It’s a tough time for Samsung, which has been forced to halt the rollout of One UI 8 for the Galaxy S23. The smartphone had been running on Android 16 for three weeks. The Korean manufacturer has not provided any explanations regarding this surprising suspension.
This is by no means a new situation for Samsung. Last year, the rollout of One UI 7 was delayed due to a “serious bug.” Additionally, One UI 8 has also been unavailable for the Galaxy S24 for a few days, and now the Galaxy S23 is also facing this suspension.
Samsung suspends the One UI 8 update for the Galaxy S23
As mentioned earlier, the Galaxy S23 had enjoyed One UI 8 for several weeks, and no major bugs have been reported by users that could explain this decision. There seems to be no justification for the sudden halt of the Android 16 deployment, at least from Samsung’s communication.
The most likely theory is that Samsung has detected something serious internally that requires correction before continuing the wider rollout. The intention is obviously to prevent any potential bugs from affecting millions of smartphones.
Samsung’s servers currently show a firmware version ending in DYI 3, which is based on Android 15. Reverting to an earlier version confirms that the update is no longer available through official distribution channels. Previously, Samsung had displayed firmware EYI 5 for One UI 8 and Android 16.
Fortunately, other smartphones continue to receive One UI 8 without issues, including the Galaxy A53, Galaxy A33, and even the Galaxy XCover 7 Pro, despite its professional orientation. However, there’s no guarantee that Samsung won’t soon restrict the Android 16 update for these models while addressing a potential bug.
Meanwhile, the Korean manufacturer is still working on One UI 8.5, which will be natively available on the Galaxy S26. As for Galaxy S23 owners, they need to be patient while waiting for Samsung to reintroduce its interface based on Android 16. A reasonable waiting period is expected for the owners of this smartphone. Previous suspensions have shown that, generally, the company reacts quickly despite its understandable caution.
Source: SamMobile
