Galaxy S7 Nougat - To Update or Not

Now that Nougat is available for the Galaxy S7, the BIG question is To Upgrade or Hold Off. After the nightmare of updating the S5 to LOLLIFLOP two years ago which turned the Galaxy S5's from great working phones into something S5 owners wanted to smash with a hammer, I'm of course extremely skeptical.

A call to VZW tech support yielded a customer service rep telling me to wait for the next update. Gee, I wonder why?

Accepted answers

DMZMAN

Now that the update was released yesterday that fixes the WiFi issues some people have been having, this morning I bit the bullet, and, SUCCESS!! Nougat works fine, nothing wrong, at least so far.

Phone works great. The new Nougat features are are pleasure, so if you haven't run the update, do it now!

All comments

Ann154

You might not get it right away either. Personally for all of my phones I don't usually bother "spamming" the check for update button. Sometimes I get the update right away and I'll either hold off on installing until I get to wifi or wait a few days before installing. Other times if I see the posts pop up quickly about issues then I hold off longer.

TheS1R

Possibly because VZW tech support reps don't actually use the devices that they support?!? My nephew updated his phone to Android 7 (Nougat) months ago on another carrier, and he said that it was the best Android update ever...

The bigger issue is that VZW has not pushed out a security update for the Galaxy S7 or S7 edge in MONTHS! Google has been providing monthly updates to the carriers, but VZW has chosen to ignore them as of late.

jrh4054

Don't do the update!! Read all the posts about WiFi issues people are having. I put off the Lollipop update on my S4 for over a year because of all the issues with it and the S5.

skirow

Hold off.......I updated and my Wifi is no longer useable. Everything else seems fine.

Leo2005

Technically it's your call to update or not. In the update that I have received yesterday so far I have a problem only with charging. Wifi is working just fine everywhere I go. The fast charging is gone and here how it goes (battery 42% charged): Using oem charger with cable - Charging Estimated 3HRs 45M. Qualcomm charger with anker cable - Charging Estimated 4HRs 30M. 3.1A regular charger - Charging Estimated 4HRs 30M. Samsung Wireless fast charger - Charging Estimated 1HR 58M but after I reconnected the phone showed me 2HRs 30M. Choetech Fast wireless charger - Fast wireless charging Estimated 2HRs 30M. And finally. Moko Fast Wireless charger for car with original charger or Qualcomm charger (no difference) - Charging Estimated 4HRs 15M. After sitting on charge for 30 min my battery went up for 3%. When I go to settings I see fast charging option with message of: "Phone Charging... Disconnect the charger to turn this function on/off." Disconnected, saw the option was on, reconnected this feature and it's disabled again. Charged my phone just fine over night but that's the issue I have. Anyone else for charging issues?

KellyArens

You people kill me. This happens every time. You all moan and gripe about getting the update and then complain about the update once its released. I updated and my phone works great by the way. NO issues with Wifi here.

skirow

And you are here posting because.......

GiddyUpJC

It's a [Removed] shoot if you upgrade. The upgrade broke my WiFi, which is common with Nougat, and the only fix is to factory reset. I'm not going to wait for Verizon to fix it and the techs will only have you factory reset after trying all the other hacks and solutions that absolutely do not work and if they do it will leave you with disabled functionality on the phone. If I could do it all over again I would wait until the bugs are worked out. Unless you don't need your need your phone for work and have unlimited data then go ahead and roll the dice.Good luck

profanity removed as required by the Verizon Wireless Terms of Service

Message edited by Verizon Moderator

Ann154

KellyArens wrote:
You people kill me. This happens every time. You all moan and gripe about getting the update and then complain about the update once its released. I updated and my phone works great by the way. NO issues with Wifi here.

I know how you feel!

KellyArens

Because I can.....

KellyArens

Its so crazy, I get emails when new messages post to the board and for years now it is the same with each update. People yell for it and then yell about it. Cracks me up.

jrh4054

Consider yourself to be very lucky that you didn't have wifi problems as many, many others did.

