Whether you are new to Android environment or not, it pays to know some of the lesser-known, yet official troubleshooting steps to optimize your phone’s functions or to directly resolve an on-going issue.
As a user, you can only do so much when it comes to finding solutions for your phone trouble so we cannot stress enough the importance of familiarizing yourself with some of the useful tricks any Android user can do. Keep in mind that these are official troubleshooting steps, which means you can do them safely without the risk of squandering the phone’s manufacturer warranty.
How to boot up a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge in Recovery Mode
To put it simply, booting up your Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge in recovery mode is, in itself, not a solution. However, doing it allows you to access other effective solutions that are not readily available on the main interface of your phone. Being in recovery mode also gives you more options so you can customize your existing Android version. For the sake of this tutorial, we will limit ourselves to the official troubleshooting steps, that is, on how to access it so you can perform other steps like wiping the cache partition or reset the phone to its factory defaults. This tutorial may not be very useful for those wanting to root their phones as we only cover the stock recovery menu.
Now, there are three ways on how to access your Samsung Galaxy S6 Edges recovery menu — via the hardware button combination, a special app, and by using ADB commands. The last two are considered more advanced and requires average Android knowledge. We post them here for reference purposes although we advise newbies to skip them and simply do the first method instead.
How to boot up a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge in Recovery Mode using hardware keys
Turn off your device by pressing the Power button or by pressing it once and selecting “Power off” option.
Now, press and hold the Power, Volume Up and Home button at the same time.
When the blue Android Recovery menu appears on the screen, release all the buttons.
To navigate on the screen or highlight an option, simply press the Volume Up and Volume Down button.
To select or confirm a highlighted option, press the Power key.
Finally, to completely perform the recovery mode, choose Reboot System Now option.
How to boot up a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge in Recovery Mode using a special app
If you want a much easier method to arrive at recovery mode, you can download and install an app from Google Play Store by searching for keywords “quick boot”. Now this method only works if you root your phone so it’s really not advisable for entry-level Android users. As mentioned above, rooting your phone may also invalidate the phone’s warranty so we do not normally recommend this in our posts.
How to boot up a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge in Recovery Mode by initiating ADB commands
This method requires that you use another machine (Windows/Mac/Linux) to initiate the ADB commands. This also assumes that you already have enabled developer rights in your phone by pressing About phone option under Settings seven times. You also need to ensure that USB debugging box under Settings>Developer options has been checked for this method to work.
Lastly, you must install Android SDK on your computer (PC and Mac/Linux).
Now, here are the steps:
On your computer, go to the Android SDK folder.
Connect the device to the computer via the USB cable.
Pull up the CMD window and type “adb reboot recovery”.
Wait for the recovery mode process to finish.
There you go. You now know how to pull up recovery mode on your Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge! The next time we advise you to perform a factory reset on your phone, you will now know how to do it by going first to this mode.
How to boot up a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge in Safe Mode
If you’ve been reading our other posts, you may have already come across Safe Mode. So what is Safe Mode exactly?
Safe Mode is one of the official troubleshooting steps an Android user can do to resolve certain problems. Just like Recovery Mode, it is hidden in a convoluted method as it is not meant to be used often. Also known as Diagnostic Mode, booting up your S6 Edge in safe mode can help you isolate whether a problem is being caused by the firmware or by a third party app or settings. It does this by simply preventing third party apps from running. While in safe mode, a user can uninstall an app normally and other phone functions continue to work like the background syncing, cellular data, SD card access, and camera. These are the steps on how to boot your phone in safe mode:
Turn off the phone completely.
Press and hold the Power/Lock key for a few seconds to turn on the device.
When Samsung logo appears, press and hold the Volume Down key until the lock screen shows up.
The word “Safe mode” should now show on the lower left corner of the screen indicating that your device is now in Safe Mode.
To go back to normal mode, you can either tap the Safe Mode notification under the notification shade or simply restart the phone. Safe mode can be done countless times without ill effects for your phone so the next time you suspect an app may be messing up with your device, boot it up in safe mode.
How to perform a factory reset in Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
While most official Android solutions are meant to fix a narrow set of problems, a master reset/hard reset/factory reset is the complete opposite. A factory reset may be recommended for virtually all types of Android issues that may be of software/firmware in origin. It’s effects is so broad that it can even resolve secondary problems not normally apparent for a user.
On another note, doing a factory reset may also be seen as a last desperate step before concluding either to have the phone repaired or replaced.
Because it basically erases everything like personal data, third party applications, and device settings, make sure to create a copy of your files before proceeding. This is very important especially that you don’t have a secondary storage device in your Samsung S6 Edge unlike its predecessors.
There are two methods on how to do a factory reset– via the recovery mode and under Settings. To do it via Recovery Mode, simply select Wipe Data / Factory Reset option.
How to perform a factory reset under Settings:
Go to Settings.
Tap Backup and Reset.
Tap Factory Data Reset.
Read the warning and tap Reset Device.
