How to check your Android version and update your phone
2 min read · 5 steps · Updated 1 October 2026
Open Settings, tap About phone and look for Android version. To update, go to Settings, System, Software updates, then System update, and tap Check for update.
Knowing your Android version tells you which features you have and whether the phone still gets security updates. Both the version and the update button are in Settings.
Menu names below are from Google Pixel phones on a recent Android version. Samsung, Xiaomi and other brands rename some of them, so the Samsung name is given where it differs. The pictures are simplified diagrams of the screen, not screenshots.
Step by step
Open Settings and tap About phone
It is at the very bottom of the main Settings list.
Tap Android version
The row shows the number. Tap it to see the Android security update date and the Google Play system update date as well. On Samsung, tap Software information.
Go back and tap System
Return to the main Settings list and tap System.
Tap Software updates, then System update
On Samsung this is its own entry in the main list, called Software update.
Tap Check for update
If an update is waiting, tap Download and install. Use Wi-Fi and keep the battery above 50%, or plug the phone in. The phone restarts at the end.
Good to know
The security update date matters more than the version number. If it is more than a few months old and no update is offered, the maker may have stopped supporting the phone.
Google Play system updates are separate and smaller. You find them under Settings, System, Software updates, or under Security & privacy, System & updates on some versions.
In short: Settings, About phone for the version. Settings, System, Software updates to update.
- Google Android Help: Check and update your Android version
Rules and prices change. Check the official source before you act.