Your Android phone is always lying to you: It’s not really up to date

Google Play system updates are crucial, hidden, and often forgotten.

Apr 5, 2025 - 13:02
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Your Android phone is always lying to you: It’s not really up to date
android your system is up to date
Credit: Rita El Khoury / Android Authority

If I had a penny for every single time I checked my Android phone for updates and got the all-clear “Your system is up to date” notice when there was actually a hidden update pending, well, I’d have a dollar or so. This issue is so frequent that it’s easily happened a hundred times or more on every Pixel, Galaxy, Nothing, HONOR, realme, or any other phone that has fallen in my hands in the last few years.

And no, I’m not talking about Android’s silly idea of not showing updates the first time unless I explicitly tap “Check for updates” — that’s a given at this point.