People are already starting to tinker with the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+. This means that you may end up needing to do a factory reset and we can do that within Android’s stock Recovery Mode. We can do other things here as well but first let me show you how it’s easy to boot into it.
Similar to Fastboot Mode (which Samsung actually removes) on Android, Recovery Mode is yet another special boot mode that we can access on the Galaxy Note 10 series. Most people rarely need to access this feature but those who do are most likely going to be performing a Factory Reset.
There’s more that we can do here, though.
I won’t get into the details of how to do the various tasks which are available in the Galaxy Note 10 Recovery Mode. I will briefly go over them in the video below but we can use this to do all sorts of things including sideloading an OTA update (with ADB or via the internal storage), view logs, perform tests, and more.
Some of these things you’ll see in future tutorials as that enables me to dive deeper to show you some specific use cases for them. First, you need to know how to access this special boot mode on Samsung’s 2019 flagship smartphones. It’s quite easy and only requires you to hold down a combination of buttons during the boot cycle.
Time needed: 3 minutes
How to Boot the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ into Recovery Mode
- Expand the Notification Shade
This is done by swiping down from the top of the screen
- Tap the Power button to bring up the Power Menu
- Tap the Power Off button. . .
. . .and then tap the Power Off button again.
- Wait for the Galaxy Note 10 to shut down
- Then press and hold the Volume Up and Power buttons at the same time
You’ll feel it vibrate when the splash screen appears.
- Keep holding these two buttons down until the blue splash screen appears
- Let go of the Power and Volume Up buttons when the Recovery Mode main menu is displayed
So it’s a little bit more complex than just booting into Safe Mode. Overall though, the process is very simple and shouldn’t take more than a minute or two to complete. If you’re having difficulty here, you can even follow along with me using the embedded video above.
You will need to navigate through the Galaxy Note 10 Recovery Mode using the Volume Up, Volume Down, and the Power buttons since the touchscreen is disabled. You should see the Reboot System Now option highlighted in blue by default and pressing the Power button will select the highlighted option.
So use the Volume Up or Volume Down buttons to highlight the option you want to pick.
When you’re ready, you can then press the Power button to make that selection. So for example, if you press the Volume Down button until the Wipe Data/Factory Reset option is highlighted (should be 4 times) then pressing the Power button will initiate the Factory Reset process.
How to Boot the Galaxy Note 10 into Recovery Mode with ADB
This method is much more complicated (for the average user) but it can be required if your Power or Volume Up button isn’t working. Since we need these buttons to be pressed down during the boot cycle, we are unable to follow the above tutorial if either of those buttons is broken.
Thankfully, we have the ability to use Google’s ADB and Fastboot tools to access Recovery Mode.
I won’t get into too much detail here, but this method requires you to have ADB and Fastboot tools installed. You will also need to enable USB Debugging Mode on the Galaxy Note 10, Galaxy Note 10+, Galaxy Note 10+ 5G, or Galaxy Note 10 Lite so that it accepts your ADB command. With that set up, go ahead and execute the following command. . .
adb reboot recovery
Assuming you have done everything correctly, you will then see the Samsung smartphone reboot, vibrate, and then take you to the same Recovery Mode main menu that you see in the video above. We’re accessing the same special boot mode with this other method, so everything else will be the same too.
How to Boot the Galaxy Note 10 Out of Recovery Mode?
I cover how to do this in the video above, but I understand that not everyone wants to watch a video. So, if you’re currently in the stock Android Recovery Mode on the Galaxy Note 10 or Galaxy Note 10+ then you should see a list of choices at the top of the screen with a long blue bar highlighting one of them.
You want to make sure the Reboot System Now option is highlighted in blue and then you can simply press the Power button. That will select this option and boot you into the Android “system” (which is just the Android OS). The boot cycle is quick (unless you did a Factory Reset beforehand) and should display the Lock Screen after a few seconds.
Experiencing difficulties with your Device, check out our “How To” page on how to resolve some of these issues.
