How to fix Samsung Galaxy S7 that’s stuck in bootloop after the Android Nougat update [Troubleshooting Guide]
While we’ve already addressed issues with the Samsung Galaxy S7 that got stuck on boot screen, having stuck in bootloop is a different thing that’s why we will be dealing this issue in this post. Being stuck on boot screen means that the phone cannot continue booting up to the home screen, instead, it stays on the logo or a black screen. The latter, however, will make the phone restart and it won’t end unless the battery runs out or you do something about it.
We will try to troubleshoot your Galaxy S7 that keeps on restarting but won’t continue booting up to the home screen. Let’s try to look into possibilities and rule out each one of them until we can pinpoint what the problem is all about and formulate a solution that may fix it for good. So, if you own a phone like this and are currently bugged by a similar problem, continue reading below for the steps on how to troubleshoot it.
Now, before anything else, if you have other issues with your phone, make sure you drop by our Galaxy S7 troubleshooting page for we have already provided solutions to hundreds of problems reported by our readers. Odds are that we may have already provided a solution to the problem you currently have so try to find issues that are similar with yours on that page and feel free to use the solutions we suggested. If they don’t work or if you need further assistance, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.
Step-by-step guide to troubleshooting Galaxy S7 that’s stuck in bootloop
The purpose of this troubleshooting guide is for us to know what the problem with your phone really is, what caused it and what needs to be done to fix it for good. However, things could go wrong while you’re troubleshooting due to human errors or due to anything else, so proceed at your own risk. Now, before we go to the steps, here’s one of the messages we received from our readers that best describes this problem:
Problem: Hey guys. I need your help because my Galaxy S7 seems to be having a bad day. The problem actually started yesterday and I don’t know what caused it. But it now keeps on restarting on its own. When I turned in on yesterday when I woke up (the screen was turned off), it started to turn on and reaches the logo but then it turns off on its own and then turn on again but it won’t stop doing that. It cannot reach the home screen like it normally does. Restarting it over and over would to do the same and I don’t know what to do about it. Can you help please?
Troubleshooting: Getting stuck in bootloop may be a sign that the phone is suffering from a serious firmware problem but we’ve also seen cases wherein third-party apps affect the general performance of the device and resulted to the same issue. Thus, we need to troubleshoot to have an idea what the cause of the bootloop is so that we may be able to device a solution to fix it. Now, here’s what you need to do to deal with it:
Step 1: Soft reset your Samsung Galaxy S7
Glitches happen all the time and depending on how serious they are, the phone may end up in a bootloop. They can be fixed by a simple reboot but there are also cases wherein you need to do more to bring the phone back to life. I am sure you’ve already tried rebooting your phone a hundred times hoping that one of those reboots may actually become successful but here you are trying to find a way to fix this problem.
So, let’s try to do the soft reset which is a simulated battery disconnect procedure that mimics the actual “battery pull” method we often do to phones with removable batteries. Aside from the fact that soft reset can fix glitches, it will also tell us whether the problem has something to do with a stuck or damaged power button.
- Press and hold the Volume Down and Power keys together for 10 seconds.
Assuming the problem is with the firmware and a minor one, your phone may reboot successfully. However, if the phone won’t respond when press and hold both keys, it’s possible the Power key is stuck or damaged. Move on to the next step…
Step 2: Find out if the Power key so damaged or just stuck
If you are using third-party cases or anything that protects your phone, try to remove it and then try to reboot or turn your phone on normally. We’ve already seen cases of bootloop that are caused by third-party cases. If your phone turned on successfully, then the case you were using may have caused the power key to get stuck resulting to a bootloop.
On the other hand, if you are not using a third-party case or you’ve already removed it but the phone is still doing the same thing, try to press and release the power key several times. If it’s stuck, then doing so may fix the problem. One sign of a stuck power key is when it doesn’t snap when you press it. Of course, being stuck is a minor thing and can be fixed without any help from a technician but a damaged Power key should be handled by a tech.
A sign that may tell you if the power key is damaged is when the phone doesn’t respond to it when you hit or hold it.
Step 3: Attempt to boot your phone in Safe mode
Assuming the phone is responding when you press the Power key but still stuck in bootloop, then this is the next thing you should do. What it does is temporarily disable all third-party apps and services that are running in the background. As I said earlier, a bootloop may be due to some apps that keep crashing and affected the phone’s overall performance. We need to know if that is the case and if so, we have to isolate the problem and booting in safe mode is the perfect thing to do:
- Turn the device off.
- Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
- When ‘SAMSUNG’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
- Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
- Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
- Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
- Release the Volume down key when you see ‘Safe Mode’.
If successful, then it means that one or some of the third-party apps is causing the problem. You need to find those apps while you are in safe mode and then try to clear their caches and data and if that won’t work, uninstall them one by one and try to reboot the phone in normal mode every time an app in uninstalled.
How to clear app cache and data on Galaxy S7
- From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Applications.
- Tap the desired application in the default list or tap Menu icon > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
- Tap Storage.
- Tap Clear data and then tap OK.
- Tap Clear cache.
How to uninstall an app from the Galaxy S7
- From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Applications.
- Tap the desired application in the default list or tap Menu icon > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
- Tap Uninstall.
- Tap Uninstall again to confirm.
However, if the phone could not also boot in safe mode, then you have to move on to the next step.
Step 4: Attempt to boot in Recovery mode
Booting up in Android system recovery will give you a couple of options that may just help you fix this problem. If your phone has a firmware issue, it may still be able to boot in recovery mode so it’s worth trying, after all, it’s very easy and safe to do.
Assuming you’ve successfully booted up in recovery mode, you have to wipe the cache partition first and try to see if the phone would reboot successfully in normal mode after that. If it failed, then you have to reset the phone through the recovery mode.
How to start Galaxy S7 in Recovery mode and wipe cache partition
- Turn off the phone.
- Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
- When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
- When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
- Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
- Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
- Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
- Wait until your phone is finished wiping the cache partition. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
- The phone will now reboot longer than usual.
How to do Master Reset on Galaxy S7
- Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
- 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.
- When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
- 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.
- Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
- Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
- Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
- 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.
If the problem persists after the reset, then you must bring the phone to the shop and have the tech fix the problem for you.
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