Samsung issues urgent warning to activate Galaxy anti-theft features

Samsung is urging some Galaxy owners to activate a theft-protection feature.

The company wrote in a statement that it was "encouraging smartphone users across the UK to enable and update the latest anti-theft features available on Samsung Galaxy devices" as a part of the "Home Office's ongoing work to drive new nationwide action to tackle mobile phone thefts."

Samsung wrote it would be sending an alert urging folks to update and enable these features to some 40 million U.K. account holders, though the features could also benefit users worldwide. The company has rolled out a number of security measures in its recent One UI 7 update, which includes biometric security, remote lock, and a theft detection lock tool, among others. While these features were already available with the newest Galaxy S25 models, they're now available on older devices as well.

"These features have now also been rolled out into a range of models across our devices and further updates will follow," Annika Bizon, mobile experience VP of product and marketing at Samsung, said in a statement. "We must do everything we can to ensure the safety and security of our customers when they are using their mobile devices and we will continue to work hard to ensure our customers are aware of the wide range of security features available to them."

To protect customers whose phones are stolen, One UI 7 includes anti-theft features such as instantly locking when theft is suspected, offline device locking, remote device locking, and new identity check safeguards.

Samsung also urged folks to update to its latest software, One UI 7. For further information on anti-theft tools and what to do if your phone is stolen, you can check Samsung's website.