How to fix Samsung Galaxy S7 black screen of death with blue light flashing [Troubleshooting Guide]

ByHarold Hisona
55 Comments

Hey guys! In this post, I will address the black screen of death with the #Samsung Galaxy S7 (#GalaxyS7) as we’ve received several messages that basically contain the same complaint. Majority of them reported that their devices turned off and won’t turn back on while others said theirs have a black screen but with blinking blue lights.

Galaxy-S7-black-screen-of-death

The most common reason why the screen turns black and the phone won’t respond is a system crash. When the firmware hangs or freezes, the phone will be left unresponsive and all other services may also crash. That’s the reason why the screen turns off and won’t turn back on no matter.

Read on to learn more about this issue and how to deal with it. For average users, we don’t usually suggest complicated procedures that are potentially harmful to your device. So, if you are comfortable tinkering your device, then try the ones I suggested below.

For our readers who have other concerns, visit our Galaxy S7 troubleshooting page for we have already answered a lot of problems with this phone since its release. Find problems that are similar or related to yours and use the solutions we provided. If they don’t work or if you need further assistance, then you can always contact us by filling up our Android issues questionnaire.

Galaxy S7 screen is black but with blue lights blinking

Problem: For some reason, my new Galaxy S7 turned off, or so it seems, and won’t turn back on. However, there’s this blue light that keeps blinking as if it’s telling me that there are some unread notifications or messages. When I hit the Power key, nothing happens, it just won’t respond or turn on. Help me because the phone is barely a month old and it’s a hassle bringing to the store to have it fixed. Besides, I have sensitive work-related data in my phone that I haven’t backed up yet. I don’t want to lose them nor let somebody see them. Your help will greatly be appreciated. Thank you!

Troubleshooting: The fact that you can see a blue light blinking is evident that the phone’s hardware is fine and more often than not, black screen issues accompanied by lights or sounds are often the result of a system crash. I think that’s what’s happening to your phone.

Before I give the solution, let me explain briefly why I think it’s just a system crash. When it happens, everything in your phone stops responding and the display turns black. The Power key won’t bring the phone back to life. Charging won’t do any good either. There are cases wherein you can actually make a call to your phone number and you can hear it ringing on the other phone but your device still won’t respond.

The solution is to perform the forced reboot procedure, which is the equivalent of battery pull for devices that have removable batteries. All you have to do is press the Volume Down button and the Power key for 10 seconds. Provided there’s enough battery left to power up its components, the phone should start, otherwise, plug the charger in and leave the phone charging for 10 minutes and then try again.

The forced reboot procedure will fix the problem, however, we don’t know what caused the system to crash. So, closely observe your phone and if the same problem happens again, I suggest you backup your data and do the master reset to bring the phone back to its default settings. Here’s how…

  1. Backup your data.
  2. Remove your Google account.
  3. Disengage screen lock.
  4. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  5. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key. NOTE: It doesn’t matter how long you press and hold the Home and Volume Up keys, it won’t affect the phone but by the time you press and hold the Power key, that’s when the phone starts to respond.
  6. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  7. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds. NOTE: The “Installing system update” message may show on the screen for several seconds before displaying the Android system recovery menu. This is just the first phase of the entire process.
  8. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  9. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  10. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  11. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Galaxy S7 display is totally black, phone won’t turn on after update

Problem: There was an update that I downloaded yesterday and I think it went through without any problems at all. The phone rebooted after the update and I was able to use it for a few hours and then it just turned off. When I pressed the Power key, the screen seemed to light up a bit and turned off again. Since then, the device isn’t turning on. I have yet to let a technician check it out but if you how to troubleshoot it, that would be great.

Troubleshooting: Just like what I suggested in the first issue, this might be another variation of a system crash. I’ve seen a lot of issues like this in the past and still seeing some not only with Galaxy devices but with other brands including iPhones. Therefore, the first thing I want you to do is press the Volume Down key and Power button for 10 seconds, if the device’s screen remains black, then here are some things you can do:

Step 1: Charge the phone

Obviously, it will rule out the possibility of a drained battery and since you didn’t mention trying to charge your phone in your description, I thought that maybe you haven’t tried it yet. Of course, use the original charger and cable of your phone so as not to complicate things. If the phone is still not responding when plugged in, leave it for 10 minutes and then do the forced reboot (Volume Down and Power keys) but this time with the device plugged in.

In case the phone refuses to charge, then we are dealing with a phone that has a drained battery and won’t charge. It’s imperative you solve the not charging issue first before you proceed with other troubleshooting. Here are some guides we’ve written about charging issues with the Galaxy S7:

In case your phone still won’t charge, then don’t waste any more time. Send the phone in for checkup and/or repair.

Step 2: Try booting the phone in safe mode and recovery mode

Assuming your phone charges fine and displays the usual charging signs like the charging icon on the screen and the LED notification at the top of the display but still won’t turn on, then try to boot it up in safe mode first. This will rule out the possibility that one or some of your third-party apps is causing the problem.

  1. Press and hold the Power key.
  2. As soon as you can see the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ on the screen, release the Power key and immediately hold the Volume Down key.
  3. Continue holding the Volume Down button until the device finishes rebooting.
  4. You may release it when you can see ‘Safe mode’ in the bottom left corner of the screen.

If the phone still won’t boot up in safe mode, then try booting it in recovery mode:

  1. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key. NOTE: It doesn’t matter how long you press and hold the Home and Volume Up keys, it won’t affect the phone but by the time you press and hold the Power key, that’s when the phone starts to respond.
  2. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  3. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds. NOTE: The “Installing system update” message may show on the screen for several seconds before displaying the Android system recovery menu. This is just the first phase of the entire process.

Step 3: Send the phone in for repair

After doing all these things and your device is still not responding, then it’s time you sent the phone in for repair. As far as troubleshooting is concerned, you’ve done what you need to do as an average user. There’s a possibility that it’s a hardware problem.

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