Samsung cannot be forced to send software updates to smartphones

A Dutch court has ruled that Samsung will not be forced to update its mobile phones for many years after launching its mobile phones.

A consumer association has filed a lawsuit against Samsung for updating its phones at least four years after it began selling them.

Security issues can be overcome with regular software updates, but older models of phones do not receive all the new updates.

However, the court rejected the association’s arguments.

What is the problem?

Samsung is one of the world’s leading mobile phone makers with Google’s Android operating system.

Google regularly releases software updates to address security vulnerabilities and sends it to phone makers such as Samsung. It is up to the phone makers to send these updates to their customers.

Consumer group Consumer Bond says Samsung does not distribute these updates “on time”.

They claim that Samsung should support these phones for at least four years or send them these updates at least two years after their sale.

What does Samsung say?

Samsung says it guarantees its customers in the Netherlands that it will send them software updates up to two years after the sale of the phone in the country.

It says it releases updates in a “reasonable” time frame and is tested before they are released.

What does the court say?

The court ruled in Samsung’s favor, saying the Consumer Bond’s claims were “unacceptable” because they relate to “future actions.”

For example, if a serious problem arises in the future, Samsung may choose to update all older smartphones. It may also fail to update software based on the hardware and ‘bug’ nature of older phones.

For this reason, it is not possible to say how many Samsung phones will receive software updates in the future if a major software error occurs. The court ruled that Samsung could not be ordered to send updates to its smartphones for the next four years.