Updates
Samsung mistakenly released Russian s/w update in UK, apologized later
Recently, Samsung has mistakenly released a new software update to the Galaxy consumers in the US, which installs some applications guided by the Russian government. The company has swiftly apologized for it and said that this was just a notification error, while there’s no Russian app installed on the phone.
Per the BBC report, a UK citizen namely Andrew Edmans bought a second-hand Galaxy Z Fold 2 smartphone from Amazon, three weeks ago, and then received a firmware update reminder. Just after seeing the changelog of the latest software update, he noticed the words in the update content:
“As part of the implementation of the requirements of Decree No. 1867 of the Government of the Russian Federation of November 18, 2020, the download of mandatory applications has been added. Some of these applications are only available in It can only be installed when the device is reset to factory settings.”
Dear @SamsungUK, again no one is responding to my emails, tweets or DMs as to why a Russian Federation update with govt links has been installed on my Samsung UK phone. @PrivacyMatters @ICOnews pic.twitter.com/Jkfoc1k2oU
— Andy Edmans (@AndyEdmans) October 7, 2021
Following this, Edmans reached out to Samsung and the company representatives promised to reply within 48 hours, but he did not receive a reply afterward. Therefore, Edmans again contacted the consumer support of Samsung four days later.
Join SammyFans on Telegram | Twitter | Facebook
Finally, a technician remotely accessed his mobile phone and stated that he had never seen it before. After that, the problem was reported to Samsung headquarters, and Edmans was eventually told that this was a “notification error.”
Here’s what Samsung said to BBC:
“We can confirm that due to a technical error, the wording of the information is incorrect and a limited number of UK customers will receive it. The upgrade received is unique to the UK, and no third-party apps from Russia have been installed on On the device, or have the opportunity to enter the device itself, we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused.”
It’s noteworthy that Russia passed a law in April this year, requiring that smartphones, computers, and smart TVs sold in the country be installed with Russian alternative software for normal software.
The purpose is to help Russian software companies promote their software. Since then, Samsung has added these applications to its smartphones in Russia through firmware updates.