The firmware numbers represent a hidden range of the mobile’s range.
Almost every Samsung user will have noticed that their devices usually have a peculiar numbering in its identifying firmware. And, logically, we do not think that there is anything specific behind those numbers, beyond allowing the manufacturer to know what the smartphone model is. However, Samsung’s firmware numbers have one more purpose: that of classify terminals based on their quality, generation and much more.
Your phone’s firmware will reveal information you don’t know
As we just mentioned, a simple look at the number or firmware code of your phone, knowing the details and meaning of its numbers, will allow you to discover lots of details about how Samsung classifies your device in terms of range, generation and other technical aspects that usually determine its final position in the market.
Do you want to know if your mobile phone is one of the priority models for Samsung? Find out with the information we provide below. As a reference, we will take Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra firmware: SM-S918BXXU2AWF1. After the initial SM, which stands for “Samsung Mobile”, we will break down every detail of the firmware code. By the way, and if you have questions, we will tell you here how to update the software on your Samsung.
Find out how the “family” of your Samsung is identified
When we look at the letter of the Samsung firmware code, we can know what its “family” is. The letter represents the mobile line in which said terminal is located. For example, A Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has the letter S as it is from the Galaxy S family. Of course, until the S21, the letter was a G, so don’t think it’s strange if you have an older Galaxy S. Another “extinct” letter is the N of the Note, before being renamed the S Ultra range.
Therefore, with other examples of phones that are currently on sale, we can see a particular letter for cell phones that fold, such as the Flip or the Fold, which will have the letter For the Galaxy A will have the letter A at the beginning of this code of numbers and letters. A quick and useful identification on a technical level.
Samsung Galaxy S21 series received July 2023 Android update and its firmware has also changed
The greater the number of firmware, the more important the smartphone is
It may sound somewhat unprecedented for those who have just discovered this aspect of the firmware, but behind it there is a specific desire, and that is to determine the range of the phone with the first digit of the firmware numberbe able to see it, at the developer level, with a simple glance. The ranges go proportionally from highest to lowest. with the numbers 9, 7, 5, 3, 1 and 0.
This way, devices starting at 9 will have the most advanced technologies of the company, while those with a 0 will have the most basic input components within Samsung. In the case of S23 Ultra, the first number is a 9Something is to be expected in one of the flagship phones for 2023 for both Samsung and Android. With other examples, we can find that the Galaxy FE range has the 7, Folds start with 9, or Flips with 7being some of the most popular versions.
The figures that will tell you the generation and connectivity of your mobile
The figure that comes after the range of the smartphone will be less important in terms of quality, but it will determine the generation of its phone family in which it is located. In this case, we will find many differences depending on the range in which we find ourselves. For example, him Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has number 1and it is basically because it is the twelfth generation (not eleventh, because you start counting from 0). Since it is only represented by a figure, the S22 “restarted” the count returning to 0.
The third figure allows us to discover two different aspects of the phone: whether it has LTE/4G or 5G connectivity, in addition to the range of the mobile itself within the same generation and family. 4G phones are numbered 0 and 5 in this range, with the highest number receiving the most important model. In the same way, 5G terminals have 1, 6 and 8 reserved8 being the most valuable. And if you would like to know, Here we tell you how to activate or deactivate your 5G
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has the number 8 in this third numerical figure, while its brothers, the S23+ and the S23, have respectively 6 and 1. In this way, these models can be differentiated in the code, since in the previous numbers they would have the same figures.
Each family within Samsung mobile phones has different identifiers in its firmware
Discover the region of your smartphone by following these letters
It is already known that certain phones may have some restrictions and peculiarities depending on the region for which it is manufacturedand that is why our phone will have a particular identification that it will have in common, in this case, with mobile phones for the European market.
A Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra will have BXXthe B representing what it is an international mobile phone with 5G coverageand XX as identification for Europe and other international markets. Regions like the US will, however, have the letters SQ, although it may have EU if that terminal has the region unlocked.
Know the degree of update of your Samsung with these figures and letters
These numbers are already more interesting for anyone who wants consult your updates in a more technical framework. The first letter of this miniseries will always be U or S, one of those two. The first represents a standard software update, while the S indicates that the only things changed in the latest update are security patches. The number is the version of the bootloader, and the next letter determines how much Samsung’s customization layer has been updated since the phone went on sale.
A Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, as of July 2023, has the characters U2Aimplying that its last update was comprehensive. The number is a 2, and that implies that the phone will no longer be able to go to versions with a previous bootloader, and the next letter is an A, which implies that the phone, which has been on the market for four months, is still in the same version of One UI. Samsungs receive frequent updatesso these numbers will change frequently.
A well-updated mobile phone will have greater security for users
Find out your update history with the last characters of the code
Everything has an end, and so does your Samsung’s firmware code, even though the concatenation of letters and numbers seems never-ending. The last two letters and the last number will determine us How many updates does the phone have and when was the last one?. The first letter tells us the year of update, the second letter tells us the month, and the number will allow us to know How many update packages does our Samsung have in that month?although not all of them have necessarily been released (it may be a 2 or a 3 and only the last one has been published).
Going back to the example of Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, the last three characters are WF1“W” being the identification of 2023 (2024 would be and 1 as it is the only update worked on in June 2023.
This is all the information you can discover about your Samsung phone with a simple look at your latest firmware update. Do not doubt take a look every time you get a new patch to discover more details about each of the updates that your phone carries out! And if you want more tips to improve your handling with the South Korean smartphone, here we talk about how to configure your Samsung.
