Android 5.0 L Release Date Update for Samsung Galaxy S4: Reasons for Delay

By Mark Rollins
Samsung Galaxy S4
Samsung's Galaxy S4 is expected to get the Android Lollipop update soon. Photo: Samsung

Users of the Galaxy S4 have been eagerly awaiting the update to Lollipop, version 5.0 of the Android operating system, also known as Android L.  It seems the Lollipop update has been slow to roll out for less recently released Android mobile devices, but there is new information suggesting that the Android 5.0 L Update will happen for Samsung Galaxy S4 users in the United States, as well as reasons for the delay.

According to Gotta Be Mobile, Samsung started rolling out Android 5.0 Lollipop to its past flagship phones which include the Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy S4.  Of these two Samsung handsets, only the Galaxy Note 3 Lollipop update has been available in the United States, while Galaxy S4 users are still waiting for their Lollipop release. 

This doesn't mean that the Lollipop download hasn't been available in other countries.  One of the problems with the United States delay has to do with a new feature.  The Android 5.0 update has removed the Mute Mode, or Silent Mode, from the Galaxy S4.  In its place is an "interruptions" feature that was not well received by Galaxy S4 smartphone users in other countries. 

As someone who is a Galaxy S5 user, I have also disapproved the removal of the Silent Mode, and really resent it.  It used to be that you could just hold the power button, and then hit a mute button.  Now, the only way to do it is to just turn down the volume all the way. 

Samsung is in the process of returning the Mute Mode to Lollipop users, and there is report of a new 5.0.1 Lollipop built to the international version of the Galaxy S4, also known as GT-I19500.  The update is available in India, and it is quite large with two major changes. 

The first of these changes is the return of the Mute Mode, which I am going to have to see if I can get back on my Galaxy S5.  The other change to the Galaxy S4 is Samsung Knox 2.0, which is a full upgrade of the Knox 2.0 suite. 

So this is the apparently delay for the Android L Update to the Galaxy S4 has to do with the simple Mute Function.  I'm certain that it isn't the only reason, but the fact remains that the rollout of Android 5.0 seems sluggish to those United States Android users who have a device that is only one year old.  It looks like that the United Kingdom is receiving its rollout, though. 

Samsung rollouts are usually slow to come out, and so it is not clear when the Galaxy S4 will receive its update in the United States, but all evidence seems to point to very soon.  Gotta Be Mobile reports that T-Mobile and Samsung, along with other carriers, have yet to agree on a Galaxy S4 Lollipop update.  When that update happens, it will enter the carrier's "Manufacturer's Development" phase.  Let's hope that it gets there, and not end up like the Galaxy S3, which might not receive an Android L Update at all, according to Tech Times. 

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