How to block OTA update on your Galaxy Note5
Hello #GalaxyNote5 users! This short article will address three issues reported by Note5 users, with the main issue on how to prevent installation of an OTA update. With Samsung rolling out Android updates for older devices like the Note5 inevitable, many users are not really expected to install them. Since many Note5 owners are wondering how to block OTA updates, this post should answer their question.
Problem #1: How to block OTA update on a Galaxy Note5
I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 5 which got an update a few months back. I had put it on overnight software update after it had asked me to download the new software upgrade. The battery was more than 90% before it started installing. When I woke up next morning, found my phone switched off. Now after recharging, I switched it on and it would get stuck on the SAMSUNG startup screen. I tried soft resetting (the vol up, power and home keys). It wouldn’t work. I did the vol down, power and home keys reset and its showed me a blue screen that said ‘WARNING A custom OS can cause critical problems press vol up to download custom OS or vol down to restart.’ So when I pressed vol up, it will get stuck on a DOWNLOADING screen. Then I’d reset it vol down and power and it’ll get stuck to the Samsung logo again until the battery dies.
I showed it to Samsung service center and they said it’s a software issue and factory resetted my phone. They advised me not to download new software updates again. I’ve ignored and cancelled all the time whenever my phone asked for downloading an update. Lately, it’s been asking a lot. And by mistake, I pressed the download button. Now I’ve kept the download on Pause but I am afraid it will do the same thing it had done before. Now if you guys tell me to go ahead with it and it does the same thing as before, I’ll have to waste my money again for them factory resetting it wiping out my phone. Please help. I want that download cancelled somehow if that’s possible. There is a persistent notification of paused download which I want to get rid of. I’ve tried everything. Switched off the allow notifications options but it’s still there. I have already backed up my phone data but I don’t want it wiped out again. Please help. — Jamima Nasir
Solution: Hi Jamima. Thereâs a difference between download and install. During an update, your phone will try to download the needed files first, then proceed with the installation. Depending on how your carrier designs update installation to work, you may or may not have an option to either install or or cancel after the download. If you think your Note5 will again crash or get stuck in the same Samsung logo screen after an update, then we suggest that you hold off the update installation for as long as you can. For international version of the Note5, thereâs an option for a user to let the device download the update but prevent it from installing the new OS version automatically. We donât have any idea if you have this option as well since carrier-branded Note5 vary a lot when it comes to this issue. If you donât have the option to cancel the download, there may not be an option to cancel the installation later on.
Workaround: Root your device and use custom ROM
Carriers usually donât want OTA or over-the-air updates blocked by users so they remove this option. The opposite is true for international versions or those Note5s that run Samsung or non-carrier firmware. The only way for users of carrier-branded phones to block OTA update is by rooting their phones, then flashing a custom ROM to it.
Carriers are not usually flexible with their devices when it comes to updates. They want devices connected to their network up-to-date for a variety of reasons, security being one of them. This is firmware versions from carrier-branded phones usually donât have an option to download updates manually, like international versions do. If you want to prevent updating your phone at all, the best thing that you can do right now is to use a non-official firmware. This is hardly an ideal option but itâs the only effective way to prevent your device from installing Android updates. Using a custom ROM however also means that your phone will become less secure and less stable and thereâs no guarantee that youâll have the same experience when you use it with your current network. For example, calls and texts experiences may now be different because the operating system may no longer be compatible with that of your networkâs configuration. You also run the risk of losing your phoneâs warranty if you use it.
If you want to take the security risks involved including the possibility that you may brick your phone while flashing, go ahead and do some research on how to flash your device. Flashing guides usually include tips on how to root the device. You canât flash or manually install a non-official firmware without rooting your Note5 first.
Problem #2: Galaxy Note5 overheating and stuck on boot loop
Hey! I’m having trouble with my Note 5. A couple weeks ago, I restarted my phone since it was running a little slowly and I hadn’t restarted it in a while. Afterwards, it went into a boot loop and my phone hasn’t started up since. I used ODIN to flash a new stock Android, but that didn’t seem to help. I’m completely at a loss as to what could be wrong, besides maybe a hardware issue. My phone has been working perfectly since I got it, this issue seemingly came out of nowhere. The only odd thing I notice is that the top-middle of the screen gets really hot when it’s trying to boot, like when you’re using intensive apps or VR. Could be overheating or something? I can boot into recovery mode, and safe mode (though it doesn’t boot into safe mode), and can successfully use ODIN, I think. Let me know if you need any more information, or recovery logs, etc! Please help! — Nikko Nikko Resendiz
Solution: Hi Nikko. An issue like the one youâre experiencing cannot be caused exclusively by bad software. If a factory reset via Recovery or flashing a stock firmware did not fix the issue, youâre most probably looking at a hardware issue.
Hardware malfunction regularly occur on relatively older devices like the Note5 (yes, a year is considered old enough for a smartphone) than on newer ones. Thatâs because the components that consist the entire hardware infrastructure on your phone can only last for some time. Electronic components like the ones used on smartphones have limited lives and some can fail earlier than anticipated. Components may become damaged due to overheating, environmental reasons, or manufacturing defect. Hardware troubles can take many forms but in many cases we encountered, battery fault is usually common. Another common hardware failure that weâve seen is Power Management Integrated Circuit (PMIC) degradation. This is the usual reason why devices with boot loop or power issues end up having the same problem even after replacing the battery on their device. In some cases, battery replacement will do but if you have a Galaxy Note5, you will need to let Samsung do it for you since the battery is attached to the motherboard. Needless to say, what you need to do right now is to send the phone to Samsung so a full hardware diagnostics can be performed.
Problem #3: Galaxy Note5 keeps saying that itâs overheating after it got wet
i dropped my phone into water this morning but it was only submerged for basically a second. I canât actually open the back of my phone so I was only able to take out the sim card and dry that and the phone with a towel. I then put the phone into a bowl of rice for 8 hours. I got home today and checked on my phone. it turns on fine and work perfectly for few minutes but after that it tells me that the phone is overheating when itâs clearly not. what can I do besides having to pay to get it fixed? is there anyway I could disable the heat sensor or at least get it working again? — Talia Harrison
Solution: Hi Talia. Unlike its successors, the Galaxy Note7 and Note8, your Note5 does not have water-resistance protection so even a quick dunk in a pool or splashes of water can potentially result to hardware damage. Part of a quick âfirst aidâ that you can do is to dry the phone using readily available materials like rice. Drying however only follows the first few other critical things like battery removal (we know this is borderline impossible for a Note5). Putting your phone in a bag of rice is meant to absorb moisture or water from the device. It WONâT fix any hardware damage that may have already taken place because the phoneâs battery has already shorted components. Leaving the battery connected to a wet motherboard can allow electricity to go to unwanted areas, thus shorting power-sensitive parts. This is the main reason why you want to power off the phone and remove the battery right away. This is the number one reason why wet electronics fail most of the time. The overheating message that keeps popping up may be triggered by a damaged component or a wet charging port.
If your Note5 wonât stop showing the overheating message, you need to let a professional check it so the hardware can be checked. Try to bring your phone to an independent repair shop that has the proper equipment to dry your phone. If youâre lucky and thereâs no major damage to the motherboard, drying it properly may save you from buying a new phone.
READ: Things to do when you have a water-damaged Android phone