Galaxy Note 4 “Could not do normal boot, mmc_read failed” error, dm-verity screen, other issues

Are you looking for a solution to your #GalaxyNote4 issue? Keep reading, this post might help you. As usual, we discuss reported issues in this article so if you don’t find anything useful in this material, you can either check our previous posts or keep watching out for more articles in the coming days.

If you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page.

When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.

Below are specific topics we’re bringing for you today:

Problem 1: Galaxy Note 4 won’t turn back on

Hi there. I found your article on troubleshooting with Note 4. Samsung has been useless. My phone is only a year and old. About a month ago my phone started to shut off at 30%. Not booting up for a few mins. The other day it tried to boot up in safe mode. the next day wouldn’t turn on at all. Samsung is like press the volume button and this and that. Nothing worked. That was all they did for me. Won’t let me send my phone in because it’s over a year old. It’s so disgusting they charge $1000 Canadian for a phone you can’t even get 2 years out of it. Have you ever heard of this problem? The guy from my phone provider said stop letting my phone go below 50% . Now I have drained my battery to 1%. I think the computer is fried in it? Can that be fixed? Thanks. — Ange

Solution: Hi Ange. If your phone won’t power back on, there’s not much that you can do about it actually. That’s because software troubleshooting can only be done if a device is on. It it’s doesn’t turn on at all, the most that you can do is try different hardware button combinations and hope that you can turn the phone to one of the alternate modes. If it boots to, say, Recovery mode, you may be able to wipe its cache partition or perform a factory reset to fix any software glitch.

Again, we want to emphasize that you can only address some forms of software problems such as minor bugs in the system. If the main cause of the problem is a bad battery or a malfunctioning hardware, there’s no amount of software tweaks that you can do to fix it. There’s no software “magic” that you can perform to solve a broken hardware, which is usually the cause of an issue like yours.

For reference, here are the complete steps on how to restart the device to alternate boot modes and the respective follow up steps that you want to do (if the phone manages to boot up):

Boot in Recovery mode:

1. Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
3. When the Samsung Galaxy logo 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. You can either wipe the cache partition or do a factory reset when in this mode.

Boot in Download Mode:

1. Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume DOWN keys, then press and hold the Power key.
3. When the Samsung Galaxy logo shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume DOWN keys.
4. Wait until the Download screen appears.
5. If you can boot the phone in download mode but not in other modes, that means that your only way out may be to flash a stock or custom firmware.
6. Use Google to look for a guide on how to do it.

Boot in safe mode:

1. Charge the phone for at least 30 minutes.
2. Press and hold the Power button.
3. Once the Samsung Galaxy logo appears, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
4. Continue holding the button until the phone finishes rebooting.
5. Once you see the text “Safe mode” at the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down button.
6. The only difference of safe mode from normal mode is that the former prevents third party apps from running. If you can boot the phone in safe mode but not in normal mode, uninstall all apps until the issue (that prevents you from booting normally) is eliminated.

Remember, if your phone fails to turn on to any of the boot modes above, that means there’s a hardware issue behind. If you want to get to the bottom of the problem, you must have a professional check the hardware. Otherwise, you’re going to need a new phone.

Problem 2: Galaxy Note 4 “Could not do normal boot, mmc_read failed” error

Hi, I have the same problem as the case: Problem #4: Galaxy Note 4 “Could not do normal boot, mmc_read failed” error. Sorry, but I am not an operating system wiz, so could make no sense from your reply. Is a flash memory failure hardware failure, throw away the phone? What do you mean “consider flashing a custom ROM” Flash means to me nothing. My provider is my son, who bought this monster in an electronics shop. My telephone service company surely won’t help. It seems the Android Operating System is unreliable and not thought through. I hate to throw an expensive phone in the garbage! Thanks for help. — Robert

Solution: Hi Robert. We apologize for not being as detailed in our answer in this post.

We usually assess how we use terms in our posts based on our own assessment of the person sending us a letter. In that previous post, we understood that the sender of the letter was a bit advanced because he already tried flashing even before contacting us.

For your own benefit, here are some of the clarifications. A storage device of your Samsung phone is also known as MMC or MultiMediaCard so the “could not do normal boot, mmc_read failed” error must have something to do with this chip. It’s either physically damaged and unusable for some reason, or has become corrupted after a failed update or flashing procedure. In simple terms, flashing is the Android equivalent of installation of a program in Windows machines. In this regard, when we say there’s flash memory failure, it can either be a hardware failure, which you an end user like you can’t fix, or the MMC has simply been corrupted and thus, a reflashing of either an official or custom/unofficial ROM/firmware can fix. To know which is which, you must attempt to flash a firmware to it.

Flashing is basically a modification of core system files so it can be a risky procedure (and thus sometimes results to an issue you’re experiencing). It’s not recommended for newbie and average Android users because it involves doing complicated tasks though a good guide can also help. If you are interested to know if you can do it, we recommend that you read blogs that write about the topic or ask assistance from forums that cater to it. A good site to begin searching is XDA Developers Forum. You can also use Google to search for terms that might help you understand the topic deeply.

