Galaxy S5 Lollipop Update: 5 Things to Know This Week

The Samsung Galaxy S5 Lollipop update has made solid progress since its initial release in December. Its also made substantial progress this week. With that in mind, we want to take a look at five things Galaxy S5 users in the United States and around the world should know about the Samsung Galaxy S5 Lollipop update release this week.

In December, Samsung rolled out its first Android 5.0 Lollipop update. It wasn’t for the Galaxy Note 4 or the Galaxy S4, it was for the Samsung Galaxy S5 which, at the time, was the current Galaxy S flagship. The fact that it got first dibs on Android 5.0 Lollipop didn’t come as much of a surprise. Samsung likes to get its flagships upgraded first before moving onto older devices.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 Lollipop update is a major one. It’s the first big update since the Galaxy S5 got Android 4.4.4 KitKat in select regions and it brings a whole lot of change to the former flagship. And while there are certainly Galaxy S5 Lollipop problems going around, that hasn’t stopped people from fixating on the software’s release.

The Samsung Android update process is extremely slow. If you’ve gone through the process before, you know that. If you haven’t, well, welcome to the party. Historically, its taken months for Samsung to get all of its models in all of its different regions outfitted with the latest software and the Galaxy S5 Lollipop update is no different.

While Samsung’s first Galaxy Android 5.0 Lollipop update has made solid progress, there are still plenty of people on Android 4.4 KitKat. At some point, Samsung will finish the job but until then, people are going to be looking for new details about progress. This week, we’ve seen a whole lot progress and today we want to help fill in the blanks for you Galaxy S5 users looking for answers.

AT&T Galaxy S5 Lollipop Release Could Be Close

Earlier this week, we told you that AT&T confirmed the Galaxy S5 Lollipop update ahead of its release. It was a rare bit of communication from one of the United States’ largest carriers and it had to be refreshing for owners of the AT&T Galaxy S5. For those that don’t know, U.S. carriers typically remain silent ahead of the roll out.

AT&T says that it is working on the Galaxy S5 Lollipop update behind the scenes and that those interested should keep an eye on their consumer blog. Carriers usually don’t talk about unreleased updates and they especially don’t like talking about updates that aren’t anywhere close to a public release. Just take a look at AT&T’s Twitter account and you’ll see what we mean. Its answers for other questions about Lollipop updates are extremely vague.

While we can’t say for sure, our guess is that the AT&T Galaxy S5 Lollipop release is close. AT&T’s rivals have had the Galaxy S5 Android 5.0 update out for a number of weeks now and we typically don’t see a massive amount of space between updates. It’s usually pretty reasonable. March is still very young and we’d be surprised if the update didn’t roll out sometime this month.

Galaxy S5 Active Lollipop Update Rolling Out Now

In a bit of a surprise, Samsung’s started rolling out Lollipop to another Galaxy S5 variant. While we expected the next update to be for the Galaxy S5 LTE-A, the first update is for the Samsung Galaxy S5 Active.

According to SamMobile, the Galaxy S5 Active SM-G870F Lollipop update is rolling out in Nordic countries right now. The update is absolutely massive, 1.4GB in size, and it should be similar to the Galaxy S5 Lollipop updates that have cruised out to its other international models in the weeks since December.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 Active Lollipop update will almost certainly follow the same path as the regular Galaxy S5 Lollipop update. That is to say that it will be limited to one region before Samsung starts making incremental progress in the weeks ahead. Samsung’s roll outs are unpredictable and random so there is no way to predict where it will head next.

Samsung’s Galaxy S5 LTE-A will be getting Lollipop and we’ve also seen an update confirmed for the Galaxy S5 mini. The Galaxy S5 mini should see its update roll out in Q2 which spans from April to June.

Galaxy S5 Lollipop Update Now Available in Canada

While the Galaxy S5 Lollipop update is still limited to three carriers in the United States, the update is now widespread in Canada.

Yesterday, Samsung Canada made a huge Galaxy S5 Lollipop push to Canadian carriers including Bell, TELUS, Koodo, Rogers, WIND Mobile, and more. It’s a massive roll out and it’s exactly what we expected from the Canadian roll out. Canadian carriers almost always get their updates at the same time, something that never happens in the U.S.

Those who own Canadian version of the Galaxy S5 should keep an eye out for a prompt. The update should be available through the device’s settings right now. Samsung says that the upgrade process could take 30 to 60 minutes though if done over a fast connection, the Galaxy S5 Lollipop upgrade should complete much sooner than that.

Silent Mode Bug Fix Making Progress

Samsung’s also making progress with another key Galaxy S5 Lollipop release. The company’s initial Android 5.0 Lollipop updates got rid of an important feature. For whatever reason, Google’s update got ride of Silent Mode, also known as Mute Mode. It was a change that annoyed Nexus users and owners of the Galaxy S5.

Slowly but surely, Samsung’s rolled out a bug fixer that brings Silent Mode back to the Galaxy S5. It’s a feature that it never should have taken away in the first place and it’s a feature that should be on board all of its upcoming Galaxy S5 Lollipop upgrades. If you are without the feature, you should remain patient. If you aren’t the patient type, here’s how to get it back.

Galaxy S5 Lollipop Problems Continue

We continue to get complaints about Samsung Galaxy S5 Lollipop problems. Users are still struggling with battery life issues and various performance problems that are impacting the overall stability of the phone. This isn’t at all surprising, this is a giant update, and Android updates always bring their own collection of problems.

Now, we point this out because it looks like Samsung is poised to make a giant Galaxy S5 Lollipop push in March. We’ve already seen a number of new updates roll out and we should see more push before the month is over. Remember, you do not need to install the update on day one. No one is forcing you to make the transition the second the prompt shows up.

In fact, there are some steps we recommend before installing the software. First, prepare yourself and your device for Android 5.0 Lollipop. This is a huge update and you’ll want to be prepared. We also recommend taking a look at the common Galaxy S5 Lollipop problems and the potential fixes for those problems so that you’ll be ready to address them if they do pop up for your device.

We don’t expect the Canadian version of the update to be immune from problems nor do we expect the AT&T Galaxy S5 Lollipop to be without its own set of issues. Dig into the issues and fixes and gather feedback from other Galaxy S5 users before installing. The sample size continues to grow with each update and you have a ton of resources at your disposal.