Samsung Update Destroyed My S22 IMEI – Weeks Without a Phone & Samsung Still Ignoring Me!

I am extremely disappointed and frustrated with Samsung South Africa. My Samsung Galaxy S22 (Model SM-S901E, Vodacom SA variant) was completely destroyed by Samsung’s latest One UI / Android 16 security update.

The moment I installed the update, my phone immediately showed “No SIM card”, both IMEI numbers disappeared, and the baseband changed to “Unknown.” This is a critical software failure caused directly by Samsung’s own official update, nothing else.

I did EVERYTHING any customer could possibly do to try to fix it:

Restarted the device

Reset network settings

Factory reset

Checked SIMs and tray

Tried Smart Switch repair

Tried diagnostics

Nothing brought the IMEI back. The phone is now a dead device that cannot detect a SIM card, cannot connect to any mobile network, cannot receive OTPs, cannot make calls — absolutely useless.

All the details I sent Samsung:

Model: SM-S901E Galaxy S22

Region: South Africa (Vodacom)

Serial: R5CT309X30Y

IMEI: Completely wiped by the update

Issue started: Immediately after installing Android 16 / latest security patch

I contacted Samsung with a full, clear, detailed email explaining EVERYTHING. I even explained that I’m currently outside South Africa, which makes the situation harder, but I’m willing to follow any repair or shipping process.

Samsung gave me a ticket number: ***. And then? NOTHING. Absolute silence.

I sent TWO follow-up emails. NO reply. NO guidance. NO urgency. NO solution. NO acknowledgement. Nothing.