How to check Android security patch level, and what the date means

Here is how to check Android security patch level on most phones: open Settings, tap About phone (or About tablet), then tap Android version. The line labelled Android security update shows a date. That date is your security patch level, and it tells you which monthly set of Android security fixes your phone has.

The rest of this guide explains what that date means, why November 2026 has two dates (2026-11-01 and 2026-11-05), how the steps differ on Pixel and Samsung phones, and what to do if your phone is behind.

What you need

• Your Android phone or tablet, unlocked.
• About one minute to read the date.
• If you want to look for an update as well, a Wi-Fi connection and a charged battery (Google suggests at least 75%, Samsung at least 50%).

How to check your security patch level

These are the steps from Google's Android Help. They work on Pixel phones and on many other Android phones. Some manufacturers use different menu names, so if a step does not match, look for similar words.

1. Open your phone's Settings app.
2. Tap About phone or About tablet.
3. Tap Android version.
4. Read the four items Google lists here: Android version, Android security update, Google Play system update and Build number. The Android security update date is your patch level.

On a Google Pixel

Pixel Phone Help gives the same path: Settings, then About phone, then Android version. To look for a new update, Google's help says to open Settings, tap System, then Software updates, and follow the on-screen steps. Google's Pixel updates page labels this entry "Software update", so the exact wording can differ slightly on your phone.

On a Samsung Galaxy

Samsung's own support page, How software updates happen on your Samsung Galaxy, gives three related paths:

• See your last update, including the patch level: Settings, then Software update, then Last update. Samsung says this shows details "such as the One UI version, Android version, and security patch level."
• See your software version: Settings, then About phone (or About tablet), then Software information. This shows the One UI version, Android version, build number and more.
• Check for a security update: Settings, then Security and privacy, then Updates, then Security update. Samsung says the phone should confirm it is up to date, and that an available update "will begin downloading automatically."

On other brands

OnePlus, Motorola, Oppo, Vivo, Nokia and others build their own versions of Android, and their menus vary. Start in Settings and look for About phone, Android version or Software information. Each of these companies publishes its own security information. The Android Security Bulletins overview links to the security pages of Google, LG, Motorola, Nokia, OnePlus, Oppo, Samsung and Vivo.

What the security patch level means

Every month, Google publishes an Android Security Bulletin. Each bulletin lists security flaws and the fixes for them, and it names one or more patch levels as dates. When a manufacturer ships those fixes, it sets the phone's patch level to the matching date. The November 2026 bulletin tells manufacturers to set the patch string to [ro.build.version.security_patch]:[2026-11-01] or [ro.build.version.security_patch]:[2026-11-05].

So the date on your phone is not simply the day you installed an update. It is a label that says "this phone has the fixes up to this bulletin." Google notifies Android partners of all issues "at least a month before publishing the bulletin." The November bulletin says Google will publish the matching source code patches to the Android Open Source Project within 48 hours. When your phone gets them after that depends on its maker and, in some cases, your carrier.

For developers, Android exposes the same value as Build.VERSION.SECURITY_PATCH, added in API level 23. The Android Developers reference describes it as "the user-visible security patch level."

Why November 2026 has two patch levels

The November 2026 bulletin was published on November 2, 2026, with two patch levels: 2026-11-01 and 2026-11-05. The bulletin says the split gives partners the flexibility "to fix a subset of vulnerabilities that are similar across all Android devices more quickly." The first level covers core Android code: Android runtime, Framework and System. The second adds fixes in Kernel components and in components from hardware vendors such as Arm, MediaTek and Qualcomm.

The counts above are the number of CVE entries in each section of the bulletin's tables, which add up to 216. SecurityWeek reports the same split of 119 and 97. The bulletin's FAQ is clear on how they stack: patch levels of 2026-11-05 or later address all issues for that level "and all previous patch levels."

The most severe November issue

The bulletin calls its most severe issue "a critical security vulnerability in the Framework component that could lead to remote code execution with no additional execution privileges needed." It adds: "User interaction is not needed for exploitation." That issue is CVE-2026-58868, rated Critical, with updated AOSP versions 14, 15, 16, 16-qpr2 and 17. It sits in the 2026-11-01 section, so a phone showing 2026-11-01 or any later date has the fix. The bulletin does not say that it has been exploited.

A worked example

Say you check two phones today, 7 November 2026. Phone A shows a patch level of 2026-11-05. It has every fix in the November bulletin and all earlier ones. Phone B shows 2026-11-01. It has the fix for CVE-2026-58868 and the other 118 core Android entries, but the bulletin does not require it to have the 97 kernel and chip vendor fixes in the 2026-11-05 section. If Phone B's maker later ships a 2026-11-05 update, it gets those too.

Security patch level vs Google Play system update

The Android version screen shows two dates, and they are easy to confuse. The Android security update line is your patch level, set by your phone's maker. The Google Play system update line is separate. The November bulletin has a section titled "Google Play system updates", which says "The following issues are included in Project Mainline components." It lists 17 issues there, all of which also appear in the 2026-11-01 tables.

In short: a Google Play system update can carry some fixes, but the November bulletin lists only 17 of its 216 entries there. It does not stand in for the monthly security update, so check both lines.

Troubleshooting: what to do if your patch level is behind

1. Check for an update. On most phones, Google's help says to open Settings, tap System, then Software updates. On a Galaxy, use Settings, Software update. Google's help suggests connecting to Wi-Fi and charging to at least 75% first, because updates can be large; Samsung's page suggests at least 50%.
2. Install the latest Android version you are offered. Google's help says that to get the latest security update, "make sure that you have the latest Android version available for your device."
3. Check your maker's security page. Google says "Update schedules vary by device, manufacturer, and mobile carrier." Your maker's bulletin, linked from the overview page, shows what it has shipped.
4. Check whether your phone is still supported. For Pixel, Google says Pixel 8 and later get 7 years of OS and security updates. Pixel 6, 6 Pro, 6a, 7, 7 Pro, 7a and Pixel Fold get 5 years. Both are counted from when the phone first became available on the Google Store in the US. For the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, which went on sale in the US in October 2021, that window ended in October 2026, so do not expect the November update on them. Pixel 5a with 5G and older Pixel phones no longer receive Android version updates and security updates. Other brands publish their own support periods.

If your phone no longer gets security updates, new flaws like CVE-2026-58868 will not be fixed on it. At that point, the safest step is to move to a phone that is still supported.

Questions

Sources

• Android Security Bulletin, November 2026 (Android Open Source Project) (accessed 7 November 2026)
• Android Security Bulletins overview (Android Open Source Project) (accessed 7 November 2026)
• Check and update your Android version (Android Help) (accessed 7 November 2026)
• Check and update your Android version (Pixel Phone Help) (accessed 7 November 2026)
• Learn when you'll get software updates on Google Pixel phones (Pixel Phone Help) (accessed 7 November 2026)
• How software updates happen on your Samsung Galaxy (Samsung Canada) (accessed 7 November 2026)
• Build.VERSION reference (Android Developers) (accessed 7 November 2026)
• Android's November 2026 Updates Patch Over 200 Vulnerabilities (SecurityWeek) (accessed 7 November 2026)
• More personal, more powerful: Meet Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro (Google blog, 19 Oct 2021) (accessed 7 November 2026)

Written from the sources above and checked against them before publishing. Found a mistake? Email support@dexaloop.com and we will correct it.

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