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Samsung Galaxy S4 Android 4.3 Update in US: 5 Final Details

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The Samsung Galaxy S4 Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update has been rolling out in the United States over the past few weeks. And while we’ve seen a majority of the major Android 4.3 updates arrive, there are still some final, important, last minute details that Galaxy S4 owners in the U.S. need to know about as the upgrade process moves forward.

All the way back in September, Samsung offered up a clue as to what would be next for the Galaxy S4 from a software standpoint. While the company didn’t call out the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update by name, it was clear that it would be next in line for Galaxy S4 owners due to the Bluetooth enhancements that it has on board. Samsung said that the next update would bring support for the Galaxy Gear and the Bluetooth LE support that comes with Android 4.3 fit the mold.

We could see a metal Samsung Galaxy S4 in early 2014.

Sure enough, in October, Samsung announced that it would be outfitting the Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy S3 with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean in the future. And while the updates for the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 would be fairly substantial, the Galaxy S4’s update would be relatively incremental.

Several weeks ago, we saw the Galaxy S4 Android 4.3 update land outside of the United States. However, fortunately for U.S. users, a leaked road map leaked out pointing to very specific dates across U.S. carriers. Sure enough, that road map panned out for updates for Verizon Galaxy S4 and  Sprint Galaxy S4 Android 4.3 Jelly Bean updates, both of which rolled out at the end of last month.

Several days ago, the U.S. Cellular Galaxy S4 joined those two and owners now have access to the features of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean as well as support for the Galaxy Gear accessory. Since then, we’ve seen even more activity for Galaxy S4 owners in the United States and here, we take a final look at the Galaxy S4 Android 4.3 roll out in the United States in an effort to help users set expectations.

AT&T Galaxy S4 Android 4.3 Update Rolling Out Now

Late last night, we received word that the AT&T Galaxy S4 Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update was rolling out. And today, we can confirm that the update is indeed rolling out to owners of the AT&T variant of Samsung’s flagship. For AT&T owners, there are a few things to keep in mind during the roll out process.

Image courtesy of XDA-Developers.

One, the update could take a day or two to show up. Carriers often stagger updates before pushing them live to a wide swath of users. Users will want to remain patient and be on the look out for an update prompt. Second, the roll out is random. There is no way to predict where the update is going to land.

Just know that AT&T is going to be doing its best to ensure a smooth delivery of the software and that it will arrive in the near future for everyone.

Why That’s Important

The AT&T Galaxy S4 Android 4.3 Jelly Bean roll out is important to AT&T Galaxy S4 owners but it’s also important to another group of Galaxy S4 owners. The last remaining big name Galaxy S4 on Android 4.2 is the T-Mobile Galaxy S4. And while T-Mobile hasn’t announced anything yet, there is a very good chance that the update is going to land on November 18th.

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Why? Simple. The road map, that has accurately predicted the Sprint, Verizon and now the AT&T Galaxy S4 update, says that the T-Mobile Galaxy S4 update will roll out that day. Things could certainly change but at this point, given that it’s batting a thousand, T-Mobile users should be on the look out for the update in just a few short days.

T-Mobile Galaxy S4 Android 4.3 Update Tips

Here are a few T-Mobile Galaxy S4 release date tips for those who are getting anxious. First, assume that the update isn’t going to hit everyone on day one. T-Mobile, like other carriers, staggers its updates. So, there is a good chance that many users won’t see the software roll out for a few days. Be patient, it will be released soon.

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While we don’t anticipate any major issues, we do suggest that users start looking around for a good forum for up-to-date information about the software. Users will typically post feedback after upgrading, something that is important considering these updates have a chance to foul things up. Don’t believe us? Take a look at the Galaxy S3 Android 4.3 update.

So far, things have been smooth, but we suggest waiting a few hours, maybe even a few days, before installing, just to see if the software plays nicely with the Galaxy S4.

Smaller Carriers

The Samsung Galaxy S4 isn’t just on the five largest carriers in the United States, it’s also on smaller carriers like C Spire Wireless. Because these carriers don’t offer the Galaxy Gear, at least not yet, and don’t have as many customers as the big five, we don’t expect there to be as much hoopla surrounding the Android 4.3 updates.

