LG announced its decision to exit the mobile phone market back in 2021. At the time, the South Korean brand promised existing customers that it would continue delivering updates for eligible models over a three-year period. The company is finally gearing up to shut down its servers used to distribute smartphone updates. After the shutdown, LG smartphones will no longer be able to install new Android OS updates. Further, users will be unable to download default applications deleted upon initialisation.
LG Handset Owners Have Two Months to Update Phones
A notice on the LG Electronics support website reveals that the company is shutting down its smartphone update servers within the next two months. The brand will be pulling the plug on the LG Electronics Mobile Phone Software Upgrade (FOTA), Update Centre, and LG Bridge servers on June 30 at 12am KST (8:30pm IST).
After that date, LG phones will be unable to download or install Android updates. All software upgrade services, including the Service Centre upgrades, will be terminated.
Additionally, LG says it will no longer provide app-based update service. Users will not be able to download default applications deleted upon initialisation. “The personal information collected for the services will be immediately destroyed when the services end”, said LG. Personal information will be retained following applicable laws, regulations, and internal company policies.
Users with LG devices that have outstanding updates should update them as soon as possible. LG handset users are likely to miss out on many new features, as the latest Android version available to them is nearly three generations behind Android 15. The lack of security updates is likely to leave the device more vulnerable to malware threats.
The announcement comes roughly four years after the company’s exit from the market. LG announced its exit from the smartphone market in April 2021, saying that it will focus its resources on growth areas such as electric vehicle components, smart homes, robotics, artificial intelligence, business-to-business solutions, and platforms and services.
The mobile division of the brand had been making losses for some time. At the time, the company assured that it would continue providing three years of Android updates for all premium phones released in 2019 or later.
