Oreo update is a hoax

[jeffmd]

March 1st security update just dropped. How the hell is this even a thing for android 7.0? At what point in the oreo planned update are you constructing and testing an update for a version of android that you EXPECT to not exist by march?

Oreo was supposed to be out late jan, pushed to early feb, canceled and then supposedly restarted weeks later. I'm calling BS on the oreo updates for the past 2 months.

 

[tuckertje01]

In Germany and The Netherlands everybody has Oreo now, so rest assured: it's coming...

 

[chanchan05]

Security updates have nothing to do with Oreo. Even phones that won't get Oreo can receive updates. Anyway, if you're in the US, expect that you will be among the last to get the update. That's just how it is with the extent of control the US carriers have over the devices over there.

 

[HowardL168]

Security updates have nothing to do with Oreo. Even phones that won't get Oreo can receive updates. Anyway, if you're in the US, expect that you will be among the last to get the update. That's just how it is with the extent of control the US carriers have over the devices over there.

I'm not so sure about that. Moto Z Force is updated only thru the December security patch, even though January, February (and now, according to the previous post March) patches are available. My belief is, since the Moto Z Oreo "build", that was originally soaked in Brazil, was based on a foundation with the December security patch, they want that build to be the version distributed OTA and "then" apply new security patches.

 

[chanchan05]

I'm not so sure about that. Moto Z Force is updated only thru the December security patch, even though January, February (and now, according to the previous post March) patches are available. My belief is, since the Moto Z Oreo "build", that was originally soaked in Brazil, was based on a foundation with the December security patch, they want that build to be the version distributed OTA and "then" apply new security patches.

No. The security patches has nothing to do with OS versions. The Galaxy S5 and Note 4 for example received some 2017 security patches. And neither have been updated to Nougat.

The Galaxy S7 is receiving Oreo as well (some Vietnam handsets already got it by mistake where the beta got public release for a short time) but is still receiving patches. The Feb security patch has just started rolling out in some countries.

However the problem is that in the US, carriers modify the firmware to an extent that is unorthodox to other countries. For example, hotspot tethering is a built in function, but US carriers modify the firmware to block that. So your argument may be possible, but only applicable to US carriers. And another problem is that in the US, even factory unlocked device updates are pushed from the carrier servers.

 

[jeffmd]

Security patches contain new versions of several programs, the same programs that also get updated or replaced when the OS gets updated to oreo. This security patch will not and cannot be the same one used when oreo drops unless it changed like one thing that never got updated in oreo.

 

[EWY]

Oreo(Android 8.0.0) on my S8+ got updated. I have an international Dual SIM version. It was updated to 8.0 earlier in the month and just got another update to fix some unit with battery issues (I think).
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[Ramon Castillo1]

Darn Russians!!!

 

[Ry]

March 1st security update just dropped. How the hell is this even a thing for android 7.0? At what point in the oreo planned update are you constructing and testing an update for a version of android that you EXPECT to not exist by march?

Oreo was supposed to be out late jan, pushed to early feb, canceled and then supposedly restarted weeks later. I'm calling BS on the oreo updates for the past 2 months.

Security Updates are going to continue to happen for older versions of Android.

 

[AKFL3TCH3R]

Wow, it is the first of March already.. Great job as always Samsung, and go ahead and keep promising faster updates for future phones. Just keep promising! Someone might believe you some day!

 

[AKFL3TCH3R]

Nougat is just fine.

 

[jeffmd]

Security Updates are going to continue to happen for older versions of Android.

Negative. We should not be seeing any new security updates for the Galaxy S8 on Nougat. Security updates are not universal (although they could very well be, but since ROMs are customized it is not guaranteed. Samsung has some parts of Nougat completely disabled.) and need to be tested and then released by first the phones manufacturer, and then the carrier. Since it will be impossible to accept a security update to a phone without first installing OREO when the OREO update is out, thus there will be no reason to field test nore release Nougat security updates AFTER the OREO update is released.

This leads me to this post, why did a march security update get through for nougat when OREO was supposed to be in wide release by the end of January? This post is all in jest of course but it does draw up some interesting questions.

 

[HowardL168]

No. The security patches has nothing to do with OS versions. The Galaxy S5 and Note 4 for example received some 2017 security patches. And neither have been updated to Nougat.

