Galaxy Note 5 keeps getting stuck in boot loop, boots to Maintenance mode, other issues
Many Android users are often left wondering what to do when they realize that their expensive device like a #GalaxyNote5 suddenly fails to boot up. By boot up, we mean unable to load Android and “normal” Home screen. In most cases, devices that can’t boot up are stuck in a state called boot loop, or the seemingly unending cycle of booting back to the same carrier or Samsung screen. Although there can be a variety of reasons for a boot loop issue, the most common reason is due to unsuccessful software modification. In this post, we try to answer a particular case of a Note 5 that can’t seem to load Android operating system. We also try to educate one user on what to do next following a failed repair attempt. We hope you’ll find this troubleshooting article helpful.
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.
Problem 1: Galaxy Note 5 screen still not working after a screen replacement
I had a heavy object fall into my screen about a week ago. The bottom half of the screen went black and the touch screen for that half went out as well. As the night progressed the LCD changed purple at the top and eventually went black. I ordered a new LCD, digitizer, screen combo and replaced the old set. I went to turn on the phone when I was complete and the “black screen of death” occurred with the blue lights up top on and vibrating twice about every 10 seconds. I tried the volume buttons plus power or home after taking the battery each time. I also tried the soft reset and hard reset and plugged it into a computer. I went on to try the 1, 2, 3 method with holding the power button without the battery and eventually the phone turned on about the 4th time but with half a screen being gray fuzz. The other side was on and completely usable but it was very dark. I tried changing some settings and it said something about it can’t do this due to overheating. The phone also gets very hot if left on the charger too long. Any help is much appreciated! Thanks! — Shawn Brown
Solution: Hi Shawn. Given that your Note 5 suffered obvious physical impact, it’s possible that the damage goes beyond the screen. In general, as long you have (a) good, compatible replacement parts, and (b) performed the repair properly (we don’t know your level of expertise in this aspect), screen replacement should be a relatively easy task. Not doing the repair properly, like when you apply too much heat on the part of the phone where the battery is, may lead to battery damage. We have no idea how you did the repair so you must perform some diagnostics yourself to know where the current problem may lie. Any good technician doing a screen replacement makes sure to test the screen midway through the process, like the one in this video at around 9:40 mark. Such a simple check can save a lot of trouble by preventing you from disassembling everything again when the screen fails to work later on.
Assuming you did not break anything during the removal of the broken screen assembly and addition of the new one, there’s a chance that the issue you’re having right now (overheating) may be battery-related. The battery may had been damaged when you heat the phone up, or by the physical impact that also damaged the screen. Try to get a new battery and swap the old one with it. If that’s not the one causing the problem, it can be the charging port and/or the power management IC.
Our blog does not provide hardware troubleshooting and diagnostics so try to visit Youtube for videos or other sites for other step-by-step instructions.
Otherwise, let a professional take a look at the phone and see if they can revive it.
Problem 2: Galaxy Note 5 keeps getting stuck in a boot loop, goes to Maintenance mode on its own
Hi. This phone has been giving me issues for a little bit now. And it’s a big one.
So whenever I turn the phone off, and try to turn it back on, It goes into a bootloop for at least 3 hours. Recently, it hasn’t booted up at all. All it does is flash on the splash screen that says Samsung Galaxy Note 5 (and actually left burn in). But once it’s on, there’s no issues. It won’t go into recovery or anything, but it will go into download mode. But it also will sometimes show this “Maintenance Boot Mode” screen I’ve never seen before. So I think there’s something seriously wrong, but not sure. I’m also a tech junkie (I own a tech YouTube channel) so to come to here for help is a new one for me. — Latrell Jennings
Solution: Hi Latrell. If the phone gets stuck to any particular boot mode without any discernible pattern, the problem may be related to one of its physical buttons. We’ve seen this issue occur to devices with malfunctioning power buttons before so it’s good if you can pay attention to this possible cause first. Booting a Samsung device to a specific boot mode, like Maintenance mode, requires a specific hardware button combination. There’s no other way to load these alternate boot modes without pressing the right buttons. If one of the buttons is constantly being triggered, pressing another hardware button may fire off the sequence to load a boot mode.
Of course, determining the real reason for your problem can be tricky as it can involve other components like the battery, the power management ICs, or even the software. There’s not enough markers you provide in your problem description to help us identify the reason so we will leave the rest of the troubleshooting to you. Not knowing the history of your device does not help either. We need to know as much history about this phone if we are to fix it.
As far as software troubleshooting is concerned, the only steps that you can do are limited to these procedures:
- recalibration of the operating system’s self-assessment in detecting battery levels, and
- wiping the phone clean with master reset.
If the phone remains problematic after doing them, you can eliminate the possibility of a bad software as a cause. Instead, you should focus on getting the phone’s relevant hardware tested to know where the problem lies. If you can’t do repair diagnostics yourself, let a professional help you with it.
For reference, these are the steps on how to recalibrate your phone and how to do a master reset.
How to recalibrate Galaxy Note 5
The steps below can obviously be performed if you can manage to turn the phone back on. If you can’t skip it and proceed directly to attempting a master reset.
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- Drain the battery completely. This means using your device until it powers down by its own and the battery level reads 0%.
- Charge the phone until it reaches 100%. Be sure to use original charging equipment for your device and let it charge up completely. Do not unplug your device for at least two more hours and also don’t use it while charging.
- After the elapsed time, unplug your device.
- Use your phone until it completely runs out of power again.
- Repeat steps 1-4.
How to perform a master reset in your Note 5
Another drastic software troubleshooting step that you must do is master reset. Because a factory software state is generally bug-free, it’s a good way it’s a necessary step to eliminate the possibility of a software issue.
To master reset your Note 5, kindly do these steps:
- Create a backup of your important files and data.
- Turn off your Samsung Galaxy Note 5 completely.
- Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home buttons first, and then press and hold the Power key.
- Keep the three buttons pressed and when ‘Samsung Galaxy Note5’ shows, release the Power key but continue holding the other two.
- Once the Android logo shows, release both the Volume Up and Home buttons.
- The notice ‘Installing system update’ will show on the screen for 30 to 60 seconds before the Android system recovery screen is shown with its options.
- Use the Volume Down key to highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ and press the Power key to select it.
- When the process is complete, use the Volume Down key to highlight the option ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key to restart the phone.
- The reboot may take a little longer to complete but don’t worry and wait for the device to become active.
Contact Samsung for repair or replacement
As is usually the case, if your phone is still problematic after a master reset, you can assume software has nothing to do with it. There may be an issue with any of the physical components we mention above, or it can be entirely something deeper. It’s a technician’s job to isolate what hardware component is responsible for the problem. At worst, a motherboard replacement may be needed. In that case, we will advise that you don’t go through with it because it’s a very expensive, unguaranteed type of repair; you’ll be better off with a totally new phone.