Unlike Google, Samsung does a relatively better job of rolling out regular updates for its Galaxy phones that do not introduce unwanted new issues. But every once in a while, the company slips up, leading to a big disaster. That appears to be the case for some Galaxy S22 owners, as the latest security patch has reportedly bricked their phones for good.
Several unlucky Galaxy S22 owners have taken to Reddit to complain about their phone entering an endless bootloop after installing the latest security patch (via PiunikaWeb). It’s unclear exactly why this issue is happening, with a factory reset through recovery mode not helping things. It also seems to affect all models of the family, starting from the base S22 to the S22 Ultra.
A few users managed to revive their devices by manually reflashing the firmware through a PC. And in some cases, even a force restart worked.
At this stage, it’s unclear if the problem stems from a corrupted installation, aging hardware components, or an underlying firmware bug. The bigger concern is that the Galaxy S22 launched in 2022, meaning most units are now out of warranty.
So, if the update bricks a device, affected users may have to pay for repairs themselves despite the problem occurring through no fault of their own.
Galaxy S22 update woes return
Based on Reddit reports, the problem does not appear to be widespread, with most users not facing any bricking problems. Still, this is not the first time that a software update has effectively bricked Galaxy S22 units.
In October 2025, Samsung paused the Android 16-based One UI 8 rollout for the S22 family temporarily following widespread reports of bricking. And prior to that, the One UI 6.1.1 firmware also caused similar issues.
If you own a Galaxy S22, you may want to hold off on installing the latest security patch until Samsung issues a new firmware, especially to avoid running into a potential bootloop.
If your phone has already bricked, try performing a force restart first. If that doesn’t work, reflashing the firmware may help restore the device. If nothing works, your only option is to take it to a service center.
