What to do if your Galaxy S7 Edge is stuck on Samsung logo after OTA update

While most Android update sessions generally work seamlessly, some devices may hit a snag during or after an update. In this troubleshooting article, we address an issue where a #GalaxyS7edge devices fails to boot up Android following an OTA update. We hope you’ll find this short troubleshooting guide helpful.

Today’s problem: Galaxy S7 Edge stuck on Samsung logo after OTA update

I attempted to update my unlocked Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge (SM-G935U) on March 31st, via the OTA update that was available in the settings app. The update downloaded like normal and installed on the blue screen like it normally does. After installing, the phone attempted to reboot. It showed the first Galaxy S7 edge screen and then showed the glowing samsung logo like normal. After that, well, nothing happened. It was stuck in this loop for 5 hours before the phone ran out of battery. After charging the phone a little bit, I attempted to restart the phone, only to be hit with the same issue. i cannot power off the phone and can only force restart it. I have to wait for the battery to drain to get the phone off. I figure that the update caused an issues, and that a reinstall or downgrade will fix the issue. however, I have no idea how to reinstall a stock rom or downgrade to the last update. Any help would be incredible. Carrier is AT&T, but I don’t use the AT&T rom. Sam

Solution: Downgrading Android to previous version, as you may know, is not an easy option. It also is not the first option in this case. There are other three possible solution options that you can try before you want to do downgrade.

Solution #1: Restart to Safe mode

Some apps may interfere with Android if they’re incompatible, or if they’re poorly coded. To see if this is the reason why your Galaxy S7 edge won’t boot up normally, you want to load it to safe mode. When running on this mode, only pre-installed apps will be allowed to run. If your S7 loads Android fine on safe mode but not on safe mode, then that means one of third party apps is to blame.

To put your S7 to safe mode:

Turn your Galaxy S7 off. If you can’t turn it off normally, wait until the battery is empty.
Press and hold the Power button.
Once the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ logo appears, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
Continue holding the button until the phone finishes rebooting.
Once you see the text “Safe mode” at the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down button.

Don’t forget, safe mode won’t tell you the exact app causing the problem. If your S7 works on safe mode but not on safe mode, you should uninstall apps one by one. Make sure that you check for the problem after each uninstall to know the problematic app.

Solution #2: Refresh cache partition

Updates sometimes makes the system cache, which is stored in the cache partition, to become corrupt. To check if your S7 has a cache problem, you can boot it to Recovery Mode and clear the cache partition. Here’s how:

Turn your Galaxy S7 off. If you can’t turn it off normally, wait until the battery is empty.
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.
The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Solution #3: Wipe the phone

Should the first two solution options won’t fix your problem, you have no other choice but to wipe the device and restore its software back to their defaults. This procedure will erase all non-system files like photos, videos, documents, etc. We hope you saved irreplaceable data before you did the update, as recommended, otherwise they’re good as gone. There’s no way to make a backup of your files at this point so there’s really not much choice.

To wipe your S7:

Turn your Galaxy S7 off. If you can’t turn it off normally, wait until the battery is empty.
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.

Solution #4: Reflash the bootloader

Some users who encountered boot up issues following an update were able to fix their problem by flashing the bootloader with a stock version instead of downgrading the firmware right away. When your start up your device, it’s the Bootloader’s job to ensure that every parameter needed for Android operation are up and running. If your S7’s bootloader does not work as expected, it can, in theory, prevent Android from booting up. And just like Android operating system, bootloaders are sometimes updated by Samsung as well in order to fix known bugs, or to prevent security risks. Since there’s no way to know if you have a bootloader trouble, the best thing to do is try to reflash or update it.

There’s no universal way to reflash a Samsung bootloader so you’ll need to do this only after doing your research. We suggest that you reach out to some of the brightest Android minds in XDA-Developers forum (forum.xda-developers.com) to find good flashing guides.

Keep in mind that flashing is a very risky procedure and can potentially cause more serious software issues than you have now (some of them you may not be able to get out of). Flash your device at your own risk.

Solution #5: Flash the firmware with stock version

Downgrading Android is really not recommended by both Google and hardware makers such as Samsung but if you really think the update has caused the problem you have now, you should let professionals fix the issue for you. Samsung service centers can flash a device so it works again after a failed software update but you will most probably pay for it. Unless your S7 is still under warranty, any drastic solution that Samsung provides means spending money for the device owner.

Well, if you don’t want that, then you’ll have to take significant risks to try to fix the problem yourself. In your particular case, flashing an older stock firmware may fix the issue. Unfortunately, our blog does not provide specific flashing guides so you’ll have to search for the one that applies to your device. Like what we’re saying for Solutioni #4 above, flashing guides can vary by phone model. If you don’t know where to look, start by browsing XDA-Developers forum (forum.xda-developers.com) and engaging some of the seasoned moderators and forum members. For the uninitiated, finding the correct flashing guide is actually the biggest hurdle to overcome. Once you’ve found the guide though, flashing a device is simply a matter of following the steps.