TBEARSKI

Wait...did it last nite, slow wifi even though it worked...On S7edge...did a factory reset. Wireless charging is slow even with phone of. Only added a few apps. will give a update later!

skirow

Factory reset got the wifi working.

JORWYC50

Wifi issues here on two phones after updating. Samsung says factory reset is the only solution. Fail!

Klue

I just did the update to both of my S7's with Nougat and they connected to my Wifi immediately after booting up. The only thing I did before downloading the update I cleared the phone cache.

jrh4054

I spoke with a VZW Tech Coach this morning. She told me there was a WiFi connectivity fix coming later this month. She mentioned the 21st as a possible date.

DJH06

I wonder if that will be a stand-alone update or if they will somehow fix the Nougat update altogether? In other words, I would have to update to Nougat and then add the VZW patch! What's crazy is that other carriers had similar issues months ago. Why didn't this get fixed across the board from the Google?

TBEARSKI

Here's my update...After doing the update and going through the slowest phone ever and doing a search and destroy mission deleting a few apps trying to find the killer and the fastest battery drain ever, I gave up and did a factory reset. WITHOUT HAVING MY OLD APPS RESTORED... I added a few last nite and it took forever to bring my battery up to 100% on the wireless charger. It finally cranked itself up after about the 70% mark. This morning I left it off the charger and in about 2 hours I lost 20%. Charged it back up real fast and set Power Saving mode to MID...added a few more apps, shut off Bluetooth and Nearby device scanning, adjusted brightness to 60-70% and timeout to 2 minutes. So for the last 3 hours, I have only dropped 4% using only for checking notifications and email, weather and FB...Seems to be working fine for me!

jrh4054

The Tech Coach told me it would be a fix for the original update.

kincaed

Good to hear that they are working on pushing out a fix for those impacted by this issue. Hopefully, since they are pushing out the update anyway they will hopefully include the March 1st and March 5th security roll-ups released by AOSP to patch Android vulnerabilities. The Nougat update brought us up to the February 1st patch level. In the meantime 100+ new vulnerabilities have been discovered and resolved including numerous critical ones. Verizon really should roll out monthly security updates but one can only dream, I suppose.

gigi_5

Only good thing I can say is that it fixed my google calendar sync!! I now have a charger close by everywhere I go, no wifi issues

iounothing

I don't recommend updating yet until the bugs are worked out. I had to do a factory reset due to wifi connectivity failure, spend several hours restoring my phone to it's previous working state and then noticed that I am not receiving any notifcation tones despite the notification volume set to max under settings. Buggy!

TheS1R

VZW released a patch to the Nougat release for the Galaxy S7 edge today. The software version goes from NRD90M.G935VVRU4BQA2 to NRD90M.G935VVRU4BQA4. This appears to be strictly a patch to fix bugs (e.g., WiFi issues experienced by some users) with no new functionality.

dexman

Anyone who installs the patch, please post your results! ☺

kathy65793

Hi Dexman I installed the update last night. I was not having any issues with the original update to

nougat and the only one I had with this update was that my phone was dark when I would swipe it on

but all I had to do was pull down the screen touch the little arrow on the bottom right hand side and put the brightness level where I wanted it and then hit Done. The phone seems fine now

kincaed

The newer update for me was a bit odd. It took forever for my phone to reboot the first time. It was on the normal Verizon boot screen for way longer than it should be. Nonetheless, it all worked and my phone updated. One of the big things about Nougat was quicker boot times. It seems like it takes a bit longer now since this new update for my phone to boot and be usable.

Since I had no issues with the original Nougat update this smaller update didn't do anything positive for me.

TheS1R

This update is truly a patch as opposed to a complete OS replacement, explaining the difference in behavior from "the norm". The software version went from NRD90M.G935VVRU4BQA2 to NRD90M.G935VVRU4BQA4, with only the last digit changing.

tom85294

Had no issues with wifi after the Nougat update. However, my S7 would not restart after the update today to A4. A factory reset was required.

DMZMAN

Phone works great. The new Nougat features are are pleasure, so if you haven't run the update, do it now!

dexman

Looks like my ability wait is over. I'm getting the notification that the new OS is ready for download.

