Is the Samsung Galaxy S4 still supported?
End-of-support date: April 2016.
Support ended
Our estimateApril 2016
Source: Samsung's official policy · verified 2026-06-12
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 S4
How long will the Galaxy S4 get updates?
Updates ended around 2016 with Android 5 Lollipop as its final major version. It has had no security support for many years.
Does the Galaxy S4 have a removable battery?
Yes. The plastic back pops off, letting you swap the 2600mAh battery and add a microSD card.
Is the Galaxy S4 still worth owning in 2026?
Mostly as a nostalgic collectible. Its outdated software and missing patches make it impractical as a daily phone.
Safer alternatives
All three carry a GREEN Safe-to-Buy badge today.
Data sources & last verified: this phone's support window comes from documented update history (estimate — see our methodology), last verified 2026-06-12. How we compute end dates.