How to Boot the LG G6 and G6+ into Fastboot Mode

If you find yourself needing to boot the LG G6 and LG G6+ into Fastboot Mode (aka Bootloader Mode), then you can follow these steps detailed below.

On a number of Android smartphones and tablets, booting into Fastboot Mode or Recovery Mode simply requires that you hold down a combination of buttons during the boot cycle. This has generally not been the case with LG devices, and this seems to hold true for the LG G6 as well.

So, for you to boot the LG G6 into Fastboot Mode, you’re going to need to have ADB and Fastboot tools installed on your computer.

If you don’t have this already, be sure to check the guide I wrote on how to install ADB and Fastboot tools. If you opt to install the minimal ADB and Fastboot tools (which I recommend), then it can also create a desktop shortcut for you (which I also recommend). So from there, you can simply double click on that desktop shortcut to launch a command prompt and it will automatically put you in the same directory as your ADB and Fastboot tools.

So be sure that is done before you proceed with this guide. For those who are wondering, I show you how to reboot back into Android from within Fastboot Mode in the explanation of this guide.

LG G6 Fastboot Mode

1. Enable Developer Mode on the LG G6
2. Enable USB Debugging Mode on the LG G6
3. Connect the LG G6 to the PC with a USB cable
4. Type the following command into the Command Prompt. . .
5. adb devices
6. . . .then press Enter on the keyboard
7. Allow USB Debugging access from the PC to the LG G6 when prompted
8. Type the following command into the Command Prompt. . .
9. adb reboot bootloader
10. . . .then press Enter on the keyboard
11. Wait for the LG G6 to power down and boot into Fastboot Mode

Explanation

It is a shame that we can’t just hold a combination of buttons to boot the LG G6 into Fastboot Mode, but that’s just how it is with LG devices. So be sure to get familiar with ADB and Fastboot tools if you own an LG G6 and want to modify it in the future. Once those tools are installed though, you can then launch a Command Prompt and navigate to where your ADB and Fastboot tools are located (if needed). You’ll then want to enable Developer Mode on the LG G6 so that you can enable USB Debugging Mode afterwards.

This is required because we want to issue ADB and Fastboot commands to the LG G6 from the PC. This is not allowed by default, so we have to enable this hidden menu and then grant USB Debugging access from the PC to the LG G6 (after executing the adb devices command in the Command Prompt). Once all of that is setup, we can then execute the adb reboot bootloader command in the Command Prompt and that should make the LG G6 reboot.

Instead of booting back into Android though, it will boot the LG G6 into Fastboot Mode. Now, I’m doing this on the T-Mobile LG G6 and this is instructing me on how to unlock the bootloader (as shown in the embedded video above). However, this could be drastically different on the Verizon, AT&T, Sprint or even the international version of the LG G6. I simply cannot afford to buy all of these devices so I can only show you what happens when I do on my device.

It’s possible that you may see a menu that lets you do a factory reset and install an OTA update over ADB (like we see on a lot of other Android devices in Fastboot Mode). I can’t say for sure, but if you have one of these other devices I would greatly appreciate hearing what you see in this menu in the comments section below. Once you are done with the LG G6 Fastboot Mode, you can then execute the fastboot reboot command to boot the LG G6 out of Fastboot Mode and back into Android.