Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Update: October Security Patch To Address Issue With Phablet’s Iris Scanner Matching Algorithm

The South Korean tech giant has provided the details of the October security update coming to its flagship devices including the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. The change log posted in Samsung Mobile Security Blog revealed that a total of 68 Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures will be addressed in this month’s security update, both for Google’s Android OS and Samsung’s own devices.

Sam Mobile noted that one of the interesting fixes included in the October security update has something to do particularly with Samsung Galaxy Note 7. “The changelog also reveals that it addresses a security weakness related to recognition and matching algorithm of the Galaxy Note 7’s iris scanner,” the post noted.

Furthermore, the blog site listed some of the contents of the new security update as “privately disclosed.” Explaining the reason why the company did not reveal them, GSM Arena said that sharing these publicly could give hackers ample time to exploit and take advantage of these vulnerabilities and issues.

The Galaxy Note 7 is Samsung’s most recent phablet offering. Things were going well for the device after its official unveiling in August, receiving an enormous and unprecedented market demand worldwide. However, after the initial release, its days of glory had to end following reports of the Note 7 exploding because of faulty battery issues. This led the Korean company to quickly implement a global massive recall of the phablet, which consequently stopped the sales of the phablet as well.

But as of the moment, it seems like the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is back in the game once again. The tech conglomerate shared a status update for its phablet via Samsung Newsroom.

“With the Galaxy Note7’s global replacement program well underway, Samsung Electronics has announced that new Galaxy Note7 devices will soon be available for purchase in markets across the globe. Sales of the new Galaxy Note7 commenced on October 1 in Korea, and will follow suit in markets worldwide in the coming weeks.”

The new and safe Note 7 units are ready and have been shipped to partners, carriers, and retailers. For instance, T-Mobile, one of the major network carriers in the United States, will resume its sales of the phablet starting tomorrow, October 5, Android Authority reported. Sprint and Verizon, other huge U.S. carriers, restarted selling the smartphone two weeks ago.

Samsung, for sure, would like everyone to quickly treat this embarrassing Note 7 disaster as a thing of the past. But Grand Theft Auto 5 players may not be able to forget this so soon after GTA modder HitmanNiko created a modification making the controversial phablet act as a bomb in the game. “He achieved it by replacing the sticky bomb that’s already present in the game with a 3D model of the Galaxy Note 7,” Geek explained.

Watch the video below to see this internet and gaming witticism for Samsung Galaxy Note 7’s fiasco.

Going back to the October update, the firmware containing the patch has yet to be pushed out for Galaxy Note 7 as well as this year’s flagship models, the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. Previous flagship devices like Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, and S6 Edge Plus are also expected to receive this firmware update which aims to make the devices even stronger from security threats.

While Samsung’s flagship models are still waiting for their next security update, current Nexus and Pixel devices are already receiving their proper patches. According to a separate report from Android Authority, the OTA images, as well as the factory images, are currently available for download via Google’s developer sites. The Over-The-Air update should be ready for the devices soon, but since it is rolled out in stages, some units may have to wait a bit longer.

[Featured Image by Drew Angerer/Getty Images]