Samsung Galaxy S22 gets a second life with official LineageOS support
The Samsung Galaxy S22 series just gained a meaningful software lifeline. LineageOS 23 — one of the most established custom Android firmware projects — has officially added the S22, S22+, and S22 Ultra to its supported device list, with nightly builds based on Android 16 now live. The timing is pointed: Samsung itself is wrapping up major OS updates for the same phones.
End of the official road
The S22 launched in February 2022 running Android 12. Samsung promised four major Android upgrades, and One UI 8 (Android 16) is the last one, as confirmed by Notebookcheck. The phones won't receive One UI 8.5, and they're absent from Samsung's 7-year update policy — a commitment the company introduced in early 2024 but applied only to the S24 generation and later. Apple and Google now both offer seven years of OS support on their flagships, which makes Samsung's four-year cutoff for the S22 look increasingly out of step with the market.
Galaxy AI features are also off the table for S22 owners. Samsung's AI tools ship on newer models only; the final One UI 8 update includes no Galaxy AI functionality.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Series. Illustration: Samsung
What LineageOS changes
These aren't unofficial enthusiast ports. 9to5Google confirms the builds are maintained directly by the LineageOS project, which means ongoing updates and a stable base to build on. Android 17 has already launched, and Android Authority notes that a LineageOS 23 successor based on Android 17 is a realistic near-term prospect — giving S22 owners a path to the latest Android long after Samsung has moved on.
The S22's hardware — Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in US models, Exynos 2200 elsewhere — remains capable for everyday use. The gap between what the chip can do and what Samsung's software policy allows is exactly the space LineageOS fills.
The trade-offs
Installing LineageOS requires unlocking the bootloader, which voids Samsung's warranty and is done at the owner's risk. Several Samsung-specific features won't carry over: Knox security, Galaxy AI, One UI's camera processing, and services tied to Samsung's secure environment all drop out. For users who rely on mobile banking apps that check for Knox, that's a real friction point worth researching before committing.
For everyone else holding a capable 2022 flagship and reluctant to upgrade, official LineageOS support is about as good an alternative as the custom ROM world offers.