Today’s post will take care of one of the frustrating issues that a Samsung Galaxy user may encounter. In a case mentioned below, a Galaxy A5 owner has a problem booting up his device after an update. The problem appears to be caused by a dreaded error: “Custom binary blocked by FRP lock.” Learn how to deal with this issue by following our suggestions.
Problem: Galaxy A5 won’t boot up and showing “Custom binary blocked by FRP lock” error
New phone. Standard software updates installed. Used until battery 18%. Didn’t appear to be charging. Switched off. Get message we think says “Custom binary blocked by FRP lock” in very very small red writing. Not sure on FRP.
Following online instructions. Forced reboot and safe mode didn’t work. Up to trying to start in recovery mode. Didn’t see a msg about installing update. Didn’t wipe cache but selected reboot system now hoping might retain xmas day photos. Had a blue screen …. think alternate OS and factory OS but can’t recall. Selected factory. Been “Downloading … do not turn off target” for about 10 hours now …. guessing not working but don’t want to try and switch off.
Solution: FRP refers to Factory Reset Protection feature that ensures only the owner can use the phone after a factory reset. FRP works by asking for the Google account username and password registered with the device. This happens after a phone has been factory reset only. What you have to do is to simply enter the correct Google account credentials. These are the username and password for the Google account you add to the phone. If you can’t remember the correct username and password, you can try to reset your Google account password first, then use the new one to unlock the device. This only works though if your device is currently connected to wifi (before you reset it). If it’s not connected to wifi at all, resetting your Google account won’t help. In this case, you should seek Samsung’s help to unlock the phone. Make sure to bring the proof of purchase of the device so they know it was you who bought it. After knowing that you are the legit owner, they can use a special tool to wipe the phone by bypassing FRP.
Clear cache partition
If there’s no FRP issue but your Galaxy A5 is unable to boot up normally, you should try a cache partition wipe first. The goal of this possible solution is to ensure that the system cache is refreshed. Sometimes, updates may corrupt this cache and cause all sorts of problems. By wiping the cache partition, you are making sure that Android has a fresh set of cache when starting up. Here’s how to do it:
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
- When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
- When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
- Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
- Press the Power key to select.
- Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
- When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
- Press the Power key to restart the device.
Factory reset
Factory reset may become a necessity in this case if your Galaxy A5 continues show the same problem after a cache partition wipe. Since the phone is unable to boot up normally, your personal data will be deleted and you won’t be able to save them in advance. This is one of the main reasons why you should regularly keep backups of any important documents or files (photos, videos, etc.) all the time. At this point, there’s no way to access the internal storage device so all files in it are not reachable at all.
To factory reset your Galaxy A5, you need to boot the phone again to Recovery Mode. Here’s how:
- Turn off the device.
- Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
- When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
- When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
- Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
- Press Power button to select.
- Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
- Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
- When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
- Press the Power key to restart the device.
Install firmware manually
We don’t know the circumstances of the case but if something caused the system to crash while installing an update, it may be the reason for the problem. Interrupting an update is one of the surest way to break a system. In many cases, a factory reset should help but if nothing works, the last troubleshooting step that a user can try is by flashing stock firmware to the device. Stock firmware refers to the original Android version that came with the device when you first unboxed it, or the subsequent Android versions provided by the carrier. There are thousands of firmware versions for any Samsung device at any given time so you must do extra research what firmware version of your Galaxy A5 is. Once you know that one fact, you can then look for a good guide that will walk you through to flash that firmware to your phone.
Flashing is basically a modification of your device’s original software so it can potentially break it temporarily or for good. This is why flashing is not recommended by Samsung. You should do it at your own risk.
We don’t provide flashing instructions in detail as there’s no universal guide for even the same model. You should do your own research if you want to take the risks.
Get Samsung help
Instead of risking the health of your device, we recommend that you get Samsung involved. Contact your local Samsung Service Center and let them fix your device.
If your Galaxy A5 was provided by your carrier, try to see if they can handle the repair or replacement.