We don’t provide guides on how to flash specific devices so you want to invest time in finding a good one for your device. Keep in mind that flashing instructions vary by phone model so make sure to use one that’s for your device.

Problem 3: Galaxy Note 4 randomly shuts down, won’t install update, won’t unlock

I am experiencing issues with my Galaxy Note 4 (SM-N910P, Sprint, operating in Boost Mobile). Initially, the phone either froze (for a while) or restarted randomly. It happened even in Safe Mode. I did soft and then hard factory reset (several times). However, nothing has been solved. So I installed a Wake Lock. That solved the freezing and the randomly turning off. However, the phone still does not restart after commanding to do it or being requested by the firmware to complete the update. To make it turn on, I need to remove the battery (it does not work to press and hold down volume key, home key, and power key). After many tries, the phone turn on, but the firmware fails to update. Other times the phone says “could not do normal boot” “ddi: mmc_read failed”, etc. Battery shows to be charged. Sometimes also, the phone does not pop up the keyboard, so I cannot type the password. — Ronald

Solution: Hi Ronald. All the symptoms you describe here (freezing, random restart, won’t update, won’t restart properly, and the MMC-related error), when taken together, can mean a hardware malfunction. We suspect your case is similar to Robert’s above so if you’ve already tried all the software troubleshooting like factory reset or flashing, you should consider sending it in or a replacement.

Problem 4: Galaxy Note 4 showing dm-verity screen, keeps crashing

Hello, after updating my Note 4, the phone worked well. It was one day that began not responding to the home button, screen froze and crashed. But that was after a few good days after the update. Now I got it to a service, they say they cannot rewrite any software on it because it stops, and says memory full. I also tried to reboot it at home, but wasn’t performing the whole activity, because it was crashing, showing the Android robot with an alert sign, and saying something about dm-verity. My phone is dead now. What shall I do? I have to mention I am from Romania but bought the phone from Germany. Worked very well for two years now. I am looking forward to hearing from you soon! Thank you for your attention! Yours sincerely. — Alina

Solution: Hi Alina. As mentioned above, if you can’t fix the issue with software solutions such as factory reset and flashing, you have to have it repaired or replaced.

Problem 5: Galaxy Note 4 battery percentages erratic, won’t turn on

Hi Droid Guy! Please help me on my Samsung note 4! The note 4 i was using Doesn’t Even Turn On. AT ALL. I tried Everything i can do on many different Sites. I tried To do a soft reset hard reset everything but it doesn’t Open up i also tried to connect it to a computer but still nothing, Sometimes it opens Randomly but when it opens its battery crappy, sometimes it jumps to different Percentages, like when i use it, 100% After 15 mins it jumps to 13% or something. Then It Shuts Off Again And Poof! nothing Again! Please help i have no phone to use 🙁 — John Luis

Solution: Hi John Luis. Looks like your device can make use of a new battery. If you can manage to turn it back on with a new battery but the battery percentages continue to act like crazy, make sure to recalibrate it. Here’s how:

1. Use the phone by playing games or doing tasks to hasten power discharge, until the phone turns itself off.
2. Turn the phone on again and let it turn itself off.
3. Charge the phone without turning it back on.
4. Wait until the battery says it fully charged to 100%
5. Unplug the charger and turn the phone on.
6. If the phone says it’s not 100% anymore, turn it off, plug the charger back in and wait until 100% charge is reached.
7. Unplug the charger the turn the phone on again.
8. Use the phone until you drain the battery down to 0.
9. Repeat the cycle once.

On the other hand, if the phone remains dead even with new battery installed, there must be a hardware issue causing it.  In that case, you want to let a professional check it.

Problem 6: Galaxy Note 4 “unfortunately your phone has stopped working” error

Hello. When someone calls me my phone comes up with the message that unfortunately your phone has stopped working. The phone continues to ring but I am unable to answer, turn the phone off, or restart it because the message covers over these options preventing me from being able to select them. The only was I can fix it is if I reset my phone by pushing the on/off button and the down volume button simultaneously. But it is just a  short term fix. It doesn’t happen every call I get. Maybe half the calls I can’t take because of this error. — Lynda

Solution: Hi Lynda. The first thing that you should try is to refresh the phone app. Here’s how:

1. Open the Settings menu either through your notification shade (drop-down) or through the Settings app in your app drawer.
2. Navigate down to “Apps”. This may be renamed to something like Applications or Application Manager in OEM skinned versions of Android 6 or 7.
3. Once in there, click on an application.
4. You’ll now see a list of stuff that gives you information about the app, including Storage, Permissions, Memory Use, and more. These are all clickable items. You’ll want to click on Storage.
5. You should now clearly see the Clear Cache and Clear Data buttons for the application. Try doing the Clear Cache first, then observe how voice calling works. If nothing will change do the Clear Data option.

