Samsung’s Zombie Galaxy S20 Update: When Dead Tech Rises for No Good Reason
Hello everyone. Today’s rant is brought to you by a blast from the past – the sort of “zombie update” you thought had already been buried six feet under in Samsung’s digital graveyard. And yet, here it is, clawing its way back from the dirt: a mysterious July 2025 security patch for the Galaxy S20 series, courtesy of Verizon. Yes, that Galaxy S20 series – the phones you thought had been officially abandoned somewhere between being removed from Samsung’s security page and sitting in your sock drawer gathering dust.
The Lazarus Effect, Brought to You by Verizon
Let’s set the scene: Samsung made it crystal clear back in April 2025 that the Galaxy S20, S20 Plus, and S20 Ultra had received their swan song update. Cue the violins, dim the lights. They even removed them from the official security update listings. In tech terms, that’s basically a death certificate – embalmed, boxed up, and put on the shelf next to your old Galaxy Note 7 memorabilia (which explodes if you drop it).
But here comes Verizon, rolling in like the world’s most indecisive ex, saying, “Hey, we know we ghosted you for months but… how about one more patch?” It’s the July 2025 patch, which, in software update years, might as well be a jar of milk that’s been “mostly fine” in the fridge since last month. Functionally? Probably just the same old bug fixes and nominal security fluff labeled as protection from the latest threats that cyber gremlins may or may not be releasing into the wild.
Nobody Asked for This
In case you’re wondering, the changelog is about as detailed as a fortune cookie: “Android Security Patch.” No mention of what bugs are fixed, which vulnerabilities are plugged, or whether this update will in fact keep your device from being commandeered by rogue microwaves and 5G conspiracy lizards. If this were a video game patch note, it’d be: “Various fixes and improvements.” Translation: we have no idea what we’ve touched, but good luck.
The best part? This blessing from above appears to be Verizon-exclusive so far – meaning the international crowd may have to sit this one out unless Samsung suddenly decides to spread the digital love globally. Or maybe they’re just testing the patch on Verizon customers before deciding whether it’s safe to let the rest of the world have it – like some bizarre paid beta program where your payment is your monthly bill.
The Journey of the S20 – Or, How to Drag Out an Ending
The Galaxy S20 launched back in 2020 with Android 10, climbed up the OS ladder to Android 13 by 2022, and then settled into its cozy “quarterly updates until death” cycle in 2024. Then, April 2025 rolled in with what everyone assumed was the last hurrah. Samsung even unlisted the devices from their own security schedule – which in the tech world is the equivalent of removing someone’s portrait from the wall of honor and tossing it into the basement archives.
Yet here we are, in Q3 2025, with the undead patch wandering into users’ notifications. Is this the final patch? Will another come when you least expect it, like DLC for a game you stopped playing years ago but somehow shows up in your library? No one knows. The Galaxy S20 FE might still get one more, or it might be the next to be cast into oblivion. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if we get another “oops” patch right in Q4 just to keep us guessing.
A Doctor’s Prescription for Pointless Updates
From a medical standpoint – and I’m speaking figuratively here – this is like administering CPR to someone who’s been clinically dead for months, just to see if they twitch. As your attending digital physician, I can tell you: there’s a fine line between life-saving intervention and just poking a corpse with a stick while taking notes for science.
From a gaming perspective, it’s equivalent to patching a game server after the user base has already moved on, the leaderboards are wiped, and the official forums have shut down. Sure, it might technically be “better” now, but no one’s logging back in for it.
Final Diagnosis
This surprise patch isn’t bad, per se – it’s just pointless. Like a politically motivated law that looks good in a press release but has no tangible effect on the real world. If you have a Galaxy S20 on Verizon, great – update it. If you don’t… well, you’re not missing the second coming of Android Christ here.
Overall impression? Mildly amusing, ultimately insignificant. At least it gave us something to talk about while waiting for genuinely important tech news. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is entirely my opinion.
Image above highlights the evolution of tech photography – from old to new – much like the Galaxy S20’s unexpected latest update juxtaposing legacy and modern device lifecycle.
Article source: The Galaxy S20 series gets another update after Samsung called it quits, https://www.androidcentral.com/phones/samsung-galaxy/galaxy-s20-series-gets-another-update-samsung-ended-support
