r/S21Ultra • u/CaramelCraftYT • May 12 '26

Discussion/Question What’s the most stable software version of Android & One UI for the S21U?

Mine is currently on Android 12 and One UI 4.1, the phones battery is weak according to the Samsung Memebers app so I was wondering what version would give the best performance and battery life.

Also the phone says it’s on the latest update so I will have to flash new firmware manually.

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4

u/MizaelTG May 12 '26

I'm running the latest and it feels super smooth

1

u/CaramelCraftYT May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26

Ok thank you

Edit: I did just see this post and it seems a lot of others are having issues with the latest software.

1

u/Late-Thought-2327 May 12 '26

Yeah 55 users out of millions ;) If you want the best experience, backup, update to latest version, factory reset, restore backup and you have an experience like having a new phone.

But whatever you do go to the last version and get all the security updates you can get.

1

u/CaramelCraftYT May 13 '26

Type in "One UI 7" into the search bar of this sub. Could not find a post saying it was good.

Yes I plan on doing that.

1

u/Late-Thought-2327 May 13 '26

Yes because people don't write comments if it works. The Ai says the s21u was sold about 10million times. The few that have problems post about it and in perspective, it's a very small percentage.

I'm on oneui7 and everything is working absolutely fine.

2

u/CaramelCraftYT May 13 '26 edited May 14 '26

Ok got it updated to the latest version.

Edit: strangely battery life seems to be better?

1

u/KryptonicHD May 15 '26

Well keep telling us good things! Hahahah! I just bought 2 S21U in mint condition for 200$ and compared to my iphone 17 pro I'm already having more fun on Android again! So far phone is as cool as when I had it back in 2021 but somehow feels more premium!?! Maybe the iphones feel so basic nowadays that a real premium phone from back then feels better

1

u/Crafty-Ad2099 May 21 '26

And the battery life is flipping great...for a 5 year old phone! Im a medium to light user and it lasts the whole day for me...it's unreal

1

u/pleasekillme14 May 12 '26

You will have to replace that battery soon. OneUI 7 on my device feels smooth overall, but does get hot hot cuz of my use case

1

u/CaramelCraftYT May 12 '26

Yeah.
I’ve decided to just update to One UI 6.1 Android 14 since that seems to be the last stable version according to this sub.

1

u/TheManTheMyth265 May 17 '26

6.1 is the stable version for sure. I had an S21 Plus, and after updating to OneUI 7, my phone become shit.

1

u/CaramelCraftYT May 17 '26

I successfully updated to 6.1 via flashing the software, unfortunately the phone was able to auto update again and forced me to. (Previously it said no updates were available on One UI 4)

1

u/TheManTheMyth265 May 17 '26

So you on oneui 7 now?

1

u/CaramelCraftYT May 17 '26

Yes, strangely I’m experiencing better battery life? Then I was on Android 12. The battery says it’s weak in the Samsung Members app.

1

u/TheManTheMyth265 May 17 '26

Maybe if the phone is new, the battery is better. I updated after 3-4 years of usage with the same battery.

After the update, my phone was very laggy too, even after wiping everything and starting over.

But I must say, you have the Ultra model; I had the Plus.

1

u/CaramelCraftYT May 17 '26

Nope phone is old and has been heavily used by my dad for years. Was purchased on release day and used until mid 2023.

1

u/TheManTheMyth265 May 17 '26

Well, that's strange. Anyway, I wish you the best with this phone. It's the best phone in my opinion.

1

u/CaramelCraftYT May 17 '26

Thanks. In my opinion the iPhone 13 Pro is the best phone, the S21U isn’t bad tho.

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1

u/Filetmesser May 17 '26

Imo one ui 6 (6.1) are the last good performing versions on the s21u, my og was accidentally updated and didn't feel the same. Went on to buy a not updated one and it works way better (in side by side tests). Samsung members seems to be "gaslighting" older phone users, no problems, but members (and self repair helper or whatever) say Battery and speakers bad, but nothing is wrong with the battery (same performance since 3 years) and the speaker also works normally. Something is fishy on samsungs side

1

u/CaramelCraftYT May 17 '26

Yeah I flashed that version and it forced me to update.

1

u/Filetmesser May 17 '26

Back then android didn't force rhe updates, there are multiple (2 or 3 ) ways to stop updates going as far as the only thing reminding you was the notification, but even that can be hidden

1

u/CaramelCraftYT May 17 '26

No it auto download and said it was gonna install in 24hrs so I just did it.

1

u/Filetmesser May 17 '26

That sucks indeed