LG has decided to change some things up this year, but you can follow the steps below to boot the LG G5 into Recovery Mode.
Recovery Mode on Android devices is usually a place to do a certain number of tasks without having to boot into the full Android OS. This is a great way to do things like wipe the cache partition, perform a factory reset and sideload an update via ADB. For some reason, LG has decided to change things up this year with the LG G5 and I have yet to figure out why.
Technically, we can boot the LG G5 into Recovery Mode, but there isn’t much we can do from there once we get there.
If you take a look at the tutorial I wrote for booting the Nexus 6P into Recovery Mode, that device has the Android figure lying on its back as well. When we get there on the Nexus 6P, we need to hold down two buttons to boot past that screen and get to the Recovery Mode main menu. This isn’t possible on the LG G5 though. At least, this isn’t possible on the AT&T version of the LG G5 that I have. I’ve seen the same complaint about the Sprint LG G5 as well. If you have the International LG G5 and can get to the Recovery Mode main menu then please let me know in the comments section below.
This short guide will show you how to boot the LG G5 into Recovery Mode. You can watch the video or read the explanation below if you need to figure out how to get out of Recovery Mode afterwards.
LG G5 Recovery Mode
- Enable Developer Mode on the LG G5
- Enable USB Debugging on the LG G5
- Install ADB and Fastboot Tools on the PC
- Launch the ADB and Fastboot Shortcut
- Then Type the Following Command in the Command Prompt. . .
- adb devices
- . . .and Press Enter on the Keyboard
- Connect the LG G5 to the PC with a USB Cable
- Swipe Down From the Top of the Screen
- Tap on the USB Charging Notification
- Change the USB Connection to PTP
- Allow Your PC to Have USB Debugging Access to the LG G5
- Go Back to the Command Prompt and Type the Following Command. . .
- adb reboot recovery
- . . .Then Press Enter on the Keyboard
- Wait for the LG G5 to Reboot into Recovery Mode
Explanation
Again, my difficulties navigating to the LG G5 Recovery Mode main menu might be limited to my specific device. It’s hard enough for me to buy one of every flagship that comes out for these videos. . .I definitely can’t afford to buy every single version of them. So please, if you are able to get to the LG G5 Recovery Mode main menu with your specific LG G5, then please let me know about it in the comments section below.
Since the traditional hardware button combinations do not boot the LG G5 into Recovery Mode, you’ll need to do it via an ADB command. So you’ll need to enable Developer Mode so you can enable USB Debugging Mode. You’ll then need to install ADB and Fastboot tools on the PC you’re working from. With all that done, go ahead and launch the ADB and Fastboot tools shortcut that gets created and then type the adb devices command.
This will start the ADB service and this is required in order for the LG G5 to trigger the USB Debugging prompt. We also need to change the USB mode when we connect the USB cable to the LG G5. This cable needs to be connected to the PC and you need to swipe down from the top of the screen after it’s connected. Then tap on the Charging notification that appears so you can change the USB connection option to PTP. Some have said MTP worked for them, but for me it was only PTP that actually worked.
Once the USB connection option is set properly, you should see the USB Debugging prompt appear. Go ahead and allow access from the PC you’re connected to and then you can turn your attention back to the ADB and Fastboot command prompt. Type in the command adb reboot recovery and you should see the LG G5 instantly reboot. This should take you to a screen where you see a little Android figure laying on its back with the chest panel open (just like you see in at the top of this article).
Now, this is usually where you would press and hold the Volume Up button and then press the Power button to bypass this screen and get to the LG G5 Recovery Mode main menu. Thisd doesn’t work with the AT&T LG G5, but if it works for you then let me know. I haven’t figured out a way to get to the LG G5 Recovery Mode main menu, and from what I can tell, LG removed it. But again, it might just be my AT&T model that it’s not there for.
If you need to get out of the LG G5 Recovery Mode, you can simply pull the battery and then boot it up like normal after you plug it back in.
I can confirm that there’s nothing in the menu in recovery for the Canadian variant (H831) as of the latest update of 6.0.1. Boo!
Also, FYI, rather than rebooting out of Recovery via a battery pull, you can just hold volume up.
I have the sprint LG G5 and just updated to nougat. Just confirmed that if you hold volume down and power, it actually goes to the recovery screen!
well just tried this to get in to the recovery menu for lg g5 on EE and though i got in it there was nothing there to do anything the other option of power down button works but only for factory reset so i guess i cant clear the cache on this one and will have to do a full reset Boo to EE on this one running android 7.0
WHAT IF YOUR SCREEN IS BROKEN AND U CANT SEE ANYTHING BUT YOUR ABLE TO GET YOUR PC TO READ THE PHONE AS A MODEM MORE SPECIFICALLY A ”LG ANDROIDNET PHONE” MAN THIS IS BULLOCKS IVE BEEN DOING THIS ALLDAY .. I CAN PULL THE BATTERY AND CONNECT IT DIRECT BUT PC DOESNT READ IT..ONLY READS WHEN I HAVE BATTERY IN AND I HOLD VOLUME ROCKER DOWN AND POWER ON….BLUE LEDFLASHES./….AH IM TIRED…ILL PAY TO GET NEW SCREEN SCREW THIS JUNK.
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Man, I’m sorry you’ve had to go through a broken screen like this. I wish I could offer more suggestions for you
“This cable needs to be connected to the PC and you need to swipe down from the top of the screen after it’s connected. Then tap on the Charging notification that appears so you can change the USB connection option to PTP. Some have said MTP worked for them, but for me it was only PTP that actually worked.”
Can you help me ? When i connect my cable on lg g5 se, nothing happens, just the battery starts charging, but my pc doesn’t recognize lg g5, neither sounds of connecting usb, any thoughts ?
After you connect the cable, swipe down from the top of the screen. You should see one of these cards/notifications pertaining to USB modes.
These days, Android usually doesn’t mention PTP/MTP anymore. Instead, they have labeled things Charging Mode, Transfer Mode, etc.
Different OEMs may label things differently though, so keep that in mind.
Hi,
I have a LG G5 Model # H830 (T-Mobile) version. The phone has been factory unlocked, so I’m free to use it on any gsm network that I choose. I’m currently using a mobile provider that utilizes the AT&T network. Lately my phone has been running a little bit slower than normal, that’s why I wanted to boot into the recovery mode. On my desktop computer I’ve already got everything I need to use to attempt this loaded. I’ve already got developer options enabled and usb debugging enabled as well. I’m going to follow the steps listed in here and see if I can get into recovery mode on my phone. They say by performing the wipe data cache function that it does actually help with the slowness issue. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get into the recovery mode on my phone.