Is the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G still supported?
End-of-support date: January 2026.
Support ended
Official promiseJanuary 2026
Source: endoflife.date (community-tracked) · verified 2026-06-10
What it means now that support ends
- 🔓 Security risk grows monthly. New vulnerabilities are discovered constantly; on an unsupported phone they are never fixed. Banking, payments, email, and password apps become progressively riskier.
- 📱 Apps drop off. Developers raise their minimum OS requirements over time — first you lose updates to apps, then the apps themselves.
- 💸 Resale value falls fast.The market prices support: once a phone leaves a manufacturer's update list, its used value drops sharply and keeps falling.
Not sure what to do with a phone that's already end-of-life? See your options →
More questions about the Galaxy S21 5G
Is the Galaxy S21 still supported in 2026?
No. Samsung completed its five-year commitment and removed the S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra from its update roster in early 2026 — the final security patch shipped around January 2026. The phone works, but new vulnerabilities will never be fixed.
Is it safe to keep using a Galaxy S21?
For calls, photos, and offline use, yes. For banking, payments, email, and anything with passwords, the risk grows every month as unpatched flaws accumulate. We recommend moving sensitive accounts to a supported device.
Should I buy a used Galaxy S21 in 2026?
Not as your main phone — at any price. With zero months of supported life left, its cost per month of safe use is effectively infinite. A $113 phone you can't safely bank on isn't cheap; it's a liability with a nice screen.
Safer alternatives
All three carry a GREEN Safe-to-Buy badge today.
Data sources & last verified: this phone's support window comes from the manufacturer's official policy, last verified 2026-06-10. How we compute end dates.