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Samsung halted its Android 8.0 Oreo update due to ‘unexpected’ Galaxy S8 reboots

Published Feb 15th, 2018 10:33AM EST
Galaxy S8 Reboots
Image: Zach Epstein, BGR

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Samsung quietly halted the Android 8.0 Oreo update for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ earlier this week just days after the update began rolling out the flagship phones without any explanation or warning.

Whatever convinced Samsung to put a stop to the update must have been serious, but the company took its time before revealing what happened. It turns out that the final Android 8.0 release for the Galaxy S8 family of device comes with an unwanted side effect: Unexpected reboots.

“Following a limited number of cases where Galaxy S8 and S8+ devices have rebooted unexpectedly with the Android 8.0 Oreo, we have temporarily stopped the rollout of the update,” Samsung told SamMobile in a statement today. “We are investigating the issue internally to ensure that the impact to the affected devices is minimized and the rollout of the update can resume as quickly as possible.”

It’s unclear when the Oreo update will return at this point, but it’s not like Samsung was quick to release it in the first place. Also, it’s unclear what “a limited number” of cases means. SamMobile says that many readers have reported unexpected reboots after the Oreo update. That’s certainly not the kind of feature you want from a fresh software update, especially one you’ve waited months to receive on your expensive smartphone.

What’s especially strange is that Samsung tested the Oreo update for months before initiating the rollout of the final version just days ago, but somehow this issue wasn’t discovered and fixed before the rollout began.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.