Samsung has had a week to forget after a highly embarrassing security flaw was confirmed for its flagship Galaxy S10 and Note 10 smartphones. But the company has now responded quickly warning users about a critical fix millions of owners need to know about.
Samsung's Galaxy S10 and Note 10 fingerprint readers have been hacked with an accessory that costs ... [+] just a few dollars
Picked up by the ever-excellent PiunikaWeb, Samsung has started pushing an emergency hotfix for its circa 40M Galaxy S10 & Note 10 users to address a flaw which allowed anyone with a cheap silicon cover to fool its ultrasonic in-display fingerprint reader. Given the reader authenticates everything from unlocking to banking apps, it’s a critical download.
In fact, as Samsung warned in its official statement: “we advise that Galaxy Note10/10+ and S10/S10+/S10 5G users who use such covers to remove the cover, delete all previous fingerprints and newly register their fingerprints. If you currently use front screen protective covers, to ensure optimum fingerprint scanning, please refrain from using this cover until your device has been updated with a new software patch.”
As for the rollout, PiunikaWeb notes that the Galaxy Note 10 5G appears to be receiving it first. This is unsurprising because the handset has limited availability, which makes distribution easier to do. That said, typically patches roll out almost immediately afterwards for the remaining Galaxy S10 and Note 10 models.
Samsung has radical plans for 2020, including a Galaxy smartphone with cameras under the display - ... [+] concept pictured
Samsung had promised the update would be “released as early as next week”. Given it is already Monday morning in the company’s home country of South Korea, Samsung has kept its word. I suspect US owners may have to wait until the morning for their phones to see the update, but it is worth checking manually now just in case.
Assuming the fix does its job, Samsung will be hoping it can again refocus on some truly ambitious plans for 2020. Yes, the Galaxy S11 has already leaked (a lot) but Samsung is also thinking more widely with under-display smartphone cameras and potentially revolutionary new battery technology.
It needs to given what Apple has in mind.
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