Today’s troubleshooting article will cover some common problems for the #GalaxyA7. Samsung has sold millions of Galaxy A7 around the world since last year so it’s unavoidable that many A7 users may report problems to us. In this episode, we answer some of these A7 issues, including what you can do when the device has stopped charging or got stuck in Samsung logo screen.
Problem #1: What to do if Galaxy A7 only boots to Download Mode
Hi all. I have a problem with the Galaxy A7 SM-A710M. It always stay in “warning screen”, then I try press Vol+ to enter in Odin mode (download mode) but nothing happens! One time I put it to load in the socket a lot of time, maybe six hours, and when I arrived at home again it changed automatically to download mode. Then I download the firmware ZTO Android 7.0 Nougat to Brazil. I opened Odin and achieved send it to the phone with success all firmware to phone “pass1 Ok”. But the phone didn´t restart! Only black screen! I tried to press all combination of buttons and nothing happens!!! Now is hard to enter again in the download screen. What we can do to fix it?
Solution: Together with factory reset or master reset, flashing stock firmware are the last resort procedures a user can do to fix software-related issues. If you haven’t tried going into Recovery Mode and attempt a master reset, now is the right time to do that. Here’s what you need to do:
- Turn off the device. This is important. If you can’t turn it off, you’ll never be able to boot to Recovery Mode. If you are not able to shut the device off regularly via the Power button, wait until the phone’s battery is drained. Then, charge the phone for 30 minutes before booting to Recovery Mode.
- Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
- When the green 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 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.
If you are unable to boot your device to Recovery Mode, or if nothing works after a master reset, then that means the problem is not fixable on your level. There may be a hardware issue causing the phone to only boot to Download mode, or not at all. Make sure to let Samsung examine the hardware so they can advise you whether or not repair is necessary, or if you need to get a new one.
Problem #2: How to fix Galaxy A7 texting issues: receives some texts in another messaging app
I have an A7. I changed my messaging app after the last major update to Oreo because it no longer allowed me to set different text tones for different users. I use an app that’s also called Messages and it worked fine until the most recent update. Now some of my text messages are going to the wrong app, they are going to the default Android Messages app even though the new app is set as my default. I’ve restarted the phone, reset the new app as the default, I’ve tried everything to no avail. It isn’t all text messages, just some from my wife, who also has an A7, though I don’t know if she had installed the latest update. Messages from my daughter, who probably has also not installed the latest update come through just fine. I tried disabling SMS in the Android Messages app and I still get some messages in the wrong app but I don’t get notifications in either app to see them. I have to re-enable SMS in the Android app to see those messages. How do I get ALL of my text messages to go to the app that I have selected as my default, which is not the Android app?
Solution: We suggest that you clear app data first and see what happens. Here’s how to do that:
- Open Settings app.
- Tap Apps.
- Tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
- Select Show system apps.
- Find your text messaging app and tap it.
- Tap Storage.
- Tap Clear Data button.
- Restart your A7 and check for the problem.
You can also try to disable the stock Samsung text messaging app to ensure that only one messaging app is running all the time. Follow these steps to disable an app:
- Open Settings app.
- Tap Apps.
- Tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
- Select Show system apps.
- Find your text messaging app and tap it.
- Tap DISABLE.
If you can’t disable the stock Samsung app, try turning off its permission to do use SMS. You can do that by going under App Info section and hitting the Permission option.
Problem #3: What to do if your Galaxy A7 won’t charge or boot up (and stuck in Samsung logo screen)
Hello sir. My Galaxy A7 has got a problem. As you may know the first picture to be seen on Galaxy A7 is a picture of the phone’s Samsung logo screen. My phone is stuck on that picture and doesn’t go any further. In another word the phone is not running up. When I plug the charger in, the picture of the battery which must be shown when the phone is off while charging, is shown but doesn’t show that its charging. Its just showing a picture of the battery and a loading circle at the centre of it. Please help me to get that solved I have many useful data on the storage. Also I’m pretty sure that would cost a lot if I bring it to a Samsung repair shop.
Solution: Access to data stored in your phone’s storage device is only possible if the system is up and running. As it is, your files are locked out unless the phone boots back to regular mode. Needless to say, you need to turn the phone on first and boot it up to normal mode. If that’s not possible, your files are good as gone.
In order to see if you can turn the phone back on, you need to do some basic things below.
Force reboot
Sometimes, forcing a phone to restart is enough to fix boot issues. To force reboot your A7, follow these steps:
- Press and hold the Power + Volume Down buttons for approximately 10 seconds or until the device power cycles. Allow several seconds for the Maintenance Boot Mode screen to appear.
- From the Maintenance Boot Mode screen, select Normal Boot. You can use the volume buttons to cycle through the available options and the lower left button (below the volume buttons) to select. Wait for up to 90 seconds for the reset to complete.
Try another set of charging accessories
One of the common reasons for power issues in Galaxy devices is a defective charging accessory. Be sure to charge the phone using another set of charging cable and adapter for this phone model. If you can’t secure one, try going to a local Samsung store and see if you can borrow their official cable and charger.
Check the charging port
The aim of this troubleshooting step is to perform an ocular check only. It’s often difficult to know the exact status of a charging port so all you can do is to check for any visible damage, debris, or dirt inside the port. Try using a magnifying tool to see inside. If there’s dirt or foreign object in the port, try to use a can of compressed air to dislodge it. Don’t insert anything in the port to avoid damaging the system.
If there’s a damaged pin inside, it may be the reason why the device does not charge at all. A physically damaged charging port can’t be fixed by a software tweak. Have the phone repaired if there’s an obvious sign of damage.
Get professional help
A lot of people think that all Android issues can be fixed by doing software adjustments only. If following our suggestions above won’t fix your own problem, that means your phone must have a bad hardware. Unless you are a trained Samsung technician, it’s virtually impossible for you to know where the problem may lie and how to repair the phone. Identifying the issue is just as important as doing the fix itself. In order to determine the problem, a technician needs to check the phone physically. For this reason, you want to send the phone in.
Keep in mind that Samsung repair will result to data loss so you’ll still lose your data even if Samsung will be able to fix the phone for you.