Instead, look for carriers like C Spire to quietly roll out Android 4.3 Jelly Bean in the weeks ahead. These smaller carriers typically don’t announce anything ahead of time so users will just want to assume that they will be in the dark until Android 4.3 arrives. And yes, we expect the Galaxy S4, across carriers to get updated, Galaxy Gear or not.

What’s Next?

Finally, as the Galaxy S4 Android 4.3 roll out comes to a close in the United States, many users are now setting their sights on another big time Android update, Android 4.4 KitKat. Unfortunately, Samsung hasn’t announced anything just yet, for the Galaxy S4 or otherwise, but we fully expect the company to relay details once the Android 4.3 updates are deployed.

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Of course, we don’t expect the Galaxy S4 Android 4.3 update to emerge until 2014 due to the fact that Samsung loves to outfit its brand new flagships, in this case the Galaxy S5, with the latest Android software. Point is, Galaxy S4 owners should start getting cozy with Android 4.3 because there could be a little bit of a wait for Android 4.4.

11 Comments

11 Comments

  1. Jason Oyer

    11/14/2013 at 3:55 pm

    That was GARBAGE! Not one single detail about the actual changes in the update! Pathetic.

  2. Matt

    11/14/2013 at 6:38 pm

    i want that 5 minutes of my life back……this was absolutely useless. blah blah blah

  3. frustrated

    11/15/2013 at 3:08 am

    I will never read anything from this site or by this “author”. What a pathetic waste of time this has been. Tell us something we didn’t read from articles that came out weeks ago.

  4. YurieBlog Sucks

    11/15/2013 at 6:10 am

    No details regarding the actual updates. Who cares about what you wrote here? Who are you writing this for?

  5. Bill Brasky

    11/15/2013 at 7:30 am

    4.3.1 is already out. Not to mention 4.4.

  6. sarah

    11/15/2013 at 9:16 pm

    bought one from amazon https://amzn.to/18bZR1K really good price for a top phone!

  7. Raghu

    11/16/2013 at 5:00 am

    What a waste of time. Not a single line of useful information

  8. Mostafa Taufik Shom (@SHOM2DAY)

    11/24/2013 at 11:27 am

    Reporting bugs: Samsung Galaxy S4 (Videotron Canada) 4.3 firmware update Nov 2013. DATA toggle switch has disappeared from dropdown shortcuts list. Now I have to go into Settings>Connrctions>Data Usage, manually check/uncheck Data option; plus turn off Wifi in order for DATA to work. KNOX is a great security feature, however I dont understand why MoBeam is forcefully integregated without full user acknowledgment given the humongous list of permissions it requires (from all personal Contacts Sms control over phone tasks) to perform its simlle tasks. So there goes your security.

  9. Mostafa Taufik Shom (@SHOM2DAY)

    11/24/2013 at 11:49 am

    AOS 4.3 update is around 770MB which offers basically compatibility for GALAXY GEAR, Samsung Knox Security feauture (additional 170MB after update applied), camera firmware update, bloatware MoBeam requiring so much permission (check in app details, scrolling list of permission is never ending) given the simple task it is assigned for, promises few other tweaks such graphics etc

  10. Usedtolikegoogle

    11/27/2013 at 9:29 am

    The new google maps with jelly bean 4.3 does not allow to uninstall updates and go back to the previous version. Why? I want to know why take out the functionality of the old map software? I read that google made the new maps to learn all of your locations.. ok, but what if you only go somewhere once a year? and what if they move the second year? What if you want to go from contact to contact? I used to be able to look up my brother’s new address and then get directions from there to my uncle’s new house. Now there is no way to do this. I have to write down the address and plug it in. I also work with new communities for my work; non of which I will go to twice. Sure learn, great, but if everything changes, what then? Google needs to put functionality of the map back in. Let us go from a location which can be a contact, favorite place, and/or address. Do some good. Give more options, not less please.

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