Warning - Samsung UI8.0 upgrade

While I am not quite sure what is the best forum to post this,. However, after all, Samsung is a service provider, so it goes here.

So I have Samsung A15 and per usual have been once in a while prompted to upgrade.
So far so good, until the last upgrade UI8.0 which I had attempted this afternoon.

Per usual, downloaded the upgrade and authorized it to proceed.

Once I restarted the phone, I got a welcome message from Gemini (that already turned me off),
indicating that Gemini will now "assist me" in using the phone and that the power button has now been reprogrammed to start Gemini. (WTF? And how can I access the power button now has remained unclear.)

Leaving aside the legality of Samsung making unsolicited and unapproved changes to my personal device that I have bought myself, I was quite displeased by the AI takeover of my phone.

Following with the "suggested" changes, and trying to exit the set up menu, I get error message 405 and then the screen went blank.

And that was it. Once the phone went asleep, upon attempting to restart, it showed me date, notifications etc per usual. However, once I entered the PIN to unlock my phone, the screen went white again. And again.

I tried to force the shutdown but now the main button initiated Gemini per the warning message above. After a while I was able to figure out how to force shutdown. Finally!

Upon full restart, the system offered me an upgrade to 8.0 (looks like the previous upgrade did not quite finish, thankfully), so I was able to go to Settings and change the function of the main button (they call it "lateral" from "start Gemini" to shut-off, and then everything else was OK.

So here are my personal lessons:
1. Stop installing Samsung updates (done)
2. Stop buying Samsung phones (not that other vendors are much better) - next phone will be ABSA i.e. anything but Samsung and Apple
3. Speed up my transition back to a traditional phone, i.e. call/SMS and nothing more. Go back to laptop/phone model I had used between 1990's and early 2010's. Possibly consider an anonymous WiFi only tablet if needed.

Hope this helps.

Cheers for 2026 and here is me wishing for less artificial stupidity.

Disclaimer

PS Between 2015 and today I have worked - on and off - with a number of different AI companies, mostly in marketing, business and technology development. This is why I call AI "artificial stupidity".

Rick said:

I get that it is annoying but you did buy a Samsung phone and explicitly agreed to update. It tells you what is in the update on the screen before accepting.

And you noted it, don't buy Samsung phones if you want them pushing useless AI assistants to your devices (google search Bixby. This is not the first time they do this).

P.S. you should be able to turn off that power functionality. Sometimes via the regular settings and sometimes via (I believe) some Samsung settings app. Haven't used them for years but this is how it worked with bixby etc.

P.P.S. given you having an A15, for a more budget phone I would prefer Motorola, they tend to not do this BS and they make good phones on a budget.

Instructions from Google:
To turn off Gemini from your Samsung A15's power button, go to Settings > Advanced features > Side button, then change the Long press action from "Wake Bixby" (or Digital assistant/Gemini) to the Power off menu

Thanks Rick, and yes I had used Motorola in the past. However, this Samsung A15 is a property of my client, and I only use it for a project related work. It is not my personal phone and they had specifically requested that I buy A 15.

Laid Back Llama said:

GrapheneOS/CalyxOS on a Pixel if you're actually serious about this and everything else is theater, Samsung, Apple, whatever, all of them monetize you the same way, just different packaging 😂

@Rick's right about the settings fix but that's treating symptoms, I wouldn't trust any of these companies with my primary device if I had sensitive info

Thanks Llama, I heard of this combination and will investigate.

JohnnyDoe said:

Abandoning Samsung, which has a very good camera and other nice feature, seems a bit extreme.
You could consider to use a secure phone for sensitive matters, and the Samsung one for play and other things.
Have a look here: Secure communication devices

Hi Johnny,

while yes Samsung's camera is not bad, I have an SLR camera for high end pics, so while I do use my phone camera is not that important.