How to register a fingerprint in Galaxy S6 Edge
While no longer novel at this time, only a handful of Android smartphones actually sport a fingerprint sensor to add another layer of protection to existing ones. Having this feature on the new Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is a confirmation that many users find the feature convenient despite its limitations. Already, some apps are slowly springing up with innovative ways to utilize the feature for payment schemes like what Samsung Pay is doing at this time. The fingerprint scanning feature may not only be limited to secure a device in the near future but for a whole lot of other reasons as well. It’s potential appears great right now although only flagship phones have the feature.
If this is your first time to setup a fingerprint-based security on your phone, you must follow the steps below:
Tap Settings.
Swipe the headings to the left and tap Personal.
Tap Lock screen security.
Tap Fingerprints.
Tap Add Fingerprint.
Touch your finger to the Home key and lift it. You may have to do this step a few times until the counter reaches 100% to register successfully. To ensure that you are doing it correctly, move your finger slightly each time you touch the Home button to fully cover the key with your finger.
Click NEXT to complete the steps.
You can test if the phone will recognize your fingerprint by locking then unlocking your phone using the registered finger.
How to access the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge service menu
Another hidden feature in your Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge that can be used for troubleshooting issues is by accessing the service menu. In this menu, you can test various phone sensors like the touchscreen, LED, etc. It’s a fun way of checking the phone’s hardware conditions. However, great care must also be observed when using the service menu as some of its options can brick your phone. This is the main reason why Samsung hides it. The menu is primarily for use by technicians (who know what they’re doing) and in no way meant for newbie Android users. Other carriers opt to even just lock this menu out from their subscribers by changing the method how it’s normally accessed. In this tutorial, we assume that your carrier did not modify the steps how to pull it up. If you’re ready, just follow these simple steps:
Launch the phone dialer app.
Open the dial pad and type *#0*#. Make sure there’s no space between the characters you entered.
How to delete the cache of a specific app in Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
Your S6 Edge phone creates a temporary set of files called cache so it can load an app faster instead of downloading the same data the next time you open the app. Thus, the main purpose of having caches is to hasten things up. However, just like any other set of files or data, caches can get corrupted reversing its intended effect. This means that corrupt caches slow the phone down contrary to its intended purpose of loading things faster.
Caches can also take space in your phone’s memory if left unchecked for a long time, slowing the phone’s speed or even preventing apps from working properly. Hence the need to clear the cache. We recommend that you clear the cache regularly as your phone automatically creates a new cache after opening an app for the first time.
If a particular app is misbehaving, it’s a sign that you must clear its cache first before performing other troubleshooting steps.
The steps are quite simple so here they are:
Tap Settings.
Scroll to and tap Applications.
Tap Application Manager.
Swipe left to go to All tab.
Tap the target app.
Tap Clear Cache.
How to delete the data of a specific app in Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
Another good troubleshooting step to do when confronted with an app issue is by deleting the app’s data. While clearing the cache only delete’s the temporary set of files your device is using to speed the loading process of an app, clearing an app’s data is like re-installing the said app. This means that you will basically revert the app’s state to its original state. If you are, for example, clearing the messaging app’s data, you are virtually deleting all your messaging app’s settings and message logs/threads so you should be careful when doing this.
Deleting the data of an email app will result to the loss of all your email accounts and all things associated with it ( only locally though as you will still have copies of your messages and contacts in a remote server).
So if all things have been considered, delete an app’s cache by following these steps:
Tap Settings.
Scroll to and tap Applications.
Tap Application Manager.
Swipe left to go to All tab.
Tap the target app.
Tap Clear data.
How to wipe the Cache Partition of Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
Sometimes, deleting an app’s cache may not be enough or may be too tedious to resolve multiple app issues. If your S6 suffers from chronic slow performance issues, fast battery drain, or overheating, it’s always a good idea to perform a system wide cache wipe. Aside from storing caches for individual apps, your S6 also creates a system cache to quicken things up for the entire system. That cache for the entire system is stored in the cache partition and sometimes, deleting it can be an effective means to bring the S6 back to its working order. Here are the steps how to do it:
Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power, Volume Up and Home buttons simultaneously.
When the phone vibrates, release the Power button but continue to press and hold the Volume Up and Home buttons.
Now, when Android recovery screen appears, highlight the wipe cache partition option using Volume Down button.
To confirm the selection, press the Power button.
Wait for a while until wiping the cache partition is finished.
Now, “Reboot System now” will appear on the screen. To highlight the option use the Volume Up/Down key.
Press the power button to confirm it, and your device will automatically reboot.
How to share internet connection to other devices using your Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge (Wi-Fi Hotspot)
If you want to share your internet connection with friends or relatives, doing it on a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge can be breeze.
This tutorial may sound easy for a seasoned Android user but those coming from other platforms and first time smartphone users, the process may still be clouded in mystery though. So for those who wants to demystify how to use your S6 Edge as a portable hotspot, here’s how:
Tap Apps.
Tap Settings.
Tap Mobile hotspot and tethering.
Tap Mobile hotspot.
Tap More.
Tap Configure Mobile hotspot.
Now, enter a name for your hotspot.
Tap Password.
Delete the text inside the box and enter your password.
Tap Save.
To turn on the Mobile hotspot, simply tap the slider to ON.
Now, portable Wi-Fi hotspot is active and you can connect your other devices.
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