Samsung’s beta test of a software update to Android 7.0 (Nougat) was slated to go live on November 9 for a limited subset of users, and that’s exactly what has happened. The beta software is rumored to contain a lot of the Grace UX features that Galaxy Note 7 owners were forced to pine for when their beloved handsets started going up in smoke, along with all the standard Nougat fare that any phone updating to the software would get. The update is available through a special app in Samsung’s Galaxy Apps store, with only a limited number of spots available for hopeful beta testers. This means that users that manage to get into the app in time to register for the beta may hit the end of the line while registering, and end up not getting the update.
If you happen to be reading this on a compatible device, the list of which is below, all you have to do is give the source link at the bottom of the article a tap, or head to the Galaxy Apps store and download the beta app. If you nab that app and there are spots left open in the beta, you can expect to see the update come in shortly after. If your registration for the beta program seems to go off without a hitch but you don’t see your update roll in for a day or so, a reboot will probably do the trick, so long as you didn’t happen to get in just as spots ran out. For those users, Samsung could announce another round of beta testing at a later date, but there has been no word on such a thing for now.
At the moment, the only Samsung devices that this beta will work for are the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge in the United States, and at that, the unlocked and AT&T models are left out of the fun. This means that a carrier-bought model from Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon can get the update, but an unlocked one running those networks cannot. There has been no word on whether phones from those carriers that have unlocked and gone to another carrier are compatible, but if you happen to be in such a situation with your device, it can’t hurt to try.