Verizon is rolling out a swath of mid-2020 updates for a variety of smartphone devices on its network including Samsung, OnePlus, and Motorola handsets. That’s according to recent reports defining the updates as fairly minimal but undoubtedly important.
Digging into exactly what these updates entail reveals only slight variances from brand to brand. That’s not entirely surprising since security is generally the primary focus of mid-year updates. Those updates rolled out in mid-2020 for any number of smartphones, from Verizon or anybody else, can be expected to follow suit. They center mostly on various security patches and miscellaneous minor improvements.
The Motorola Razr and Moto G7 Power, for instance, are being taken to build numbers QDVS30.106-27-2 and PDOS29.114-134-15, respectively. Those updates appear to solely contain an Android Security Patch update to the June 2020 level.
Samsung’s Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy S20 Ultra follow suit, obtaining both the May and June patches. Those are landing at version designations QP1A.190711.020.G986USQU1ATEC and QP1A.190711.020.G988USQU1ATEC, for those who want to double-check. Samsung is also including ‘system and performance improvements and enhancements’.
Finally, Verizon is offering the OnePlus 8 update with a similarly vague set of improvements as well as security. Those are being released under build number IN2019_15_200521.
Here’s how to check for the mid-2020 updates on your Verizon smartphone
Now, getting OTA updates to the latest variant of the firmware for any smartphone listed here from Verizon should happen automatically. But that will never stop a subset of users from wanting to check for the update themselves. The process, however, works slightly differently on at least some of the handsets involved.
In fact, for the Motorola Razr, the company says users just need to visit the Settings app, find “System Updates” and then “Check for new system update.”
That’s not quite how it works on the Moto G7 Power. There, users will need to visit Settings and then “System” before navigating to “Advanced” settings. “System Updates” is found in that submenu.
For both Samsung flagships, the process is identical to the Motorola Razr. It’s the same for the OnePlus 8.
Once the update process has been followed, the system will take over. That means users may have to tap the occasional “Ok” button or choose when to download and/or install the firmware. But the method should be mostly automatic. The handsets will restart during the installation process. The final restart will end with app-updates ensuring compatibility with the latest firmware.
These are security updates and should be installed ASAP
As is always the case with security-related fixes, users will want to download and install these updates as soon as possible. Not only do the security patches serve as a first line of defense against vulnerability exploits in the grander security scheme. Android also remains the most vulnerable OS in part because of how widespread its use is.
Stacking atop that, recent waves of malware have shifted course to emulate official apps pertaining to ongoing health concerns worldwide. Bad actors are on the constant lookout for new fears to exploit and this year is proving better than average on that front. These security patches will guard against at least a portion of those and more.
Users on other carriers will want to keep an eye out for incoming updates too, where applicable.