“Bootloop” is a very familiar term for smartphone users whatever OS they use, but it is definitely more familiar to Android phone users. Android being an Open Source operating system, is open to third-party modifications. If you have a basic or advanced knowledge of Linux coding, you can develop a custom ROM or a modify a system file of your Android phone. Such openness has opened vistas for our great developers to cook ROMs, mods, and hacks. It has enriched our experience with our phones at one hand and posed a few problems like bootloop or a bricked phone in rare cases. By following the methods given below you can fix or recover bootloop on Android devices.
Most of the phone-freaks like me spend their days doing nothing but trying almost all custom ROMs and mods available out there to tell others what is good for them. In doing so we often face a bootloop but that is not to say that only the third-party ROMs and mods are responsible for the problem. In most cases, however, it is some incompatible file imposed from outside that hinders the system files to work normally, resulting in a bootloop.
Thus, bootloop is a situation where Android smartphones refuse to boot normally. There’s something wrong with the Android device, which is preventing it from completing the boot cycle and is stuck between the boot animation and the unlock screen. Bootloop is mainly caused when system files interfere with each other, causing instability, and crashes at the boot sequence.
While getting a bootloop on an Android phone is not a serious concern for an advanced user, it is surely enough to make a newbie or a noob tremble a little. Very often an average user begins to wonder if his phone is bricked or dead. In the present article, I shall try to share with you some solutions that might help you recover your Android device from a bootloop.
Precautions to Avoid and Prevent Data Loss:
Bootloop is definitely one of the most undesirable situations a smartphone user can get into. It is shocking enough to make a new or basic user believe that he/she has bricked the device. It is true that in most cases you can recover your device to a normal state but if you take precautionary steps, you could avoid it. Prevention is always better than a cure!
However, precautions cannot guarantee that your device is bootloop-proof. Therefore, it is also necessary that you always keep your phone’s data backed up. Remember, if your device gets into a bootloop, there are 90% chances that you will lose all your data, apps, settings and files stored on the internal SD of your device.
Things to be taken care of:
- Before installing any stock or custom ROM, do not forget to confirm that it is made for your device and, more importantly, the same model number.
- Before installing any custom Kernel, mod, patch or ROM, do not forget to backup your ROM
- Also backup your phone’s apps, games, contacts, messages or any important data to external storage- memory card, USB storage or your computer.
- Avoid installing apps from outside Play Store and only those that are compatible with your device.
- If your device is not rooted, you can use the official PC Suite from your device manufacturer.
Resources:
Read the following tutorials for backing up your Android device’s data backup, precautionary steps and troubleshoot.
- Best Backup Apps to Keep Your Phone’s Data Safe
Possible Reasons for a Bootloop on Android Device:
The reasons for getting a bootloop on your Android device might be anything. If you wish to know the reason why your Android phone is stuck on the bootloop, you need not type your problem on the Google search box. Just calm yourself for a while and think about what you did just before. It could be anything! Here are some major reasons why your Android device is caught in a bootloop.
- After installing an official or custom ROM
- Flashing a wrong ROM or Kernel
- Running an incompatible app or game
- Wrong Permissions fix for an app or file
- Installing a custom mod or theme
Most often we face a bootloop just after flashing a stock or custom ROM over an old one. This might be a major factor behind the bootloop issue on your device. Suppose you have flashed a new version of firmware over the old version. Your old data still remains on the device and the new firmware will use the Dalvik Cache from the old ROM that might not be compatible with the new system files and it will result in a bootloop. It mostly happens just when your device tries to reboot after you have flashed a stock or custom ROM. If this is the case, here is the solution.
Also Read: How to Boot Android Devices into Recovery Mode
Fixing Bootloop on Android Devices
Method 1:
If your device is on stock firmware, that also means it does not have a custom recovery like CWM or TWRP not installed on it, do the following steps:
- Pull out the battery of your phone, wait for about 30 seconds and reinsert it to its place.
- Boot your device into ASR (Android System Recovery) mode. The method involves a hardware key combination and variesfromone phone to another. For Samsung phones, for example, the key combination is Volume Up+ Home + Power keys. The tablets which generally have no Home button, you can enter the Recovery mode by pressing and holding the Volume Up + Power keys simultaneously.
- In the Android System Recovery, scroll down to “wipe cache partition”.option using the volume rockers and select it using the power key.
- When you have wiped the data/factory, go back to the main menu and reboot the device by “reboot system now” option.
- If the device is still stuck on Bootanimation pull out the battery again and repeat the above steps. This time also “wipe data/factory reset” and then reboot the device
The bootloop problem should be fixed now.
Method 2:
If you have a rooted device with CWM Recovery installed and your phone is caught into a bootloop after flashing a custom ROM or mod, do as follows:
- Pull out the battery, reinsert it after 30 seconds and boot the device into CWM Recovery:Volume Up+ Home + Powerkeys simultaneously.
- Go to “Advanced”
- Choose “Wipe dalvik-cache”
- Now go to “Mounts & Storage”
- Choose “Wipe /cache”
- Reboot your phone
The bootloop should be gone now. If it still persists, do this.
- Boot the phone again into CWM Recovery
- Now go to “Mounts & Storage”
- Choose “Wipe /data”
- Choose “Wipe /cache”
- Then reboot your phone.
Now the phone should reboot normally. Next time when you install a ROM, follow the instructions prescribed by the developer. Be more attentive to the warnings before experimenting with any third party ROM or mod. Always ensure what you are about to install is meant for your device.
If the Above Methods Do Not Work
In case you are not able to get your device come out of bootloop, your final option should be to install or restore a previously backed up ROM by putting the device in recovery mode or to install the official firmware/factory image to your phone your tablet.
Read Also: Use Android Device as PC for ADB and Fastboot
