build of its own, as within a month of that happening, the Note 7 should be securing its own Nougat update too.
Let’s hope that the Galaxy S7 Nougat update rolls out in September or early October, as that means a lot as to when Note 7 gets the update, and when carrier variants of the S7, and thus Note 7, get the 7.0 update.
What’s your take on this?
