[Exclusive] "Why Won't the Lock Unlock and Battery Drains Fast?"... What Happened with Galaxy S24 'One UI Update'?

One UI 7 Official Update Suspended Just a Week After Release
Includes AI Features from S25 Series
Battery Drains Quickly and Unlock Issues Reported
Samsung: "Internal Review Needed... Will Resume Soon"
Update Schedule for Previous Models Also Expected to Be Delayed

Samsung Electronics abruptly halted the official One UI 7 update for flagship smartphones released last year. This came just one week after the official One UI 7 update began for these models on the 7th.

A pre-order customer is examining the Galaxy S24 at the KT Plaza Gwanghwamun Central Branch in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

According to the information technology (IT) industry on the 14th, Samsung Electronics stopped distributing the One UI 7 update for the Galaxy S24 series and the Galaxy Z Flip6 and Fold6 series on the same day. One UI 7 had been rolled out sequentially to users of these models.

Regarding this, a Samsung Electronics official stated, "The One UI 7 update distribution was halted due to the need for internal inspection," adding, "We plan to resume the update distribution as soon as possible."

One UI is the user interface (UI) applied to the Galaxy series. Samsung Electronics has released a new version of One UI every year and has applied updates to existing models as well.

One UI 7. Provided by Samsung Electronics

This One UI 7 includes artificial intelligence (AI) features applied to the Galaxy S25 series, such as AI Select, Writing Assist, and Audio Eraser. The 'Now Bar' feature, which displays the user's real-time activities on the lock screen, was added, and the UI design was also changed. The update aimed to allow users of previous models to use the latest AI features.

The suspension of this update appears to be due to abnormal behavior occurring on some devices after the official version was distributed. After the official One UI 7 update, some users reportedly experienced issues such as their smartphones not unlocking properly or abnormal battery drain.

This suspension is also expected to delay the One UI 7 update schedule for other models. Samsung Electronics had planned to sequentially apply the One UI 7 update to older models starting from the 7th of this month. Within this month, updates were scheduled for the Galaxy Z Fold SE, Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy Tab S10 series, Galaxy S23 series, and Galaxy S24 FE.