05-05-2025
T-Mobile users with old Samsung phones get the notification they were waiting for but be careful
Samsung clearly tested the patience of its customers with the Android 15-based One UI 7 update. As if it wasn't enough that it was already six months behind schedule, the company delayed the update another week after kicking off the rollout in early April. Fortunately for customers, it has been smooth sailing since. The update has started reaching T-Mobile customers with older Samsung phones or phones purchased through a telecom company usually receive software updates later than unlocked phones or those that aren't tied to a specific carrier. That's because after a smartphone company concludes its testing, carriers start their optimization and customization process. One exception to this was a few days ago when the May update reached carrier-locked Galaxy S25 models before their unlocked counterparts. We can't confirm whether this was also true for T-Mobile models. T-Mobile has been pretty swift as far as One UI 7 is concerned. The company started deploying the update to owners of last-gen flagships around ten days after Samsung resumed the rollout.
T-Mobile has started pushing One UI 7 to Galaxy S21 and S22 owners. | Image Credit - Black_Dragon959
And now, merely three days after the update went live for older unlocked models, it has started hitting T-Mobile devices. The update is arriving on the Galaxy S21 and S22. And we wouldn't be surprised if we heard that it was live for the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Flip 3 as well.
Samsung's One UI 7 is a major update with many visual enhancements and AI features. This probably explains why it took Samsung longer than expected to commence the rollout.
There have been widespread reports of the update tanking the battery life on some models, so you may want to hold off on installing it if you suspect this might be a buggy update. That said, this often happens when a new operating system version is downloaded and the battery life goes back to normal within a week or two.