How to fix Samsung Galaxy A5 black screen of death issue [Troubleshooting Guide]

The black screen of death is more often characterized by blank and unresponsive screen which leaves an impression that the phone is turned off. Sometimes you can see the LED indicator flashing, which indicates the phone is actually still on and just being unresponsive. Some of our readers that own Samsung Galaxy A5 units have contacted us regarding this problem that’s why we have to publish a post that addresses it.

In this article, we will tackle this issue and look into every possibility. We will try to determine what the problem really is and try to find a solution that will fix it for good. Sometimes it’s easy to fix this issue but there are times when it’s very complicated. So, if you own this phone and are currently bugged by a similar problem, continue reading.

But before we actually move on to our troubleshooting, if you have other issues with your phone, then visit our Galaxy A5 troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed some of the most common problems with this device. In case you need more help with your problem, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

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Troubleshoot Galaxy A5 with black screen of death problem

There’s only so much we can do with your phone that won’t turn on and respond but it’s imperative that as the owner, you will have to do something to try and fix it. It’s possible that it’s just a minor problem and that gives us a good chance to make the device work perfectly again. With that said, here’s what I suggest you do about this issue…

Try doing the Forced Restart procedure

This will restart your Galaxy A5 that might have been frozen or crashed. Many of those who encountered this kind of problem reported to have fixed it using this method. For those who own previous models with removable batteries said pulling the battery out, which basically has the same effect as the forced restart, seems to fix the problem.

So, to do this, press and hold both the volume down and the power keys together for 10 seconds. If the phone boots up normally after this, then it was just a system crash or a even a minor glitch in the system. However, if the phone still won’t respond to this, then try doing the next procedure.

Verify it’s not due to liquid damage

It is important that you go through this just to make sure the problem isn’t due to liquid damage. We have readers who reported to have damaged their phones when they attempted to charge them because they didn’t know that liquid has found its way into their device. We know too well that water and electricity don’t mix so it’s better to be careful.

  • Check the USB port to see if it’s wet or not.
  • If the port is wet or has some trace of moisture, use a cotton swab to clean around the area or insert a small piece of tissue into it to absorb the moist.
  • Remove the SIM card tray and look into the slot to find the liquid damage indicator. It’s a small sticker that turns red, pink or purple if tripped. If it’s white, then you have nothing to worry about.

After making sure it’s not due to liquid damage, move on to the next procedure. However, if the black screen is due to physical or liquid damage, then bring your phone to the shop and let the tech evaluate the problem.

Charge the phone and see if it turns on

Another possibility that your phone won’t turn on is that its battery may have been drained out. So, after making sure there’s no sign of liquid damage, it’s time to plug the charger to a working wall outlet and then connect the phone to it.

Usually you will see the charging icon on the screen and the LED indicator should be lit up the moment the phone detects electric current flows through its circuits. This is one way to determine if the problem is related to the hardware or if it’s just a minor issue with the firmware.

Regardless whether the charging signs show or not, allow your phone to charge for at least, ten minutes but be mindful if it’s heating up when plugged in or not. If it does, disconnect it from its charger immediately and bring it to the nearest shop.

After ten minutes of charging, try to turn the phone on. If it doesn’t respond, try doing the Forced Restart procedure while the phone is plugged in.

Try to start the phone in safe mode

We need to rule out the possibility that this problem is caused by some of the third-party apps you downloaded and installed. So in this step, I want you to start your phone in safe mode or at least, try. By running your phone in this environment, you’re actually temporarily disabling all third-party apps that may have caused the phone to not respond. Here’s how you do that…

  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.

Assuming your phone successfully booted up in this mode, then it’s time to find the apps that cause the problem and then uninstall them one by one until it’s fixed.

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Settings > Apps.
  3. Tap the desired application in the default list or tap 3 dots icon > Show system apps to display preinstalled apps.
  4. Tap the desired application.
  5. Tap Uninstall.
  6. Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

If however, your phone still remains to be unresponsive after trying to start it up in safe mode, then you should try the next step.

Run your phone into Recovery mode

The Android system recovery is the fail-safe of almost all Android devices that’s why it’s called the “Recovery Mode” as you can actually recover your phone that might be bugged with a firmware issue through it. Actually, what you’re going to do while in this mode is to wipe the cache partition first, which will delete and replace all system caches. Then you need to reboot your phone to see if it boots up successfully. If not, you have to do the master reset, which will bring the phone back to its factory default settings but also delete all your files and data.

The master reset is your last resort but if it fails, then you need to bring the phone to the shop and let the technician handle the problem for you.

Here’s how you boot your Galaxy A5 in Recovery mode…

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds, then ‘No command’ before showing the Android system recovery menu options).

I hope that this troubleshooting guide can help you fix the problem with your phone.

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