Should clearing the cache and data of the app in question won’t fix the problem, try to wipe the cache partition. This will ensure that the system will start using a good system cache again. Sometimes, updates of new Android version or app can corrupt the system cache leading to all sorts of problems. To refresh the system cache, you need to delete the current one first. Here’s how to do that:

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.
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 doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Finally, if both procedures won’t fix the problem at all, consider wiping the phone with factory reset. Make sure that you back all your important data up before doing it:

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.
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 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.

Problem 7: Grey battery icon showing when Galaxy Note 4 power is low

Hi I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 I bought from ebay for $550 AU. it’s been working for nearly 3 years now with very little problems, but lately it stopped charging and when I turn the phone off and plug the charger in it doesn’t charge or let me turn it on  but the error code is that a battery icon appears and then the battery icon drops in brightness (dims down) and then disappears after 1.2 seconds. I even replaced the battery with a new one, and still the same problem, and I’m sure it’s not the female micro-usb connector inside the phone because it at least returns a error code as a grey battery icon then drops down its brightness then dissipates 0% screen brightness. It happens every time I plug the micro-usb connecter into the phone while it’s switched off.

I’ve tried all the things I read on the net (gently whacking the phone against a soft to hard surface, holding the power button dwn for 1 minute to clear RAM/EEPROM, removing the battery while doing this. i even tried it with the battery in and watched helpful videos that were only helpful and didn’t solve the problem on Youtube.

There seems to be very little information about error codes for this phone, as I’m still searching the web for answers and I thought Samsung would have a website at the very least that discusses error codes.

Thanks if you know what the error code is, all the google searches i’ve done so far contain keywords such as ‘yellow battery icon, etc’ but it isn’t relevant enough as their talking about the S6 and S7s.

It’s such a good phone compared to very cheap smart-phones, and I don’t want to rid it since the problem isn’t severe enough to. Thanks, and kind regard. — Stephen

Solution: Hi Stephen. If using a different, verified Samsung charger won’t help in this case, the most likely cause is a bad charging port. A grey battery icon usually shows in some Samsung devices when the system detects low battery level. There’s no official explanation from Samsung though why this is so when most of the time, the usual green battery icon is a common sight even when battery is low.

The next logical troubleshooting step in this case, assuming that no software solution can fix the problem (which should tell you that it’s not a software problem by the way), is to replace the charging port. If the charging port is okay, then other motherboard components like power IC are the next in line to be checked. We suggest that you let a professional do the checks.

Problem 8: Cannot install an app in Galaxy Note 4, video calling not working

I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 4. It’s a refurbished phone off of ebay that has been working fine for me. I did notice that with some apps, it says my phone is not compatible. An example would be Valkyrie Crusade. I’ve had that on other galaxies with no problems but not with my current phone. I’ve worked with the C.S.R through the game and had no luck.

My other concern is that I’m supposed to have a video calling function and for some reason, my phone does not have it. When looking at the device guide that’s currently out, I’m supposed to have it. My mom who has a Galaxy S3 and has it on hers with no issues. I’ve checked for a system update and it says: “Your Samsung is up to date. No update is necessary at this time.” I’m stumped on what else to do with my phone. Factory Reset doesn’t do any good and removing my battery, restarting my phone have no change as well. — Julia

Solution: Hi Julia. If you’re getting a message that an app is not compatible with your device, that’s because the developer of the said app must have tested and validated that their app can only work on select devices. If you know of someone with the same phone as yours to have installed and used the app in question, contact the developer of said app for support. You can visit the download page of the app in Google Play Store and get the contact information of the developer.

For your video calling question, we recommend that you contact your carrier for it. Video calling is sometimes a value-added service, meaning a subscriber must pay additional amount to have it.

Problem 9: How to recover missing locked Galaxy Note 4 SMS

I have had a messy child custody case going on for years. For this reason I lock all important texts between me and my ex that may be needed later for court proceedings. I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 I have had for almost 3 years. All of the sudden a few months ago, locked texts I had back from 2015 and 2016 appear blank. The message is there with the date but the entire box is blank and when I click on it will only say view slideshow or save attachment (which is weird because these were texts, not pics or files) and then say nothing is there or a slideshow with nothing will play. If I hit message details, it will show the date, time and contact info for both people but says 0kb at the bottom where it shows message size. These were EXTREMELY important for court and I feel like an idiot for not saving them otherwise into a computer since mine has been busted for a long time and only had my phone and tablets. Am I just screwed or is there any kind of setting or something that got messed up? I am betting it probably has been overwritten with data or worse from little bits of stuff I have found online about recovering texts but nowhere can I find this specific situation mentioned or addressed. I know it is an old phone model and it is a long shot someone will read this but I wanted to at least try. Thank you. — Elisabeth

Solution: Hi Elisabeth. Unfortunately for you, there’s no setting or software tweak that you can do undo whatever happened to your locked messages. We are assuming of course that you’re using the native Samsung messaging app. If you happen to use a third party messaging app (something not from Samsung), try to contact the developer and see if you can get help.

Also, if you think those missing texts are very important for a legal battle, you may want to invest a few hundred dollars to have them recovered by specialized companies that do data recovery. We have no idea if there’s a special software out there that can recover locked SMS from a Samsung devices so we can’t say for sure if this option is viable.

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