Galaxy S7 Recovery Mode not working properly, stuck in Download Mode, other issues

Hello Android community! We’re bringing you today some of the uncommon issues we’ve encountered so far. We hope you’ll find our solutions effective.

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 S7 Recovery Mode not working properly

Hello. I went to wipe the cache partition, but before this the blue Android page was acting stage and the message “command lost” popped up. after a few seconds the Android recovery page came up and I am able to scroll or use to the touch screen to hit to the wipe cache partition command and highlight it with the power button. from there nothing happens. The “yes” command in yellow never shows up and none of the other options will go beyond the highlighting point.

Also, are you supposed to be able to use the touch screen to press an option on the Android recovery page?

Lastly, to get the phone up and working again, I have to hold the Power button down for a moment. which I know isn’t normal, so HELP. lol Thank you. — Stephanie

Solution: Hi Stephanie. Below are the exact steps on how to wipe the cache partition and factory reset a Galaxy S7:

Delete System Cache

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.

Master Reset

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.

If you followed the steps properly above but the phone continues to refuse to wipe the cache or perform a factory reset, then something is definitely wrong with it. This means that the phone’s bootloader or firmware may have been corrupted for some reason. Usually, bootloader- and firmware-related problems occur if a phone gets interrupted while installing an update, or if a user tampers with the software incorrectly when flashing or rooting. We don’t know the history of your device so we can’t say for sure what may be the reason for the problem. However, if you did try to tamper with the software (and you chose not to mention it to us) in the form of rooting or flashing, you may be able to fix the problem by reflashing the bootloader back to stock.

Below are the general steps on how to flash a bootloader. The exact steps for your particular device may be slightly different so be sure to consult other guides catered for your particular phone model.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Proceed with the rest of the flashing procedure using the Odin program.
5. In Odin, click on the BL tab and make sure to use the bootloader file you’ve identified earlier.
6. 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.
7. Restart the phone once the procedure is finished.

Touchscreen won’t work in Recovery Mode

To answer your question, no, touchscreen is not supposed to work in Recovery Mode. In order to navigate to desired option, you must use the volume rocker (Volume Up and Volume Down buttons). Once you’ve highlighted the desired option, you must then press the Power button to confirm the selected option.

Problem 2: Galaxy S7 won’t turn on after battery drained

A few weeks ago I noticed my phone would say Searching for Service, but would continue to act and function normally. I could use data, wifi, make phone calls, anything. Yesterday I noticed it was randomly shutting down, but it would turn on as soon as I tried. Today, it would not turn back on right away. Went from a 58% when it shut down, to a 9% when I tried to plug it in to my computer and now it is just flashing the no battery screen while still plugged into my computer. My computer has also not been able to recognize it, but has been able to recognize other external storages I’ve plugged in. I cannot get the phone to turn on at all. — Twistedpinkcandy

Solution: Hi Twistedpinkcandy. For cases like yours, the most important thing to determine is if your phone can still turn on. If the phone remains dead, then your troubleshooting options can be very limited to nothing. The causes can vary but most of the time, they include any of the following:

• unknown software glitch
• bad content or app
• malfunctioning battery
• broken power management IC
• unknown hardware trouble

To determine if the problem is Android-related, you can try restart the phone to other modes. If your device will boot up to, say, Recovery Mode or Download Mode, but not in normal mode, that means that there may be an operating system glitch. Usually, an issue like this can be fixed by re-installing Android (flashing) manually. To see if it’s an operating system issue, here are the steps on how to boot the device to Recovery and Download Mode.

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. 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.

Bad charger or charging port

Sometimes, the main reason for an issue like this can be as simple as a bad charger or USB cable or as complex as a malfunctioning charging port. To know if it’s a charger issue or a bad USB cable problem, you can try to use a different charger or cable. If that won’t make any difference, then there’s a chance that it’s a charging port problem. To know that, you can try to use a wireless charger. If your phone boots back up after charging it wirelessly, you must send the phone in to Samsung so the charging port can be repaired.

Unknown hardware malfunction

Like any electronic device, your S7 is a complicated piece of equipment that requires both software and hardware to work in harmony. If the device remains problematic after you’ve exhausted all possible software troubleshooting, then you can assume that bad hardware is to blame. To pinpoint where the problem lies, you must let a professional diagnose the problem for you. If the phone is still within warranty, you must let Samsung fix the problem for you. Otherwise, you can bring it to an independent service center.

Problem 3: Galaxy S7 won’t turn back on, stuck in Download Mode

The phone will turn on, but the only thing it does is display the error message “could not do normal boot invalid kernel length.” None of the holding buttons tricks work to reboot or recover. The closest thing it does enroute to the Odin mode is show a download screen that says do not turn off target, but it shows no other activity. This happened unexpectedly. Turned the phone off to charge and turned it back on to a blank screen and that error message. Thanks. — Kevin

Solution: Hi Kevin. As mentioned above, there’s only so much that you can do for this problem. If you did nothing different that may have led to cause software corruption like rooting or flashing, then there’s a chance that the device may have suffered a software hiccup. Try to see if you can make it work again by reflashing the bootloader. Refer to the steps above on how to do it.

 

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