Sometimes we need to get into the Android recovery to do a factory reset, wipe the cache partition or apply an update via ADB. So today I’m going to show you the step by step process on how to get into the Galaxy S5 Recovery Mode on your device.
Even stock smartphones like the Galaxy S5 come with a basic version of Android’s recovery. Recovery Mode is extremely helpful in case you are unable to boot up into the core Android system. This can happen a lot when you’re apply modifications, tweaking the kernel or just installing an application that isn’t made for your specific device.
Almost all of us have been there at one point in time and thankfully the Recovery Mode allows us to fix things and get back to a normal install of Android.
Android’s Recovery Mode enables us to all sorts of things without even booting up into Android. From performing a Factory Reset to Wiping the Cache Partition, applying an OTA update that has been downloaded to the cache partition and applying updates/patches/modifications from ADB or the external storage. For those that know what they are doing, the Recovery Mode for Android is like a get out of jail free card. If you have ever gotten to where your Samsung Galaxy S5 is in a bootloop, then booting into the recovery to do a factory reset just might save you.
After suggesting that someone boot the Galaxy S5 into Safe Mode in order to root out bad 3rd party applications, clearing the cache partition is usually one of the second things that someone should do to troubleshoot their device. I will focus on how to do a factory reset and how to wipe the cache partition later. First though, we need to get your Galaxy S5 into Recovery Mode.
Galaxy S5 Recovery Mode
- Power Down Your Galaxy S5
- Press and Hold the Power Button, Home Button and Volume Up Button at the Same Time
- Continue Holding These Three Buttons Until You See Some Blue Text and/or the Display Flickers
- Let Go of These Three Buttons When You See the “Recovery Booting…” Text at the Top
- Wait Until the Galaxy S5 Boots Into the Recovery Mode
Explanation
To boot the Galaxy S5 into Recovery Mode, you first need to get the device powered down. You can do this by simply shutting down the device but if you are in a bootloop, you just might have to pull the battery. If this is the case, simply pull the battery and then put it back in. Once the battery is back in, you are already in the powered down state. While your Galaxy S5 is off, you’ll want to press and hold the Power, Volume Up and Home buttons down all at the same time. It can take a few tries before you get it right. So, if you see the S5 booting back into regular Android mode then just power the device down and try again.
When you do this process correctly, you will see some blue text at the very top left of the screen that says “Booting Recovery…”. As soon as you see this text, let go of all three of those buttons. Continuing to hold these buttons could result in the device rebooting and you’ll have to do this process again. When the device is in this “Booting Recovery” state, all you have to do is wait and let it do its things. After you get past the Recovery Booting screen, with the Samsung logo, you will be shown a green Android robot. Continue to wait and then you’ll see a menu appear at the very top.
You navigate through this menu by pressing the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons and then you select the highlighted option by pressing the Power button. Be careful with what you do here, clearing the cache is safe to do but performing a factory reset will wipe your device clean and you’ll have to go through the Android setup process all over again. When you’re done with the Recovery Mode, all you have to do is navigate to the Reboot System Now option by pressing the Volume Up or Volume Down buttons and then press the Power button to select it.
My home button does not work, any suggestions on how to enter the recovery menu without it?
You could do it with ADB.
You’ll have to ‘enable developer options'(there’s a guide for that on Android Explained that you can use), then you’ll need to go into those Developer Options and enable ADB Debugging.
From here, you’ll want to make sure the Samsung USB Drivers are installed, reboot your computer, then connect the Galaxy S5 to your PC with a micro USB cable. If the drivers are setup correctly then you should get a dialog pop up that asks you to grant your computer permission to execute ADB commands
Then you can install ADB/Fastboot on your computer(the guide for this is on Android Explained too). Once that is installed, open a command prompt in the same directory as ADB.exe so you can type in this command. . .
“adb reboot recovery”
without quotes. If everything is done properly then that should reboot your Galaxy S5 into recovery without having to mess with the power button
Thanks for your reply! Sadly, I have had many attempts with your suggestion, one of my main problems at the moment is the fact that I can’t log in to the phone to enable USB debugging..
I fear I may have come to a brick wall!
Scenario:
Bought phone via Guntree
Repaired USB connection, replaced the smashed LCD, replaced the front camera module, stated the phone (it worked!) then it asked for my fingerprint, and told me it didn’t match. From then on I’ve been trying to access the device to turn USB debugging on. No luck..
I’ve even tried loading the usb VID manually bypassing the USB debugging with adb but haven’t been able to 🙁
That is a shame 🙁 the only way to get past, that I can think of, would be to boot up into Download Mode and flash a brand new firmware with Odin, but it also requires that you hold down the power button to boot up into download mode
If you remember, come back here and let us know if you are ever able to get into the phone.
i have samsung s5 chrone that crushed and it cannot boot the recovery
when u press the power ,up , and home keys it only shows normal boot, fast boot and rcovry but it never recovers
I got to recovery mode but it won’t clear cache & after reboot, after Samsung screen, goes to T-Mobile screen & stays there. One more thing, in recovery mode it wants some update done to the phone…is that a virus or like malware or whatever that screwed it up to begin with?
What’s the next move boss?
It says “installing system update” then goes to menu screen, choices are to reboot now, apply update from ADB, apply update from external storage, wipe data, wipe cache (which I chose twice already) & last choice is apply update from cache.
What should I do?
After following your instructions the phone went to the orange Verizon screen and stayed there for hours. Now what?
That’s something I’ve never heard before, and I did my Galaxy S7 tutorials here with a Verizon model.
Do you have a picture of this orange screen?
If this happens again, you can always try to press and hold the power button for 10-15 seconds to see if it reboots. This works for other devices but Samsung loves to change things up. I never owned the Galaxy S5, but this may help if it happens again and you need to force a reboot – https://www.androidexplained.com/galaxy-s7-force-restart/
tried booting to recovery but kept showing in red
RECOVERY IS NOT SEANDROID ENFORCING
what is the out ?
Do you have a photo of this?
I’m not sure what ‘seandroid enforcing’ means 🙁
Thank you for posting this! Worked for me!
i have a s5 verizon that i think someone custom rom but when i try to get to the recovery mode it only lets me get to the maintiance boot screen and when i pick recovery boot on that screen it just goes to a black screen and does nothing i a can hear it connect and disconnect constantly when its hooked to the pc
I have the exact same problem you had… what did you do to fix it?? i can only get into maintenance boot mode as well did you ever find a solution?