Over the past couple weeks, all four major carriers in the United States started pushing Android Oreo to the Galaxy S8 on their networks. This came as exciting news for people that purchased the phone through these companies, but those rocking unlocked models have been left in the cold. Thankfully, a Samsung employee recently shed some light on what's going on.
On the official Samsung forums, moderator SamsungTrevor shared the following message –
We understand that many of you have Unlocked Galaxy S8/+ and Note 8 devices and may be wondering why those with Carrier models are seeing the updates first. The reason for this is that Unlocked devices must go through more rigorous testing than Carrier-specific devices because we need to make sure there is proper network functionality across ALL supported networks. (Ex. Carrier-specific devices are made to handle that one network. Unlocked devices need to be able to handle ANY / ALL compatible networks. Thus, they require some more preparation.)
After further explaining the process that goes behind software updates for unlocked models, SamsungTrevor then said –
We're working with our Carriers to get Oreo out to ALL eligible Galaxy S8/+ and Note 8 devices within the next 2-3 weeks. Although we can't guarantee an exact date as its pending final testing, we promise to update this thread (and your devices!) the moment it becomes available.
I can't imagine unlocked Galaxy S8 and Note 8 owners will be too pleased knowing they may have to wait another 3 weeks before getting the Oreo update, but at the very least, there's a light at the end of the tunnel.
