For some of the tutorials here at Android Explained, you will need to boot up your Samsung device into Download Mode. So today we’re going to take a look at a step by step guide on how to get your Galaxy Note 4 into Download Mode
Booting your device into Download Mode, which is also known as Odin Mode since this is what you need in order to flash things with the program, is something that is required for some of the guides here at Android Explained. This is a special mode that isn’t generally your average user.
Getting into Download Mode will open up a way to flash certain firmware and/or modification files to your Galaxy Note 4(and almost all Samsung devices).
Before I get into some heavy-duty tutorials for the Galaxy Note 4, I wanted to cover all of the things that you might need before hand. This is why I wrote up tutorials for wiping the cache partition of the Galaxy Note 4, as well as booting the Galaxy Note 4 into Safe Mode. I’m going to take this a step further today and show you how to get your new Samsung device into Download Mode.
Galaxy Note 4 Download Mode
- Power Down the Galaxy Note 4
- Press and Hold the Power Button, Home Button and Volume Down Button at the Same Time
- Continue Holding These Buttons Until You See a Special Download Mode Menu
- When You are in Download Mode, Let Go of These Three Buttons
- Press the Volume Up Button to Accept the Warning
Explanation
It is as simple as that. This is very similar to how you boot the Galaxy Note 4 into Recovery Mode. As in, you will have to hold down a special set of buttons while your Galaxy Note 4 boots up in order to access the special mode/menu. You will start off by turning off your Galaxy Note 4 and you can pull the battery if you need to(but doing the standard shut down is recommended if you can). Once the Galaxy Note 4 is completely off, you will want to press and hold the Power button, Home button and the Volume Down buttons at the same time.
Do not let these buttons go until you see the Download Mode warning pop up. If you start to see the boot animation for the Galaxy Note 4, then you most likely missed the chance and you will need to power down the Galaxy Note 4 again. It can sometimes take 3-4 tries until you get it just right. Just be patient and try it again. Once you see the Download Mode warning, simply press the Volume Up button to accept and then you will be in Download Mode/Odin Mode.
From here you can connect your Galaxy Note 4 up to the PC program Odin and then restore from a backup or flash a new firmware onto your device. I just want to warn you to be careful in this menu and with Odin since you can make some drastic changes here. Just make sure you know what you are doing here or at the very least, you’re following a guide that has been shown to work.
What exactly does ADB stand for? (apply update from ADB) ?
ADB stands for Android Debug Bridge
It’s there for app developers to optimize their app and squash bugs/issues, but it is perfect for flashing Iaka installing) custom recoveries, custom SoC driver, and pulling various bits of data from the phone.
Like I work at XDA to write news articles (head news writer. and when a new update comes out he asks someone to do that special command and see if any have changed, if any are new, or if any have disappeared
is there alternatives to holding volume down power and home, my home button doesnt work. i have a note 4 tmobile and none of the unroot apps out there say its rooted but status under settings says it is so no updates to android can happen, have tried multiple button holds with phone off, doesnt enter download mode, have even tried terminal emulator to get it to boot to download mode, doesnt work either.
Hrmmm, since Download Mode is a replacement for Fastboot Mode, and there is an ADB command to get into Fastboot Mode from Android. . .
If you are able to get ADB and Fastboot tools installed, then enable ADB Debugging Mode on the Galaxy Note 4. Connect the Note 4 to the PC with a USB cable, type ADB Devices in the command prompt so that you can grant USB Debugging access on the phone.
With all of that done, the command
adb reboot download
will restart your Galaxy Note 4 and then take you into Download Mode. I actually just tested this on the Galaxy Note 9 and it worked, but I don’t have a Note 4 to test it on.
Let me know if you need help installing ADB/Fastboot tools, enabling USB Debugging Mode, or granting USB Debugging Access.