Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission.Learn more.
Samsung will limit how long you can use free themes (Update: Backtracked)
June 05, 2025
Update, August 23, 2025 (11:23 AM ET):Although we reported last month about Samsung’s intention to limit free Galaxy Themes to a 14-day period, it appears Samsung has backtracked, viaSamMobile. In the latest versions of Android 9 Pie beta (skinned over with Samsung’s new One UI), there is no longer any mention of the 14-day limit for free themes.
Now, this doesn’t mean Samsung won’t bring the 14-day limit back, nor does it mean Samsung won’t introduce the time limit when the stable version of Pie rolls out to Galaxy devices. However, it does mean that, at least for now, there won’t be a time limit for free themes.
Original Article, August 14, 2025 (02:32 PM ET):Android 9 PieforSamsungdevices hasn’t come around yet, but it’s only a matter of time before stable builds start rolling out. In fact,beta builds are already herefor the company’s 2018 flagships: theSamsung Galaxy S9andGalaxy S9 Plus.
While you might be excited for some Pie goodness to land on your Samsung phone, there will apparently be at least one downside included with the upgrade: a 14-day time limit on the use of free Samsung themes.
We found out about this policy change from a pop-up notification which appeared in the Samsung Themes Store on our Galaxy S9 runningAndroid 8.0 Oreo. Below is the text in full:
It appears free themes will stop being “free” and start being more like trial themes with Android 9 Pie. You’ll install a free theme and enjoy it for a little under two weeks. Then you’ll get some pop-ups warning you that you’re about to revert to the default theme (which Samsung still refers to asTouchWiz, hilariously enough) and then boom: your free theme is gone.
The notification doesn’t say whether or not you’ll be able to just reapply the free theme and then get another two weeks with it, but we’ll go ahead and assume that won’t be possible. Instead, what Samsung really wants you to do is buy a theme, something that itcontinuously pushes onto its users.
Samsung’s newest iteration of its Android skin — known asOne UI— is rolling out now in a beta build for select devices in select countries. Once we have it, we’ll test out how this new theme policy will work.
NEXT:Check out One UI: A newer, rounder take on the Samsung Experience
Thank you for being part of our community. Read ourComment Policybefore posting.
