What to do with your Samsung Galaxy J7 that got stuck in bootloop [Troubleshooting Guide]

The Samsung Galaxy J7 is a mid-range device with really good specifications and features. It has received quite a lot of positive reviews from tech enthusiasts as well as its users. However, some of our readers reported that their units somehow got stuck in bootloop and can no longer boot up successfully to the home screen. The problem, of course, prevents owners from using the phone that’s why it needs to be addressed as soon as possible so that we can try to see if the issue can be fixed on your end.

Samsung Galaxy J7 stuck in bootloop

This guide is for user who never attempted to modify the firmware of their phones because if you did, then we really don’t know the kind of mod you tried to install and what the problem. We’ll try to rule out every possibility until we arrive at the point where it would be a lot easier to determine what the cause is and formulate a solution that may fix it for good. If you own this phone and are currently bugged by a similar problem, then continue reading below as we may be able to help you.

Before anything else though, if you have other issues with your device, then visit our Galaxy J7 troubleshooting page for we have already addressed several common problems with this phone. Odds are that there are already existing solutions to your problems so just take time finding issues that are similar with yours. If you can’t find one or if you need further assistance, feel free to contact us by completing our Android issues questionnaire. Please provide us with as much information as possible so that it would also be easier for us to troubleshoot the problem. Don’t worry as we offer this service for free, so all you have to do is give us sufficient information about the problem.

Step-by-step guide to troubleshooting Galaxy J7 that’s stuck in bootloop

Problem: My Galaxy J7 is almost one year old. I bought it brand new and put in a prepaid SIM card. Ever since it worked perfectly but recently, it can no longer power up successfully. I mean, it still does power on and shows the logo and all but it turns itself off and then back on again and that’s the cycle. It keeps doing that the entire day if I would let it be. I don’t know if you guys encountered this kind of problem with phone before or if you heard about it, but if you know how I can fix it, that would be great. Thanks.

Troubleshooting: There were cases we’ve encountered before wherein the phone got stuck in bootloop after an update and there was also a case wherein it started after the owner installed an app from the Play Store. The point is that we really don’t know what happened to your phone if we’re going to base it on the problem you told us. So, we have to troubleshoot your device to know what the issue is and formulate a solution that might just fix it. Here’s what you need to do in this case wherein your device cannot boot up successfully…

Step 1: Perform the battery pull procedure

The first thing we have to rule out is the possibility that this issue is caused by a glitch in the system and we can do that by simply doing the battery pull procedure which will soft-reset the phone. Here’s what you have to do…

  1. Turn the phone on even if it continues to reboot on its own.
  2. While it’s powered on, remove the back cover.
  3. Now, pull the battery out.
  4. While the battery is disconnected from the device, press and hold the Power key for a minute.
  5. Place the battery back in and secure it with the back cover.
  6. Try to turn the phone on.

If the phone is still stuck in bootloop after this, then you have to try the next step.

Step 2: Try to boot your Galaxy J7 in Safe mode

Now, we’ll try to eliminate the possibility that this issue is caused by one or some of the apps you installed. By booting your phone up in Safe mode, you’re actually temporarily disabling all third-party apps. Naturally, if the problem is caused by one or some of the apps you installed, then your phone shouldn’t get stuck in bootloop anymore. Now, here’s how you boot your phone up in safe mode:

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
  3. When ‘SAMSUNG’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
  4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
  5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
  6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  7. Release the Volume down key when you see ‘Safe Mode’.

Assuming the phone boots up successfully in this mode, then it’s clear your third-party apps have something to do with it. Now find that app and then try to update, reset and even uninstall it just to try to fix this issue.

How to update apps on your Galaxy J7

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Play Store.
  3. Tap the Menu key and then tap My Apps. To keep your apps automatically updated, tap the Menu key, tap Settings, and then tap Auto-update apps to select the check box.
  4. Choose one of the following options:
    • Tap Update [xx] to update all applications with updates available.
    • Tap an individual application and then tap Update to update a single application.

How to reset apps (clear cache and data) on Galaxy J7

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap Application manager.
  5. Tap the desired application in the default list or tap MORE > Show system apps to display preinstalled apps.
  6. Tap Storage.
  7. Tap Clear data and then tap OK.
  8. Tap Clear cache.

How to uninstall an app from your Galaxy J7

  1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Applications.
  4. Tap Application manager.
  5. Tap the desired application
  6. Tap Uninstall.
  7. Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

If the problem persists after all this or if the phone cannot boot up in safe mode successfully, then you’ll have to move on to the next step.

Step 3: Try to boot your phone in Recovery Mode

This procedure may probably become successful since booting up in Android System Recovery is always one of the things any user can do even if their devices have complex firmware problems. So, it’s almost certain you can do this on your Galaxy J7. Booting up in this mode isn’t important but what you can do while the phone is in it is what could fix the problem. If successful, the first thing I want you to do is wipe cache partition and if that won’t work, then you’ll have to reset your device.

How to boot up in Recovery mode and wipe cache partition

By doing this, you’re actually deleting all possible corrupt system caches that may have caused this problem. But as far as your files and data are concerned, they will be left untouched so you don’t have to worry so much about them.

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
  4. 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).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Press the Power key to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key to highlight ‘yes’ and press the Power key to select.
  8. When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  9. Press the Power key to restart the device.

How to boot up in Recovery mode and reset the phone

There are, at least, a couple of methods you can use to reset your phone. The first one is from the Settings menu and this is the second one. You have to do the latter since your phone can’t successfully boot up and you can’t access the Settings of your phone. Assuming the problem is due to a minor firmware issue, then this reset will fix it but the downside is that you won’t be able to backup your files and data so you’ll probably lose them after the reset. Therefore, it’s your call if you want to go ahead with it or find help from a tech. If you go on with, then here’s how you do it:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
  4. 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).
  5. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  6. Press Power button to select.
  7. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  8. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  9. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  10. Press the Power key to restart the device.

If all else fails, seek assistance from a tech as you’ve already done what needs to be done on your end to no avail.

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