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This is something everyone should know so let me show you how to boot the entire Samsung Galaxy S23 series into and out of Recovery Mode.
There are a number of special “boot modes” for the Android OS and Recovery Mode is one of them. While it may seem like this can help you to recover your personal data, that’s actually not what is happening here. So let me give you an overview of what Recovery Mode is, the features it offers, and how you can boot into and out of Recovery Mode on the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, and Galaxy S23 Ultra.
What is Recovery Mode?
Android’s Recovery Mode is one the many boot modes that Google has built for mobile devices. It’s a way for you to perform various tasks without ever needing to boot into the operating system itself.
Therefore, you can consider it to be its own OS since it consists of a Linux Kernel with a ramdisk that is kept separate from from the Android filesystem.
This can be extremely helpful if you ever run into a “bootloop” because you’ll almost always be able to access Recovery Mode even when you are unable to boot into Android.
Most people will probably never need to boot into Recovery Mode. However, you may have become familiar with this if you have needed to perform a factory data reset. There are a number of other tasks which can be performed here, though.
Galaxy S23 Recovery Mode Features
Some of these features are here to help you troubleshoot your device. Others will allow you to install new updates. It should even include a way for you to boot into the main Android OS or other special boot modes.
Note: Check out these great Samsung Galaxy S23 Cases!
- Reboot System Now
- Reboot to Bootloader
- Apply Update from ADB
- Apply Update from SD Card
- Wipe Data/Factory Reset
- Wipe Cache Partition
- Mount /System
- View Recovery Logs
- Run Graphics Test
- Run Locale Test
- Power Off
- Repair Apps
I have used a number of these in the past, but many of them are there for diagnosing various issues you may be experiencing.
Most people will likely only ever need to boot into Recovery Mode on the Samsung Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, or Galaxy S23 Ultra to reset the smartphone or sideload a new OTA update.
How to Boot the Galaxy S23 into Recovery Mode?
Accessing Recovery Mode on the Galaxy S23 series is more difficult than older Samsung devices. Ever since these phones were updated to One UI 4.0, it is required to plug in a USB cable to access this special boot mode.
As a result, this has made it less convenient for those of us who need to use one of these features.
But the upside here is that you are likely to never see your smartphone reboot into Recovery Mode on accident. Which is something that I used to see a lot from people in the various community forums online.
- Power off the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, or Galaxy S23 Ultra.
- Connect a USB cable from the PC to your smartphone.
- Press and hold the Power and Volume Up buttons at the same time.
- Continue holding these two buttons until you see the Recovery Mode menu.
That’s all there is to it!
I do understand that it can take a few tries in order for you to get the timing down properly. There have been many times when I didn’t let go of the Power and Volume Up buttons at the same time. This resulted in me selecting the Reboot System Now option because pressing the Power button selects an option within the Galaxy S23 Recovery Mode menu.
So if you notice something like that I would suggest powering the phone down and trying it again.
How to Exit the Galaxy S23 Recovery Mode Menu?
If, by chance, you find that you have booted to the Recovery Mode screen on the Samsung Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, or Galaxy S23 Ultra by accident then don’t panic. This can happen with a misaligned case or from your phone not booting into Android properly.
Note: Take a look at these Galaxy S23 Screen Protectors!
We can exit this special boot mode by selecting the Reboot System Now option or the Power Off option.
Since nothing happens when you tap on the screen, you’ll need to select either of these options by using the Volume Up, Volume Down, and Power buttons. The volume buttons will change which option is being highlighted while the power button will select the option that is currently being highlighted.
Remember, all of this works for accessing Recovery Mode on the Samsung Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, and Galaxy S23 Ultra. It doesn’t matter which phone you have in this series, the process is exactly the same.
If you have any questions about this process, or about Android in general, please do not hesitate to ask.
