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Samsung is delivering the perfect New Year's gift to global Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra users

Updated: Dec 29, 2020, 10:59 AM

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Samsung is delivering the perfect New Year's gift to global Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra users

UPDATE #4: Believe it or not, Samsung is on track to complete the Note 20-series Android 11 upgrade process around the world by the end of 2020, reportedly delivering all the hot new software goodies to the two Exynos models in markets as diverse as India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, and "most of Europe" as we speak. Now that's a rare feat!

UPDATE #3: Samsung is typically painfully slow in bringing unlocked US versions of its flagships up to date from a software standpoint, but evidently, there's something about the 5G-capable Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra. According to a number of new reports spreading like wildfire on the interwebs, Android 11 is making its way to owners of non-carrier-specific models with several days left until December 25.

UPDATE #2: Predictably enough, Verizon has joined the Note 20-series Android 11 party relatively quickly too, as confirmed on the carrier's official support website. For its part, T-Mobile has also added the relevant update information to its website, revealing there's currently a "daily limit on downloads" meant to prevent "download issues."

Magenta customers unable to download and install the One UI 3.0 goodie pack on their Note 20 or Note 20 Ultra devices should "check back tomorrow or after December 22", when said daily limit is set to be lifted, giving everyone plenty of time to unwrap their software gifts before Christmas Day.

UPDATE: Hot on AT&T's heels (more or less), T-Mobile appears to be treating its first Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra users to an OTA Android 11 upgrade as well, based on multiple Reddit and Twitter reports.

The rollout is without a doubt in its extremely early stages at the time of this writing, as suggested by the fact that Magenta's support webpages still list a routine December 1 security improvement as the latest official update delivered to the two Samsung powerhouses.

Speaking of said webpages, it doesn't look like T-Mo has been able to restart the recently paused Android 11 delivery for the Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra, so it's a little surprising to see the Note 20-series updates kicking off already. Let's hope these OS promotions will not require a similar halt in the next couple of weeks, ruining the holidays made so special by this unexpectedly early rollout. Also, the ball is now squarely in Verizon's court. Our original story follows below.

According to an official Android 11 release schedule made public a couple of weeks ago, a grand total of only three Samsung smartphones were supposed to receive the major new update by the end of the year.

But the over-the-air One UI 3.0 rollout kicked off simultaneously for the 5G-enabled Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra at the very beginning of December, sparking hope for an early delivery on the even newer Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra powerhouses, at least in certain markets.

In line with these expectations, the two ultra high-end devices that were initially slated to get the latest software goodie pack next year actually started their Android 11 upgrades last week on AT&T. As is often the case, the third-largest wireless service provider in the US treated only a small part of its eligible customers to the OS promotion initially, further spreading the love in the last few days judging by a number of Reddit reports.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20

$450 off with trade-in (instant credit), up to $290 for cracked screen trade-in

$450 off (45%) Trade-in

$549 ⁹⁹

$999 ⁹⁹

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Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra

$500 off with trade-in (instant credit), up to $290 for cracked screen trade-in

$500 off (38%) Trade-in

$799 ⁹⁹

$1299 ⁹⁹

Buy at Samsung

Curiously enough, the US carrier appears to have beaten every other mobile network operator worldwide to the Android 11 punch as far as the Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra are concerned, although Samsung's "international" updates seem to be finally underway as well. For the time being, SamMobile can only confirm the start of the OTA One UI 3.0 delivery for the Note 20 duo in Slovakia, but many other European and Asian countries are naturally bound to follow suit very soon.

We're talking a matter of days or even hours in certain markets, so it's safe to assume the vast majority of users around the world will be allowed to leave Android 10 behind by Christmas. Hopefully, that's going to include Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra 5G owners on Verizon and T-Mobile too, and hopefully, the "Un-carrier" will not run into the same kind of mysterious trouble that recently led to a Galaxy S20-series update halt.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20

with activation today

$50 off (5%)

$949 ⁹⁹

$999 ⁹⁹

Buy at BestBuy

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra

with activation today

$50 off (4%)

$1249 ⁹⁹

$1299 ⁹⁹

Buy at BestBuy

While the exact size of your Android 11-based One UI 3 upgrade obviously depends on your specific region and carrier, you should definitely leave more than 2 gigs of storage space free before trying to download and install all those performance improvements, fresh security patches, and many other UI tweaks and add-ons no matter where you purchased your newest phone.

In case you're wondering, Samsung plans to bring the latest OS version to a number of other devices next month, including the Galaxy S20 FE, Z Fold 2, Z Flip, and the S10 and Note 10 families, and we wouldn't be surprised to see some of these updates start a little early too.

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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.