Robert Triggs / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Several Samsung Galaxy phones were stuck on the old May 2023 Google Play System Update for no apparent reason.
- However, many of these stuck phones can now receive the November 2023 Google Play System Update.
- The cause of the issue remains unknown, and the fix is to check for a Play System Update and hope you can receive and install the new one.
Google Play System Updates (GPSU) are another word for Project Mainline module updates and are not to be confused with updates to the Google Play Services app or the Play Store app. You probably didn’t even know these updates existed, and we wouldn’t fault you if you didn’t notice that your Samsung Galaxy smartphone hasn’t received these updates for many months. Thankfully, whatever the issue was, it appears that it has now been fixed, and your Galaxy smartphone can receive the missing updates once again and be properly up-to-date.
Galaxyclub reports that many Samsung smartphones have started receiving their overdue Google Play System Updates again, letting them update several stuck Galaxy phones to the November 2023 Google Play System Update. Previously affected units that they can now update include the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S22, Galaxy Z Fold 5, and the Galaxy S23 FE. In some instances, the download did stop, and on the Galaxy A53 and Galaxy A34, the update didn’t even appear. But they were able to succeed after a few attempts.
In the case of their Galaxy S20 Ultra, though, the phone remains stuck on the May 2023 Google Play System Update. There is a possibility that the fix is being rolled out in phases.
The report notes that this issue once happened in 2022, too, with phones getting stuck on the July 2022 update, and was eventually fixed in January 2023. The same cycle has repeated this time, with the issue cropping up in the second half of the year and getting fixed in January 2024.
It is still unclear what the issue is that causes Galaxy smartphones to be stuck on an older Google Play System Update. Neither Samsung nor Google have chimed in on the issue or solution.
How to check if your phone is on the latest Google Play System Update
The update that is available to Galaxy smartphones at this time is the November 2023 Google Play System Update. To check if your phone can download and install the same, follow these steps:
- Go to Settings > Security and Privacy> Updates > Google Play System Update.
- Click on Check for update.
If your phone displays an installed update from before November 2023, give it a few refreshes to hopefully force the system to receive the update.
