Galaxy Note 5 won’t install update, freezes, bootloops after installing an app, other issues

Hello and welcome to another #GalaxyNote5 post. Today, we try to address some operating system issues on the Note 5. We hope that you’ll find this read interesting.

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 5 won’t install update

Hi I am contacting you in regards to my Samsung Note 5. I just got it from a friend and it all seems to work except it says it needs to update. I do the update and within minutes it comes back up that it needs to update. I have done this at least a dozen times. I was wondering if it is because it seems to not be on the new Android Nougat and maybe it is stuck on the old one. If so how can I get it to update to the new Nougat update. Any help is appreciated thank you. — Erik

Solution: Hi Erik. There can be a number of possible reasons why your Note 5 fails to update so let’s discuss them one by one.

Corrupted system cache

All downloaded APKs (sets of installation files of apps), and Android updates are temporarily stored as a cache in the cache partition but sometimes, for some reason, the cache itself gets corrupted. If that happens, one of its manifestations is failure for a device to install updates, including Android updates. To see if it’s a system cache issue, make sure that you wipe the cache partition first. This can be done safely your phone will gradually rebuild the cache overtime and this won’t result to loss of user files. To wipe the cache partition, follow these steps:

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 ‘wipe cache partition’ 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.
Try to install the update again.

Not enough space in phone’s internal storage device

Updates will sometimes be checked by the system if there’s no more space so be sure to have at least 1GB free in internal storage whenever you try to update. Since a Note 5 does not have an available slot for the SD card, we suggest that you move non-system files like photos, videos, music, etc. to another device like a computer.

Phone is rooted or running custom ROM

Some root software may be configured to prevent a system from automatically downloading and installing Android updates. The same may be true of some custom firmware. To see if this is the case, consider unrooting the phone or flashing a stock software to it.

If you never did root nor flashed the device with an unofficial software, simply ignore this step.

Unknown software glitch

We don’t know the full history of your device so we can’t say for sure if it may be suffering from an operating system issue. The best way to check, especially if you’ve already tried all our suggestions above, is to return all settings back to defaults via factory reset. Here’s how:

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.
Set the phone up again but don’t install any app yet.
Try to check if there’s any available software update. If there’s is, go ahead and install it.

Remember, factory reset will erase all user files. Be sure to back everything up before doing it.

Problem 2: Galaxy Note 5 black screen issue after screen repair

Samsung Note 5. The screen went black, the screen shows no signs of damage. When i switch on my phone will have a blue LED at the top and the bottom return button etc doesn’t show and it enters recovery mode immediately. My computer and Odin recognizes the phone in recovery mode. However, when I tried flashing a new stock firmware, the process stucks at waiting setup connection. I wonder if it is the motherboard that is spoiled or possibly some loose cables since i got my screen changed recently (not in Samsung store). — Xavier

Solution: Hi Xavier. The best people that can identify the cause are the ones in the shop who did the repair. It’s not normal for a Note 5 to boot to Recovery Mode right after you’ve turned it on so there must be something causing it to behave erratically. This cause can be a hardware malfunction such as a broken power button, a malfunctioning screen, a failing power management IC, or even the processor. We don’t think there’s any software fix for your issue so your best course of action at this time is to bring the phone back to the shop so they can do something about it.

The phone is obviously booting at this time still so hopefully an attending technician can isolate where the trouble comes from. If it’s a bad screen problem, a screen replacement should fix the issue for you.

Problem 3: Galaxy Note 5 freezes, constantly bootloops after installing an app

I installed an app (some magnifying glass that uses my camera). A few minutes later, i took some pictures and when i tried to access them, the phone froze and restarted. The phone has had no use since then, it’s in a constant boot loop. I have wiped it, wipe cache, tried smart switch to reinitialize it but nothing works. It sometimes goes through the setup process only to crash again when it tries to restore my settings and apps. Another time it freezes and restarts when I try to put in my SIM pin. I have also tried odin to reflash the firmware but still no luck. I need help. — Anthrick

Solution: Hi Anthrick. Instead of flashing the firmware, consider flashing the bootloader instead and see how it goes. Sometimes, a corrupted bootloader can manifest in a lot of ways though the most common is bootloop. If you haven’t tried flashing the bootloader yet, you can use this general guide below on how to do it. The exact steps may be slightly different for your particular model so be sure to consult other guides as well.

Look for the correct firmware for your phone model and download it. Make sure that you select the right one. It should be the same exact firmware that ran previously on your device. We assume that you list down the firmware version somewhere. If you did not take note of it before, there’s a chance that you may pick the wrong one. As you may know now, using an incorrect firmware can cause complications so good luck with that.
Let’s now say that you have identified the correct firmware. You then want to download it to your computer. The firmware file should have a bunch of files in it like AP_, BL_, CSC_, etc.
Look for the file that starts with a label BL; this should be the corresponding bootloader file for this firmware. Once you’ve identified the bootloader file, copy it to your computer’s desktop or to any other folder that you can easily access.
Proceed with the rest of the flashing procedure using the Odin program.
In Odin, click on the BL tab and make sure to use the bootloader file you’ve identified earlier.
Now, make sure that the “Device Added” status and its “ID:COM box” has turned blue before hitting the START button. This will initiate the flashing of your phone’s bootloader.
Restart the phone once the procedure is finished.

If flashing the bootloader won’t help either, there must be a motherboard malfunction behind this trouble. You should have the phone repaired or replaced.