Many #GalaxyS7 devices around the world are now running Android Oreo and unfortunately for some, the new update spells trouble. Just like when new Android upgrades are released, some devices may encounter problems just like one case that we include in this post. In this troubleshooting article, we show you how to fix your Galaxy S7 if it’s stuck in boot loop following an upgrade to Oreo.
Today’s problem: How to fix Galaxy S7 that’s stuck in boot loop after Android Oreo update
My Samsung Galaxy S7, 2 years old, was auto-updated last night. This morning it had not completed, and was looping as follows: Start – enter PIN, watch little Android for a few minutes until “updating app 58”, after which it closed down and started the loop again. After going into recovery mode, I was able to watch it start the upgrade and then the android fell over with ++ eyes, and the message No Command. Further looking into the recovery screen gave “Failed to open Recovery – cause (no such file or directory) … Failed to clear BCB message: failed to find /misc partition. Any advice welcome, the phone just continues looping, I cannot even turn it off” Thank you. — Steve Dunne [email protected]
Solution: Hi Steve. The situation you are in right now is what Android community calls boot loop. There are many factors that can lead to this problem but in your case, it seems to be caused by the latest Android update that you tried to install. To fix the problem, there’s a number of steps that you must try. Let’s discuss each of them below.
Clear the cache partition
Provided nothing happens when you restart your S7, the next good thing to do is to clear the cache partition. Android uses a set of storage partitions in order to work efficiently. One of such partitions is the cache partition where the system cache is kept. When loading apps, Android taps the system cache so the task is done faster. The thing is, this cache can sometimes get corrupted after an update or app installation. To check, you need to clear the cache partition. Here’s how:
- Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
- Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
- When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
- When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
- Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
- Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
- Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
- Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
- Let the phone reboot and check for the problem.
Reboot to Safe Mode
Another good way to troubleshoot boot loop instances is by restarting a Samsung device to Safe Mode. In this mode, all third party apps are blocked, allowing only Android and its pre-installed apps to run. If your S7 will boot up to safe mode but not on normal mode, that means you have a problem with one of your apps. To check if that’s the case, follow these steps to run your S7 to safe mode:
- Turn the device off.
- Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
- When “SAMSUNG” appears on the screen, release the Power key.
- Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
- Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
- Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
- Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.
- Let your S7 run in this mode for several hours and check for the problem.
Safe mode blocks third party apps and services. If your device boots up fine on Safe Mode but the problem returns on normal mode, you know that one of your apps is behind the trouble. To know which app is causing a problem, follow these steps:
- Boot to safe mode.
- Check for the problem.
- Once you’ve confirmed that a third party app is to blame, you can start uninstalling apps individually. We suggest that you begin with the most recent ones you added.
- After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
- If your S7 still refuses to power back on, repeat steps 1-4.
Recovery Mode Factory reset
If your S7 won’t boot to safe mode or if the same issue occurs when trying to run it on safe mode, the next good thing to do is wipe the phone. This means that you’ll need to boot your device to Recovery Mode just like when you do a cache partition wipe. In Recovery Mode, you’ll have the option to factory reset your S7. Like the regular factory reset done under Settings, this procedure will have the same effect of reverting all software settings back to their defaults. As such, it will delete all your data as well (there’s no way to save them anyway). In most cases, factory reset or master reset fixes boot loop issues so hopefully this will work for you as well. If you have not tried doing it before, kindly follow these steps:
- Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
- Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
- When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
- When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
- Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
- Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
- Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
- Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
- The phone will now reboot longer than usual.
Use Smart Switch to repair the software
If your S7 is still bricked at this point and factory reset did not do anything at all, you can attempt to repair the software using Samsung’s official program — Smart Switch. This program is designed primarily to make it easier to move files to and from a Samsung device but it also has the capability to fix the software in some limited cases. If you’re lucky and the issue on your device is operating system-related only (and not something else, like a bootloader bug or a damaged hardware), Smart Switch may help you.
In order to use it, you need to download and install it first on your computer. If you don’t have a handy PC or Mac to use, you can just ignore this suggestion. Smart Switch app already comes pre-installed on your Galaxy S7 but since you can’t load the operating system normally, what you need to do next is to connect your S7 to your computer and see if the computer version Smart Switch can detect the device and recommend a fix. If that won’t happen, that means Smart Switch can’t help you.
To get detailed instructions on how to install Smart Switch on your computer, visit this link.
Downgrade Android
If your S7 encounters a problem during an OTA (over-the-air) update and got stuck in boot loop, you can, revert it to its previous operating system version, provided you know the exact firmware build. The procedure to make this happen is called flashing and it’s often a good way out for many expert Android users. Yes, this procedure is recommended for advanced Android users only because it’s a risky procedure that can surely ruin your day. We won’t be giving the details on how to flash a Galaxy S7 in this post. Flashing guides can vary by phone model so we’ll leave it to your research skills to find one for your device.
If you haven’t heard of the term flashing before, or if you’re not confident that you can do it (it’s not rocket science though), simply ignore this suggestion and let Samsung fix your device.
Keep in mind that there’s no guarantee that flashing stock firmware on your device will fix your issue.