Fastboot Mode, which is also referred to as Bootloader Mode by some people, is something we often do on most Android devices. However, this is not the case on the Galaxy S9 or the Galaxy S9+ and this guide will show you what happens when you try to boot into it.
Samsung enjoys doing things differently than most other OEMs in the Android market. Some of these efforts have actually put them in the top spot they are in now while others have just caused among those who are transitioning to or from a Samsung device.
I recently showed you a guide on how to boot the Galaxy S9 into Download Mode and told you that this was the company’s replacement for what most OEMs use Fastboot Mode (also known as Bootloader Mode) for.
However, there are still some remnants of the Galaxy S9 Fastboot Mode laying around and this is bound to cause questions. I did a similar tutorial last year with the Galaxy S8 and feel it helped to educate those who are doing a Google search about this particular topic. So again, to get this out of the way. . .there is no such thing as Fastboot Mode on the Galaxy S9 or the Galaxy S9+. Instead, I will be showing you what happens when you try to boot into it and how you can get out of it and back into the regular Android OS.
Galaxy S9 Fastboot Mode
- Boot the Galaxy S9 into Recovery Mode
- Press the Volume Down button once to highlight the Reboot to Bootloader option
- Press the Power button to select this option
- Wait for the Galaxy S9 to reboot into what it thinks is Fastboot Mode
- This will actually be the blue screen for Download Mode though
- Press and hold the Volume Down and Power buttons
- Wait until the Galaxy S9 boots back into Recovery Mode
- Make sure the Reboot System Now option is highlighted
- Press the Power button to reboot the Galaxy S9 back into Android
Explanation
I know there are a lot of Android tutorial websites out there who will pretend to show you how to boot the Galaxy S9 into Recovery Mode. Most of these sites just copy and paste the instructions written for other devices and goes about their business. This is disingenuous and definitely not something that I want to be doing here at Android Explained. Here, I like to explain what a feature is, how to use that feature, and how to get things back to the way they were just in case you don’t like said feature.
When it comes to features that aren’t available on a device, I just want to educate people about why it isn’t there and point them to the place they actually want to go (which in this case is Download Mode). Besides those fake tutorials that get posted by some websites, the stock Recovery Mode for the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ could lead people to believe that there is a Galaxy S9 Fastboot Mode thanks to the Reboot to Bootloader option. Whether Samsung is just too lazy to remove that option (or they’re not allowed to) is another story.
So for those who are still curious, we will need to power down the Galaxy S9 or the Galaxy S9+ before we can begin. From here, we need to boot the device into Recovery Mode by pressing and holding the Power, Bixby and Volume Up buttons at the same time during the boot cycle. Once you are at the stock Android Recovery Mode main menu, you’ll see the Reboot to Bootloader option as the second one listed in the menu. So from here, we just need to press the Volume Down button once to highlight it, and then press the Power button to select it.
This will boot us from Recovery Mode to what you might think is the Galaxy S9 Fastboot Mode. However, this is actually just the Download Mode for the device. This isn’t even the recommended way to boot into the Galaxy S9 Download Mode either which is why I don’t mention it in the tutorial I did for it. So if you’re just having fun exploring your new device, or maybe you have gotten here accidentally, there’s an easy to get to get out. Simply press and hold the Volume Down and Power button for 7-10 seconds and that will boot you back into Recovery Mode.
From here, we can press the Power button with the Reboot System Now option highlighted and that will take us right back into the regular Android OS.
You suck! There is no fastboot mode in S9
You are right, there isn’t a Fastboot Mode for Samsung phones. But there are so many people searching for it and being lied to that I felt obligated to not only tell people it isn’t there, but that Samsung uses Download Mode instead
I need help on “setting has stopped” problem. I apologize I was reading on it then some how I ended up here… ha. But i do love your work. My guess is maybe a 3rd party app and from what I read a little I hope it’s not firmware but would still love to go over ever option.
I would first suggest booting into Safe Mode to see if you get the same issue. If you do get the same issue in Safe Mode, then it’s not a 3rd-party app. So then you should do a factory reset.
If it is a 3rd-party app and the issue stops in Safe Mode then you’ll need to find the app and uninstall it (that is just a trial and error process though).
You can find out how to do these things (like safe mode and factory reset) by browsing through the S9 category here or doing a searches for things like “s9 safe mode” (without the quotes)
Great post.