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How to fix Samsung Galaxy J7 that has the Black Screen of Death issue (step by step guide)

ByHarold Hisona

The Black Screen of Death (BSoD) issue is often characterized by a blank screen and unresponsive buttons but the flash notification–assuming it’s enabled–will flash whenever you get messages or calls. And speaking of calls, you can actually dial your number and you will hear it’s ringing but the screen won’t turn on no matter what.

In this post, I will walk you through in fixing this problem. I will share with you the solution that we know works for this kind of issue. So, if you’re one of owners of this phone that are currently bugged by the BSoD problem, continue reading as this article 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.

Effective solution to the black screen of death issue on Galaxy J7

More often than not, this problem is due to a system or firmware crash and such might have been caused by other factors. This isn’t the first time we tackled this problem and based on the feedbacks of our readers, it’s pretty easy to fix and I will share with you the solution here.

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So, to fix the BSoD on your Galaxy J7, simply press and hold the Volume Down and Power keys simultaneously for 10 seconds (this procedure is called Forced Restart). This is for the 2017 variant but for the first generation J7 and the 2016 variant, you can just remove the battery and press the Power key for a minute to refresh your phone’s memory.

Going back to the 2017 variant, if the first attempt didn’t fix the problem, try doing the same procedure a few more times but this time, try pressing and holding the Volume Down button first and without letting go of it, press and hold the Power key. Keep both keys held for 10 seconds. If the phone starts, problem is fixed.

The fact that the system crashed, there should be inconsistencies in the system and the same issue may occur again in the future. To prevent it however, it’s better that you reset your phone because it’s clearly a software problem. Before the reset, make sure that you make a backup of your important files and data and then follow these steps:

  1. Back up data on the internal memory. If you have signed into a Google account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft and will need your Google credentials to finish the Master reset.
  2. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
  3. Tap Settings > Cloud and accounts.
  4. Tap Backup and reset.
  5. If desired, tap Back up my data to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  6. If desired, tap Restore to move the slider to ON or OFF.
  7. Use the back key to move back to the Settings menu and tap General management.
  8. Tap Reset > Factory data reset.
  9. Tap Reset.
  10. If you have screen lock turned on, enter your PIN or password.
  11. Tap Continue.
  12. Tap Delete all.

However, if the problem hasn’t been fixed by the Forced Restart, then you should troubleshoot your device.

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Troubleshooting Galaxy J7 with BSoD that won’t respond to Forced Restart

There’s no guarantee that we can fix your problem but at least you can try. For those who are no comfortable doing the procedures below, you should bring the phone to the service center to have a tech check it for you but for owners who are willing to do a couple of procedures to see if the problem gets sorted out, here’s what I suggest you do:

Make sure your Galaxy J7 doesn’t have liquid damage

Liquid damage is the worse problem  you may encounter that’s why the first thing I want you to do is verify if this problem isn’t due to liquid. Here are some things you need to do…

  1. Look into the USB / charger port to see if there’s a trace of liquid in there.
  2. Clean the area using a cotton swab or you may insert a small piece of tissue paper to absorb the moist.
  3. Blow into the port to get rid of any foreign objects that might also have something to do with this issue.
  4. Remove the SIM card tray and look into the slot to find the Liquid Damage Indicator (LDI).
  5. If the LDI is still white, it means it’s not tripped and there’s no liquid damage in your device.
  6. However, if the LDI turned red, purple or pink, then there’s liquid damage and you should bring your phone to the service center.

After making sure it’s due to liquid damage, move on to the next steps.

Try charging your Galaxy J7 to see how it responds

It’s possible the problem just due to a drained battery so plug the charger to a working wall outlet and connect your J7 to it using the original cable. It may take a few minutes for the phone to respond to the charger if the battery got totally depleted so give it at least ten minutes. However, if the phone is heating up while it’s plugged in, disconnect it from the charger immediately and don’t try anything anymore because it’s risky. Instead, bring the phone to the tech so he can check it for you.

Assuming the phone isn’t heating up but doesn’t show the charging symbol on the screen, try doing the Forced Restart once again but this time while the device is plugged in. If it still won’t respond to that, then try the next step.

Try running your Galaxy J7 in Safe mode

Sometimes third-party apps may keep on crashing and affect the overall performance of your phone or even cause the system to crash. In such case, you need to disable the app that’s causing the problem to have access to your phone again. Since the phone isn’t responding, try running it in safe mode to temporarily disable all third-party apps. Here’s how you do that:

  1. Turn the device off.
  2. Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
  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.

If the phone boots up in this mode, the next thing you should do is find the app that’s causing the problem and uninstall it.

  1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps tray.
  2. Tap Settings > Apps.
  3. Tap the desired application in the default list or tap 3 dots icon > Show system apps to display pre-installed apps.
  4. Tap the desired application.
  5. Tap Uninstall.
  6. Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

Boot your Galaxy J7 up in Recovery mode

We simply have to test your device if it’s still capable of going into the Android system recovery because it’s Android’s fail-safe that even if the phone has a serious firmware problem, it should still be able to run in this mode provided there’s no problem with the hardware. If successful, you can then wipe the cache partition to delete all system caches or immediate do the Master reset which has a really great effect on the performance. Here’s how do these procedures:

How to start your Galaxy J7 in Recovery mode and wipe cache partition

  1. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  2. When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds, then ‘No command’ before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  3. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight “wipe cache partition”.
  4. Press Power button to select.
  5. Press the Volume down key to highlight “yes” and press the Power key to select.
  6. When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
  7. Press the Power key to restart the device.

How to boot your phone in recovery mode and do the master reset

  1. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
  2. When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds, then ‘No command’ before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
  3. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight “wipe data / factory reset.
  4. Press Power button to select.
  5. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
  6. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
  7. When the master reset is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
  8. Press the Power key to restart the device.

After all this and the problem still persists and your phone still dead, then it’s time to bring it to the tech. You can do these procedures under 5 minutes so troubleshooting won’t take up much of your time but it will save you from all the hassle if the problem gets fixed. I hope this troubleshooting guide can help you. If you still need our help, then feel free to contact us.

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