Samsung S21 stuck in recovery mode

[Rasenna]

Hi, can anyone help with a Samsung S21 stuck in recovery mode? I've tried numerous combinations of Power/Up/Down buttons but it just hops between 2 screens, one saying 'Can't load Android system' and giving 3 options (Try again/Factory reset/View recovery logs) and another saying 'Android recovery' and giving 8 options including Reboot to bootloader/Wipe cache partition (tried that, no luck), etc but the only one that works is 'Power off'. I've now put the sim in an old Sony phone but there's data on the Samsung I really need to recover. Help badly needed!

[MI5]

@Rasenna 

https://www.cocosenor.com/articles/android/4-tips-to-fix-samsung-phone-stuck-on-android-recovery-scr....

[Rasenna]

@MI5 

Thanks very much M15. I've checked this out and don't see how to get past inserting the CSC region code. As nothing works on the phone other than 'power off' I would have to to access the CSC code via Recovery Mode but this involves pressing the power, volume up and home buttons - the S21 doesn't have a physical home button, only the one which would normally appear on the home screen which is inaccessible. Do you have any suggestion?

[MI5]

@Rasenna 

Check to make sure the physical buttons are working correctly first. If one is stuck it may be the reason for the issue.

Otherwise, the only other option is a factory reset, but this will lose your data.

You could try to recover the phone via Odin, but I'm not permitted by the forum rules to guide you through the process, although all details can be found by a Google search.

[Rasenna]

@M15 

Thanks again. Sorry, really novice question - but how do I check the buttons are working properly? Up/down seems ok because they scroll through the options. Power on activates the Galaxy logo screen before it goes back to recovery mode. I can only turn the phone off by scrolling down to that option in the 8-option recovery mode screen. Does that suggest the power button might be faulty? If so would the only option be to get the button repaired by Samsung?

[MI5]

@Rasenna 

What happens if you just hold the power button for a long time?

If you send it to Samsung, they will wipe the phone, so any chance of recovering data will be lost.

[Rasenna]

@M15 

I get the Samsung logo screen, then the splash screen for a fraction of a second, logo screen again, sometimes the white robot with the yellow warning triangle + 'Error', then back to recovery mode.

Re: Samsung, yes that's my fear.

[Bambino]

@Rasenna If you want a working phone Samsung is probably your only choice: Product Help & Support | Samsung UK

[MI5]

@Rasenna 

Your bootloader is corrupt so the only option is a factory reset.

Unfortunately this means losing your data whichever way you go about fixing it.

[Rasenna]

@MI5 

@Bambino 

Well, thanks - I'd be happy to ditch the phone, which has just been one problem after another, if I could get my data back but it doesn't look like that's an option.