Do you own Android Smartphone which is malfunctioning or stuck in a boot loop, freezes up before you can uninstall a problematic app or reach the settings, or is infected with malware you can’t remove. Recovery mode can bring your Android device back to life.
But, what really is Android Recovery Mode and how to use it on your phone? To help you with these same questions, we have prepared a guide explaining everything that you should know about using Android Recovery Mode on your smartphone.
What is Android Recovery Mode?
Android Recovery Mode is a recovery software installed on the bootable partition of every Android device, which Google developed to diagnose various problems on the phone and much more.
If you have an android device, it already has Recovery mode installed in it! Something similar to Windows Recovery Mode that you can find on any Windows PC.
How to Access Android Recovery Mode?
The most common way to access the Android Recovery Mode is by being pressing Volume Down + Power Button until you see the phone boot up.
However, each Android device has a slightly different method for entering into recovery mode.
We have included instructions for some of the most common Android Smartphones below.
However, if you don’t see your phone manufacturer on this list, then you can probably find the instructions on the manufacturer’s website.
- Samsung Smartphones:
- Connect your Phone to your computer via the USB-C cable
- Hold down the Power + Volume Down + Bixby button (if you have one) until you feel a vibration and see the Samsung logo.
- OnePlus Smartphones:
- Hold down the Power + Volume Down button together for a few seconds.
- Now you will have to put in your PIN or password and then choose your language
- Any Other Smartphone:
- Hold down the Power + Volume Down button together for a few seconds until you see an exclamation mark in a triangle.
- You might need to repeat the process again if you see the Android mascot with the text No command below it.
Once you have successfully finished the steps listed above according to your respective smartphone, you will see a similar menu as shown in the image above.
You can now navigate the menu by pressing the Volume Up or Down button to highlight options and the Power Button to Trigger them.
Also Read: Poco Devices Stuck On MIUI Screen? Here’s a Quick Fix!
What Do These Options Do?
Before you start fixing your smartphone, we really request you to proceed with caution and not mess with the options that you don’t understand, as you can lose all your data or even brick your smartphone.
Reboot system now: This will restart your phone and load the usual operating system. You will select this when you are done in recovery mode, but it’s worth trying once before commencing a factory reset to confirm your issue is still present even after hard rebooting your smartphone.
Wipe cache partition: This option will wipe the partition where temporary system files are stored, but you won’t find the option to wipe the data on every Android device. However, if the option is present, give it a try, and after doing this, select Reboot system now to find out if it solved your problem.
Wipe data/factory reset: As a last resort, you can use recovery mode to factory reset your Android Phone, which will wipe all apps, data, and files, including text messages and photos. Just be aware that you will lose anything you have not backed up. If you use this method to wipe your phone, you will have to sign in with your Google account during setup. If you can’t sign in with a Google account that was previously used on the phone, then you won’t be able to use the phone at all. This anti-theft protection feature is similar to the iCloud activation lock found on iPhones that cannot be bypassed.
Reboot to bootloader: This will take you back to the bootloader menu, where you can access recovery mode and other advanced options.
Enter fastboot: Only available on Pixel phones and a handful of other devices, the fast boot is a tool that allows developers to send commands from a computer to an Android device. It requires the Android SDK (software development kit).
Apply update from ADB: ADB stands for Android Debug Bridge, another tool used by developers to send commands from a computer. It requires you to install the Android SDK, and you can learn more about it at the official Android Developer website.
Apply update from SD card: This is to install Android firmware from an SD card.
Mount /system: This gives access to core files and folders that are usually inaccessible. You can mount a partition to view data and edit it.
View recovery logs: This shows technical records that list events and actions in recovery mode.
Run graphics test: Developers run tests with the GPU (graphics processing unit).
Run locale test: This is another tool for app developers to test things related to language translation.
Power off: This turns the device off.
Repair apps: This option only seems to appear on Samsung phones, and it triggers app optimization. You may notice “Optimizing apps” appears on screen, sometimes after a software update; this allows you to begin the process manually, and there’s a chance it could help if you are having problems with specific apps.
In most cases, the first three options will be enough to fix all the problems with your smartphone.
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