Here goes nothing....

dexman

I mean installation....

JAKEZ_15

Hey DEX... I am curious how your install went... I can't clear the install notification anymore and its annoying so the only option is to install but I am extremely cautious/nervous...

How did your install work out?

LynnPerley

I am having the wifi issues. Phone runs clunky and slow as well. I don;t recommend the update.

dexman

Oddly enough, the install was quick and painless.

WiFi has been rock solid. Samsung's web browser needed to be updated as did a selection of other apps, but, I haven't experienced any issues so far...knock on wood.

JAKEZ_15

dexman That is great to hear... Please keep this updated if you can... I am very cautious due to past experiences as I am sure you could imagine.

How about bluetooth connectivity in your car?

LNMcGarry

I did the update and while some things gave changed i do not like the change in my calender, photos and few other formats. Why do they have ri disrupt individual apps...

dexman

I can't vouch for Bluetooth in my car as my 2008 Buick Lucerne doesn't have that capability.

Other than that, no issues.

I'm sad that I still can't block calls above an individual level. My Samsung Galaxy S4 running Lollipop can block whole exchanges and even entire area codes.

NAIVE66

Do not update. I just did and it terrible. I have a grandfathered unlimited plan. I used the app foxfi to make my phone a hotspot. Since the update i can no longer do that. They changed the keyboard and i keep hitting wrong keys.

JAKEZ_15

Wonderful... I'm really bummed to read your post. This happened to my HTCM7 years ago as it was the hottest phone on the market and the OS update blew the phone up. I've been extremely cautious and skeptical ever since. What I dont quite understand is why they dont pull the update and fix the major flaws. Although the update may have worked for many, the vast majority of users bricked their phones by updating the OS one of the hottest phone out there.

Verizon_Support

LynnPerley, updates should be fun enhancements to your user experience, not slow your phone down and cause frustration. Let's figure this out, and get your phone running in tip top shape once again. Since the update, have you gone in and updated all of your apps? Until they have been updated, there may be some compatibility issues with old app versions and the new update. You can go into Play Store>Menu>My Apps to update them. Also, can you go to Settings>Storage and share how much memory is available on the device? This information can help us determine what is causing your phone to run more slowly.

MichelleH_VZW

If my response answered your question please click the ?Correct Answer? button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!

BADMD308

After I updated my S7, it caused the battery to heat up, everything slowed down and the battery drained rapidly.

I was forced to get a new phone and start from scratch without the update. MUCH happier.

BADMD308

I spoke to Verizon and Samsung after the update to complain about rapid battery loss with minimal applications running.

THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE FROM VZ AND SAMSUNG.

This may or may not have been fixed with a patch roll-out last week. I got a new phone and AM NOT GOING TOO UPDATE - EVER.

BADMD308

Wish I had known this prior to update. Due to multiple other phone issues had to get a new phone from VZ and have not installed updated.

jrh4054

WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!!!

jrh4054

According to several posts, the recent update didn't fix the wifi or other issues for all users.

JAKEZ_15

Have any additional patches or security updates been released since the last post?

My Father-In-Law updated his Note 5 the minute it was released contrary to my suggestion and thus far his experience has been great.... I am not quite sure how the Note 5 seems to be having a great experience with the update and a more recent (release date and specs) phone is still really struggling with Nougat...

Any updated experiences from the users in this forum to share?

dexman

My Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge was last updated on March 30th with nothing pending at this time.

say6345789

Any bluetooth devices you link to your phone ie: car or cordless link to cell phones will probably not work after you update. I have received zero help from samsung, verizon or panasonic regarding this issue. I wish I hadn't updated.

BADMD308

So now several weeks in without doing full update after receiving replacement phone - battery still being used at very high levels. WiFi turns on automatically almost anywhere (presumably to stop me from using my wireless data - unlimited plan) despite having shut everything from WiFi off.

Phone is nowhere near the performance that it was before this whole debacle. Still wishing they hadn't updated anything.