How to Boot the OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro into Fastboot Mode?

Android has a number of special boot modes and Fastboot Mode is a popular one. We do things such as unlock the bootloader and flash images via what is also known as Bootloader Mode. So today I will be showing you how to boot the OnePlus 7 and the OnePlus 7 Pro both into and out of Fastboot Mode. Yesterday I showed you how to boot the OnePlus 7 into Recovery Mode. It’s important to know how to do this in case you are unable to boot into Android (so you can do a factory reset). Fastboot Mode is much different in that we mainly use it for enthusiast type of things (including unlocking the bootloader). You could even accidentally boot into Fastboot Mode without knowing and I’ll be showing you how to get out of it. I will be going over the various things we can do in Fastboot Mode in future tutorials. However, I just want to point out that all but the most casual user should know how to boot into Fastboot Mode. Similar to Recovery Mode, knowing how to boot the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro into Fastboot Mode can save your device. Let’s just start with the basics though. Let me show you how to boot the smartphone into and out of this special boot mode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1A3GVS7MYo

So, if you followed along in yesterday’s tutorial then this one will feel very familiar. We are essentially doing the same thing today except this time we’re holding down three buttons during the boot cycle. Many of Android’s smartphones are built this way but some OEMs (including Samsung) like to mix things up. What is technically going on here is that Android is ‘listening’ for buttons that are held down during the boot cycle. I mean, Android is always looking out for those button presses but things are different when the smartphone is booting up. As you saw yesterday, when we hold down the Volume Down button while booting we are taken into Recovery Mode. This time around, we are holding the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons (instead of just Volume Down).

Other Methods of Booting the OnePlus 7 into Bootloader Mode

Android recognizes this and that is why we are taken to Fastboot Mode (also known as Bootloader Mode) instead of Recovery Mode. The tutorial above may make it seem as if we need to be holding down all three buttons for this to happen. However, we are only pressing the Power button to turn the phone back on. You can test this by bringing up the Power Menu while you are in Android. Here, tell the OnePlus 7 or OnePlus 7 Pro to restart and then immediately press and hold both of the volume buttons. We don’t need to hold the Power button here because the smartphone is turning itself back on. Just continue holding the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons while the OnePlus 7 reboots. You will notice that the same thing happens. We are booted into the smartphone’s Fastboot / Bootloader Mode. Also, just like yesterday, we can quickly access Fastboot Mode from Android if we have the Advanced Reboot toggle enabled within the Developer Options hidden menu. When enabled, you will see a Bootloader option in the Power Menu. Naturally, tapping on this option will trigger the OnePlus 7 or OnePlus 7 Pro to reboot and go directly into Fastboot Mode without you needing to hold any buttons down. This is the method I really enjoy (and it’s something I’ve become used to thanks to custom ROMs). I wish other OEMs would add this feature to their version of Android but sadly that has yet to happen. And like always, you have the ability to boot from Android into Fastboot Mode by using the ADB reboot bootloader command (after you have enabled USB debugging mode).