How to fix Samsung Galaxy Note 8 that won’t turn on (easy steps)

by

If a high-end phone like the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 becomes unresponsive and won’t turn on, depending on how the problem started, there’s always something you can do about it especially if the issue occurred without apparent reason or cause. As the owner, you should be the first one to know the events or factors that resulted to this problem.

Many of our readers have contacted us this problem and this isn’t the first time that we tackled it. We already know a thing or two that could fix it. In fact, this problem is more of a minor firmware issue than a serious hardware problem. However, if your phone got dropped on a hard surface or dipped in water prior to the problem, then it might be serious.

In this post, I will show you a quick fix to this problem and easy troubleshooting steps you can use. If you’re one of the owners of this device and currently having similar problem, then continue reading as this post may be helpful.

Before we move on to our troubleshooting, if you are looking for a solution to a different problem in your Note 8, visit our troubleshooting page as we have already addressed some of the most common issues reported by our readers. Find problems that are similar with yours and use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you or if you need further assistance, then fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

Quick fix for Galaxy Note 8 that won’t turn on

Most of the time when the phone’s screen turns black and unresponsive for no apparent reason, it’s a firmware crash. The same is true for units who are left charging overnight but found out to be dead in the morning and won’t turn back on. Many of the complaints we received from our readers regarding this problem were sent after an update so there’s also a possibility that this is due to a firmware issue. But assuming that the problem started out of the blue, the best solution to it is Forced Restart.

YouTube video

In Galaxy Note 8, a forced restart will simulate battery disconnect which may refresh the device’s memory. It’s actually the same as the battery pull procedure we often do to phone with removable batteries. It’s a simple procedure yet very effective in dealing with issues like this. To do this, press and hold the Volume Down and the Power key simultaneously for 10 seconds or until the screen flickers and logos start to appear on the screen. Do the same procedure a few more times if the phone won’t respond to your first attempt or try to press and hold the Volume Down button first and without letting go of it, press and hold the Power key. Keep both keys held for 10 seconds.

If the phone boots up, then you can consider the problem fixed at this point but there’s no guarantee this would never happen again in the future but at least, you now know what to do if the phone becomes unresponsive again.

If, after several attempts, your phone still won’t boot up, then it’s time to troubleshoot it. Move on to the next section for that.

RELATED POSTS:

Troubleshooting Note 8 that won’t respond to Forced Restart

I understand that some owners are hesitant to troubleshoot their devices especially new Android users. So, if you are not comfortable following the procedures below, just bring the phone to the service center so that you can be accommodated by a Samsung tech. For those who are willing to do a couple of procedures to see if the phone turns, here’s what I suggest you do…

Check for signs of physical  and/or liquid damage

Look for scratches, dents and cracks as any force that could render the phone useless should leave a mark on the outside. If the phone looks flawless or has some minor scratches, then it’s not physical damage that caused this.

As to liquid damage, here’s what you should do…

  1. Look into the USB/charger port to find trace of water.
  2. Use a cotton swab to clean around the area or insert a small piece of tissue paper to absorb the moisture.
  3. Blow into the port to get rid of any foreign objects that may interfere with the circuit.
  4. Remove the SIM card tray and look into the SIM slot to find the Liquid Damage Indicator (LDI).
  5. If the LDI is white (it’s the original color), then there’s no water damage.
  6. If the LDI however, turned red, pink or purple, then it’s clear the cause of the problem is liquid damage.

In case of physical and/or liquid damage, bring the phone to the tech as there’s only so much you can do about it.

Try charging your phone to see if it would respond

It’s possible that the battery got drained and a few seconds before the battery got totally depleted, the system may have crashed leaving the phone without power and a crashed system. This would surely result to a blank screen, unresponsive keys and not charging issue.

I understand the phone won’t charge if the system crashed so regardless whether the phone responds to its charger or not, leave it plugged in for ten minutes after which, try turning it on. If it still won’t respond, then do the Forced Restart procedure again but this time while the phone is plugged in.

Basically, what we’re trying to accomplish here is to…

  • find out if the phone responds to its charger,
  • know if it’s just a drained battery issue,  
  • and determine if the phone would respond to Forced Restart while charging.

If this procedure fails like the first one, the next procedures will be to test your phone if it’s still capable of turning its components on.

Try running the phone in Safe mode

There’s a small possibility that the problem is due to some apps you installed. So we will try to disable all those apps at once and see if the phone boots up. You can do so by running the phone in safe mode:

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
  3. When “SAMSUNG” appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.

If the phone starts in this mode, then you can consider the problem fixed as the phone finally turned on. The next minor thing to do is find the app that’s causing the problem and uninstall it. However, if the phone still won’t boot up in this mode, then try the next one.

Boot the phone up in Recovery mode

This is the final test. If it still fails to turn the phone on, you should bring the device to the service center as it might be an issue with the hardware. But if you can successfully boot the device in Recovery Mode, then you can try wiping the cache partition and/or do the Master reset. Both of these procedures can surely bring the phone back to its normal operation and performance.

How to boot Note 8 in Recovery Mode and wipe cache partition

  1. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  2. When the green Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  3. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe cache partition’.
  4. Press Power button to select.
  5. Press the Volume down key until ‘yes’ is highlighted and press the Power button.
  6. When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
  7. Press the Power key to restart the device.

How to boot Note 8 in Recovery Mode and do the Master Reset

  1. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
  2. When the green Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  3. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight “wipe data / factory reset.
  4. Press Power button to select.
  5. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  6. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  7. When the master reset is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
  8. Press the Power key to restart the device.

I hope that this troubleshooting guide can help you one way or another. If you still need our help after this, don’t hesitate to contact us anytime.

Posts you may also like to read:

 

Photo of author

Harold Hisona

Harold has been in the tech industry since 2008 when he started out as a tech support for companies like Time Warner, Comcast and Tracfone. He’s been troubleshooting phones when the smartphone industry started booming. During his tenure as a tech support, he’s already been writing for various tech blogs and doing some freelance SEO. In 2012, he joined a small team of bloggers to write for The Droid Guy, and he has been with the company ever since. Today, he doesn’t only write tutorials and troubleshooting pieces but also shoots and edits videos for The Droid Guy channel while trading stocks on the side. Contact me at Email
Posts you might like