The Galaxy S7 is receiving Oreo as well (some Vietnam handsets already got it by mistake where the beta got public release for a short time) but is still receiving patches. The Feb security patch has just started rolling out in some countries.

However the problem is that in the US, carriers modify the firmware to an extent that is unorthodox to other countries. For example, hotspot tethering is a built in function, but US carriers modify the firmware to block that. So your argument may be possible, but only applicable to US carriers. And another problem is that in the US, even factory unlocked device updates are pushed from the carrier servers.

My point was based on my knowledge having managed enterprise systems' development. And it is my understanding that the Oreo code that was QA'd and soaked in Brazil (and presumably destined for general release) was "built" with the December security patch...so, unless they have a new build (with a later security patch) that they intend to QA and soak again, they would release Oreo with the December patch. And so, I agree the security patch could be applied to earlier versions, but if they do that, those new patches would have to be reapplied after receiving Oreo OTA.

 

[jeffmd]

No. The security patches has nothing to do with OS versions. The Galaxy S5 and Note 4 for example received some 2017 security patches. And neither have been updated to Nougat.

Didn't catch this earlier. The actual update is very much different.. in the same way that windows updates for 10 are different for windows 8.1. Breaking down the update from the start where you determine if you need to fix a specific exploit, you already have a difference of "does this exploit exist in this version of android?". Exploit "A" may work on a version of system software in Nougat, but not in Oreo just because it was rewritten in that version of the OS.

So right off the bat, the security updates are NOT cross compatible with different versions of android. And then you have the custom ROMs that get used between manufacturers and their front ends. and carriers with their restrictions. Blindly applying a patch to phones without knowing their modifications is dangerous so no universal version of a security update can be released for all phones.

Also like windows, google will release security updates for all versions of android not deemed End Of Life.

 

[chanchan05]

Didn't catch this earlier. The actual update is very much different.. in the same way that windows updates for 10 are different for windows 8.1. Breaking down the update from the start where you determine if you need to fix a specific exploit, you already have a difference of "does this exploit exist in this version of android?". Exploit "A" may work on a version of system software in Nougat, but not in Oreo just because it was rewritten in that version of the OS.

So right off the bat, the security updates are NOT cross compatible with different versions of android. And then you have the custom ROMs that get used between manufacturers and their front ends. and carriers with their restrictions. Blindly applying a patch to phones without knowing their modifications is dangerous so no universal version of a security update can be released for all phones.

Also like windows, google will release security updates for all versions of android not deemed End Of Life.

Doesn't matter. They simply made an update for Nougat. This just means they project the Oreo update for the device in question to have a later patch date on release. We all know the S8 will have an Oreo update because different countries already have it.

 

[MarineDawg]

Using Verizon in the US the S8 and S8+ are slated to receive the update on March 12th...2019

 

[pkcable]

If you want the quickest updates and a phone that's on the latest version then get a (do I really need to say! lol)

 

[Golfdriver97]

Something to keep in mind is this: There are several partitions within the OS that can be updated without updating the whole thing.

 

[pbike908]

I just updated my Nougat Verizon S8 with the February 2018 security patch this morning. Not sure when it was pushed out.

 

[Ry]

Negative. We should not be seeing any new security updates for the Galaxy S8 on Nougat. Security updates are not universal (although they could very well be, but since ROMs are customized it is not guaranteed. Samsung has some parts of Nougat completely disabled.) and need to be tested and then released by first the phones manufacturer, and then the carrier. Since it will be impossible to accept a security update to a phone without first installing OREO when the OREO update is out, thus there will be no reason to field test nore release Nougat security updates AFTER the OREO update is released.

This leads me to this post, why did a march security update get through for nougat when OREO was supposed to be in wide release by the end of January? This post is all in jest of course but it does draw up some interesting questions.

Your post makes a ton of assumptions that neither of us have the answer to.

There are multiple S8 SKUs. It's more likely that each have their on track of work. Just because one SKU got Oreo and a December security update doesn't mean that all SKUs have been updated to Oreo.

Also, we both don't know if there are any deals in place with carriers where certain security patches would have to be released by a certain date, which could push Oreo work back.

If Samsung only committed to starting an Oreo update for the various S8 versions in January, they've already met their commitment.