How to fix your Samsung Galaxy S7 that won’t boot up after the Android 7 Nougat update [Troubleshooting Guide]

Samsung already rolled out the Android 7 #Nougat update for the #GalaxyS7 and while many have been anticipating it, anticipation because frustration when some users start to have problem after updating their device. Some of our readers already sent us emails seeking assistance as their device can no longer boot up after the firmware update. Below is just one of the many complaints we received…

“I hope you guys can help me. I have the Galaxy S7 phone which was updated yesterday. The update actually took more than an hour to be installed but I think it was successful. The thing is, my phone can no longer boot up, it’s stuck on the logo or with a black screen. I was able to use it for a few hours and then this problem happened. I’ve tried leaving it on the logo to see if it’s still capable of booting up normally but after a couple of hours, it’s still on that screen. I don’t know what to do now, can you help me?”

If you are one of the Galaxy S7 owners that suffered the same fate, continue reading below to learn how to troubleshoot your device that can no longer boot up after the update. Depending on how bad the issue is, you may be able to fix it on your own or you may need help from a technician.

Before jumping right into our troubleshooting, if you have other concerns, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed hundreds of problems with this device already. Find issues that are similar with yours and use the troubleshooting guides or solutions we suggested. If they don’t work for you or if you need further assistance, contact us by completing our Android issues questionnaire.

Troubleshooting Galaxy S7 that won’t boot up or stuck on the logo after an update

The purpose of this troubleshooting guide is to help you find out what the problem really is and while we want to fix your problem, we can’t guarantee everything will work out fine. In this case, here’s what you should do to try to fix the problem…

Step 1: Do the Forced Reboot

It might be just a glitch or a minor issue with the firmware that’s preventing your phone from booting up normally. I am sure you’ve already tried rebooting your phone a lot of times to no avail but this time, I want you to do the forced reboot procedure, which is the equivalent of a battery pull in devices with removable batteries.

Press and hold the Volume Down button and the Power key together for 10 seconds. If the phone is still stuck on the logo or on the black screen, move on to the next step.

Step 2: Try to boot up your phone in Safe Mode

Since the phone just got updated, some of the apps might already be incompatible with the new system and may have been crashing leaving the firmware to crash as well. Therefore, it’s worth it to try to boot up your device in Safe Mode to see if it can do that because if so, then we just have to find the apps that are causing the problem and uninstall them. Here’s how you boot your phone in safe mode:

1. Press and hold the Power button.
2. When Samsung Galaxy Logo appears on the screen, release the Power button and immediately hold the Volume Down key.
3. Continue to hold the Volume Down key until the device finishes its rebooting.
4. Now, if “Safe Mode” appears on the bottom left corner of the screen then, you can release the Volume Down key.

If successful, try to find the apps that cause the problem, or just backup your data and then factory reset your phone.

Step 3: Delete the system cache so they will be replaced

With the new system installed, some system caches may have become incompatible with it that’s why it’s imperative you delete all of them so that they’ll be replaced with new ones that are compatible with the new system. Just boot up your phone in recovery mode and then wipe the cache partition:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
8. Wait until your phone is finished wiping the cache partition. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Step 4: Perform the Master Reset

If the wiping of the cache partition didn’t yield any favorable results, then it’s time you reset your phone. Try to see if the phone can boot up in safe mode and if it can, try to backup your data and files from there, otherwise, you have no other options but to reset your device without backing up your files and data.

1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
2. 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.
3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
4. 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.
5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

If the problem persists after the reset, then it’s time you bring it back to the store and have the technician fix the problem for you.

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