Your Galaxy Z Fold 3 or Z Flip 3 will continue to work. Samsung just stopped guaranteeing regular security updates for it.
Samsung’s guaranteed security maintenance window for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 ended in August 2026, bringing both 2021 foldables to the end of their promised security support period after roughly five years.
For owners, that creates a more useful question than whether the phones still turn on: How long should you keep using a smartphone once regular security patches are no longer guaranteed?
Samsung reaches the end of the Fold 3 and Flip 3 support window
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 launched in August 2021, helping push Samsung’s foldable lineup further into the mainstream.
In 2022, Samsung expanded its support commitment for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 to four generations of Android and One UI upgrades and up to five years of security updates.
The two phones have now reached the end of their guaranteed security-maintenance window, with Samsung’s Knox documentation listing August 2026 as the final guaranteed month for security updates. The same documentation lists Android 15 as the final guaranteed operating-system version for both devices.
Some final updates have continued reaching devices into September, depending on the model and market. Those releases can arrive after the security patch itself is issued, so a September installation date does not necessarily mean the phone has received the September security patch.
Samsung could issue an exceptional fix if a severe vulnerability emerged, but owners should not expect any further routine security updates beyond the guaranteed support window.
The change comes as the Android market has moved toward substantially longer support periods. Samsung now promises up to 7 years of operating system and security updates for some newer Galaxy devices, while Google has made similarly long commitments for recent Pixel phones.
That difference is increasingly becoming part of the buying decision. TechRepublic recently compared Samsung’s and Google’s Android software support policies and found that update longevity can materially affect how long an expensive phone remains practical to own.
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Do Fold 3 and Flip 3 owners need to upgrade now?
Not necessarily.
The end of regular support does not disable the phone. The devices will continue to function, although app compatibility may change over time as developers raise software requirements.
The issue is what happens over time.
Future Android vulnerabilities will continue to be discovered, but Fold 3 and Flip 3 owners can no longer assume Samsung will patch them. That gap becomes more important for anyone who uses a phone for banking, authentication, work email, corporate apps, storing passwords, or other sensitive information.
Google also continues to tighten Android security in areas such as app installation and fraud prevention. TechRepublic recently reported on new restrictions for Android sideloading as Google adds more friction around potentially risky software.
For someone who primarily uses a Fold 3 or Flip 3 as a secondary device, the support cutoff may not justify an immediate replacement.
For someone using one as a primary work or personal phone, however, this is a sensible point to start planning an upgrade rather than waiting for the hardware itself to fail.
Organizations should take an even stricter view. IT teams that permit employee-owned Android devices may want to check whether their mobile device management or security policies allow phones that no longer receive guaranteed manufacturer security updates.
Software support is becoming part of a phone’s real price
The Fold 3 originally launched at $1,799.99, while the Flip 3 started at $999.99. For devices that expensive, longevity matters.
A smartphone that receives seven years of security support can potentially remain a viable primary device considerably longer than one whose guaranteed update window ends after four or five years, even if their hardware ages at roughly the same rate.
That is why Android update promises are becoming more than a line buried on a specifications page.
Motorola’s Android 17 rollout, for example, has again highlighted how dramatically update eligibility can vary across manufacturers and models. TechRepublic’s look at Motorola’s Android 17 eligibility shows why buyers increasingly need to consider support policies alongside cameras, processors, and battery life.
For Fold 3 and Flip 3 owners, there is no need to panic-buy a replacement this weekend. But the clock has changed.
If the phone still meets your needs, you can keep using it while you begin planning your next upgrade. If it holds work credentials, financial apps, sensitive data, or serves as your primary device, moving to a phone with active security support is increasingly the safer choice.
The bigger lesson applies well beyond these two foldables: A phone’s useful life is no longer determined only by when its battery fades or its screen breaks. Increasingly, software support determines how long it makes sense to keep using it.
Related reading: Google’s September Android security update fixes 180 vulnerabilities, highlighting why continued security support matters as new Android flaws are discovered.