New Member
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8 Messages
HELP! AT&T's forced update to next Android version (with One UI 5.1 etc.) bricked my Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
Over the weekend, I got the usual message to update Android OS, and it was compulsory (i.e. I couldn't reschedule it more than 3 times). Before the update, the phone had been working fine, no SIM card or battery issues etc. After updating, everything went wrong:
* Phone stopped recognizing the SIM card (even though I'd never taken it out etc.), giving Settings errors even when trying to click on the SIM manager
* Phone battery started draining very fast (and hot), even when not doing anything on phone, and nothing running in background.
I have a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, and the (compulsory) Android update was to One UI 5.1, G998U1UEU5EWB1 / G998U1OYM5EWB1 / G998U1UEU5EWB1, security patch level February 1, 2023.
I tried the following already:
* Reset network settings
* Factory reset (so I can guarantee there's no weird apps or settings that could be interfering)
* Went to AT&T Store and they put in a new physical SIM card (didn't work), then a new eSIM card (also didn't work)
* AT&T Store asked me to call Tech Support, which I did, they changed some settings on their end and said it should work within 3-4 hours of propagating (also didn't work).
Note: as far as I can tell, there is NO WAY to rollback the Android update, or I would do that!
Tech Support are now saying the phone is bricked and I should claim a new one on mobile insurance. However, as far as I can tell, this is a problem of AT&T/Samsung/Android's own making! They forced me to update the Android software, and that's what caused all the problems - plus wasted so much of my time on the weekend :-( I'm asking for advice on:
1. Is there a fix for the phone problems that I'm unaware of?
2. What should I do? Given AT&T is responsible, how do they fix & pay for this?
joeldf
ACE - Guru
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1K Messages
6 months ago
@jokersmileyu
First of all, you seemed to have already decided what is wrong and who to blame, but from what I've seen - most users here complain that they haven't even received the OS update even though it's been out for several months for most models.
I'm also a member of the Android Central forums, and over there, I see nothing but generally good things about the update. I have not seen anything near the kind of issues you have stated. And there would be plenty of traffic about it if there were. Heck, the Pixel users are freaking out over the fact that the March update hasn't been issued by Google yet and you'd think it was the coming of the apocalypse just because Google didn't say anything about it within hours of it not being released on the usual day.
I got the Android 13/One UI 5 update on my S20 FE in January, then the One UI 5.1 update with the Feb 1 security patch just a few weeks ago. No issues on my phone. Works fine as is.
In fact, I've never had an issue with any update coming from AT&T. The only complaints I've seen about the updates are usually some thing specific about one thing that someone didn't like that was changed. But I have not seen any issue like you say you have on yours.
I'm not saying that nothing happened to your phone from the update. Only that it is not as widespread as you make it out to be, so maybe it's something specific to your device, and not, as you say, something AT&T did.
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jokersmileyu
New Member
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8 Messages
6 months ago
Update: so I figured out how to downgrade my OS back to the version AT&T released on 2/21/2023 (One UI 5.0/Android 13) - it worked! Went back to AT&T store to get a new SIM card and we're back in business. Store manager tsked tsked about how fragile Android phones and software updates are :-( :-( :-(, so @joeldf apparently this does happen more often than you think
I really shouldn't have to be wasting all this time resetting my phone multiple times, talking with multiple companies and then going into developer mode and downgrading the firmware myself.
Now I need to make sure AT&T stops forcing the next update(s) on me which will break the phone (One UI 5.1 both in March), until they can guarantee they've tested it on S21 Ultra models and verified that it works. How do I get that message/feedback to AT&T?
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jjlee1975
New Member
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1 Message
6 months ago
I am having the exact same issue. How did you change to the previous version?
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KiwiBird97
Tutor
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26 Messages
6 months ago
If your phone doesn't work properly after an update, here are some options:
It only happened to me once back in 2014.
For iPhone and iPads bought in the US (not just AT&T), the three postpone limit still applies, but instead of automatically updating, all calls and cellular data access (including Apple Pay) is blocked until the update is taken. Wi-Fi will continue to work to help you update wirelessly.
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olafaloye
New Member
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2 Messages
5 months ago
@jokersmileyu please share details on how you downgrade the OS back. i am currently having the same issue with my s21. updated it on Tuesday May 2nd. and since then its been on boot loop. Efforts from phone technicians here to flash the phone did not work. i have tried the reset from recovery mode. still didn't work.
i would really appricate it if you explained how you went back it
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formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
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110.7K Messages
5 months ago
@olafaloye
That information is not permitted on this forum. This is what other forums are for! Any such information would be removed and the user banned.
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olafaloye
New Member
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2 Messages
5 months ago
@jjlee1975 have you been able to fix yours. if yes, please share what you did
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pinkwoman
New Member
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1 Message
2 months ago
@jokersmileyu
exact thing happened and still happening to me. Did you ever find a resolution keeping the update away again? it seems to be a problem for samsung 21 and 22 with ATT.
I have tried everything and unfortunately Samsung and att say they have not heard of this when literally it is everywhere.
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GLIMMERMAN76
ACE - Expert
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23.8K Messages
2 months ago
Reflash the phone google xda
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s21bricked
New Member
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1 Message
2 months ago
This is indeed an AT&T issue. I contacted Samsung and they mentioned that it is a known issue that affects Galaxy phones (S21 and tablets). The technician referred to it as a binary mismatch. Essentially the numbers used to identify the phones has been crossed. This results in the incorrect updates pushed to the phones. This is what bricked my phone. This happened to me three times the last time I bought a new phone. This should be a (Edited per community guidelines) (Edited per community guidelines). Does anyone know how to get one started?
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