It took Samsung months to bring One UI 6.1 to older devices after debuting the latest version of One UI on the Galaxy S24 series earlier this year. When the rollout began, Samsung only considered flagship phones and tablets launching in 2023 in the first phase.
The second phase finally started a few days ago when Samsung started rolling out the One UI 6.1 update for the Galaxy S21 series, Galaxy S22 series, Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 on May 2nd in South Korea. However, despite all the time Samsung has invested in making One UI 6.1 work on older devices, it hasn’t gone as smoothly as expected.
Galaxy S22, S22+ and S22 Ultra owners in Korea have had trouble accessing their phones after installing the update, forcing Samsung to halt the release. Some devices fail to boot or fail to unlock when booting and accessing the lock screen.
Such issues aren’t common with major software updates, and while users of 2023 Galaxy phones and tablets that received One UI 6.1 haven’t had any problems, others don’t seem to be so lucky. This could also be a reason why Samsung didn’t extend the availability of the update to pre-2023 devices outside of Korea a few days after the initial release.
Given the above issues, anyone with a Galaxy phone or tablet eligible for One UI 6.1 should take the update before installing it.
First step before installing One UI 6.1: Create a backup
It’s a good idea to back up your data before any major OS updates, but even if you don’t, you should make an exception when installing One UI 6.1. There are several ways to back up all your data from your device, including creating a temporary cloud backup using your Samsung account. Device care » Maintenance mode list.
For more information on creating temporary cloud backups for your Samsung account, visit this link. For more backup methods, see our One UI 6.0 preparation guide here. There are other recommendations in this guide that you may find useful, the cautionary part being the most important.
Disable Lock Screen/Bypass Lock Screen
Nowadays it is almost impossible to find people who do not lock their phone with password, PIN or fingerprint. However, since one of the issues after installing One UI 6.1 is the inability to unlock the device, you may want to disable the lock screen before proceeding with the update.
You can change the screen lock type Settings » Security & Privacy » Screen Lock » Screen Lock menu on your phone or tablet. to like no one This screen lock type disables the lock screen and takes your phone directly to the home screen.
Removing the screen lock will delete all registered fingerprints, patterns and PINs you use However, we think this is a minor inconvenience that you should ignore. You can re-register and recreate these features once you install One UI 6.1 and boot your phone safely.
