www.makeuseof.com 5 Ways Your Android Might Get Stuck

Nothing is worse than an Android phone struggling just to get by. Here are our top five doomsday scenarios to look out for.

Android phones offer the user many modes of recovery and specialty service. Sometimes, these modes might be hard to shake off when the work that you've asked them to do has been done.

Here are five Android modes that your device might get stuck in and a couple of common solutions.

1. Android Stuck in Factory Mode

Performing a factory reset on your Android phone takes no time and can be used to solve a myriad of problems—unbricking your phone, removing malware, and reviving any of the many stock apps and features that come with a new Android phone.

Sometimes, especially in the case of an extremely compromised device, your phone might have trouble seeing this task through. You can try stepping back into Recovery Mode if you run into this problem, using the Recovery Mode command outlined in your phone's manual again. Always back your phone up first before attempting to reset it using Factory Mode.

2. Android Stuck on Boot Screen

We've all been here: we're waiting desperately for our phone to reboot, only to find ourselves staring into the void of its start-up screen for what feels like hours on end.

Again, Recovery Mode may be your best bet under many circumstances—the button combination for your own phone will vary, so take a peek at the guidebook or on the manufacturer's site. You might also be able to solve the problem by removing your battery, by plugging your phone in for a charge, or by clearing your cache if you have access to Android System Recovery.

3. Android Stuck in Safe Mode

If your phone is stuck in Safe Mode, you may find some of your favorite apps rendered totally unusable, their icons ghosted and in grayscale. If disabling Safe Mode normally isn't doing the trick, you might have to take an alternative approach.

Sometimes, simply restarting your device will be enough to solve the problem. Other times, you might actually need to uninstall and reinstall the apps that Safe Mode has made unavailable.

4. Android Stuck in Headphone Mode

In this scenario, your phone might think that it's got headphones jacked in or paired with your device when there are no peripherals to be found in reality. You'll be unable to navigate away from this overlay once it makes its appearance.

To solve this problem, you'll often be able to simply reboot your phone from Recovery Mode. What happens if your Android gets stuck in Recover Mode itself, though?

5. Android Stuck in Recovery Mode

The irony here is astounding. Yes, your phone can get stuck in Android System Recovery Mode. What can you do about it?

If you can, power the device down. If you can't, you might need to use an Android recovery app like ReiBoot for a closer look at the problem. When in doubt, it never hurts to utilize any reputable app or service in this category.

How to Reboot an Android Phone (No Matter What the Problem Is)

Where the manufacturer's recommendations and tools fail, third-party solutions will always be a source of hope for those with a lot on their phones to lose.

Thankfully, with proper device care and maintenance, an Android phone stuck in any of the holes mentioned above should be fine after performing a simple hard reset.

We hope you like the items we recommend and discuss! MUO has affiliateand sponsored partnerships, so we receive a share of the revenue from some of your purchases. Thiswon’t affect the price you pay and helps us offer the best product recommendations.

I learn for a living.

Join our newsletter for tech tips, reviews, free ebooks, and exclusive deals!