Galaxy S5

AT&T releases Android 4.4.4 for the Galaxy S5 Active

Folks who own the Galaxy S5 Active on AT&T will today receive a notification about a software update. The carrier has released Android 4.4.4 for this device. Unfortunately it is not the Android 5.0 Lollipop update that many have been waiting for. AT&T hasn’t even released Lollipop for its Galaxy S5 variant, which was also recently updated to Android 4.4.4 KitKat. So far only Verizon and Sprint are the two major carriers who have released Lollipop for their Galaxy S5 variants. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that Android 4.4.4 isn’t an important update.

Android 4.4.4 for the Galaxy S5 Active on AT&T brings important security updates as well as miscellaneous improvements and bug fixes, as per the official changelog.

The update is now rolling out over the air. It should land on all users’ devices within a day or two at most.

Samsung rolling out Android 5.0 Lollipop update to the Galaxy S5 in the UK

After rolling out Android 5.0 Lollipop update to the Galaxy S5 in Poland, Russia,Malaysia, and Spain, the upgrade finally lands in the United Kingdom. Oddly, the Korean company’s latest Lollipop firmware for the Galaxy S5 is still based on Android version 5.0 (LRX21T), while all of its other flagship devices are internally being tested with a newer Android base — Android 5.0.2 (LRX22G). It is possible that merging the new Android 5.0.2 code with existing 5.0 code could have delayed the release even more, so Samsung decided to push the 5.0 upgrade, as it was already widely tested in other countries, and update the device to the latest version of Android in a month or two.

Nevertheless, Android 5.0 is still Lollipop and it brings in a plethora of new features and enhancements. With Lollipop, Google introduced new design guidelines, which forced Samsung to completely redesign its proprietary applications (dialler, messaging, calculator, clock, S Health, etc) from scratch – they are also a bit inspired by Google’s new Material design as well – and improve its core user interface. The update also brings features like lockscreen and heads-up notifications, MirrorLink support, Tap & go (automatic setup assistant), ART runtime, and more. The Korean firm has also improved  fingerprint sensor by using a new driver, and has also ported Note 4′s fingerprint lockscreen to the Galaxy S5.

All-in-all, it’s a major upgrade and we would recommend every Galaxy S5 owner in the UK to update the device to the latest version of Android for an enhanced user experience.

You can update your Galaxy S5 using two methods: Kies or Samsung’s FOTA (Firmware-Over-The-Air) service. To update your device via Kies, connect your device to your computer and use Samsung Kies 3. If you don’t like wires and stuff, you can use the FOTA method. To download and install the firmware via FOTA, go to settings > system > about device > software update > update. For advance users, all latest Android 5.0 Lollipop firmware files are available for download on our firmware section.

Firmware Details:

• Model: SM-G900F
• Model name: GALAXY S5
• Country: United Kingdom
• Version: Android 5.0 – LRX21T
• Changelist: 3624618
• Build date: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 11:18:56 +0000
• Product Code: BTU
• PDA: G900FXXU1BOA3
• CSC: G900FOXA1BOA4
• MODEM: G900FXXU1BOA3
• Download: G900FXXU1BOA3_G900FOXA1BOA4_BTU.zip