The Samsung Galaxy S5 is one of the premier smartphones for the year 2014. Now as we are entering the first month of the new year of 2015, it’s still on most people’s top ten list of phones out there today. If you are tinkering with the operating system, flashing official firmware files or applying a factory reset you likely have noticed several new modes such as recovery mode and download mode. The latter is the option we are teaching you how to enter.

Recovery mode has its place when installing official software OTA updates, firmware and ROM files too, but it also has other purposes. The Download Mode is strictly a mode you must enter the device for many installation guides. It’s commonly used for booting up your Samsung device before connecting to a computer and uploading files through the Odin application or the Samsung Kies utility. Only Samsung used the Odin app, thus they are the brand that people understand the words “download Mode.”

S5 Download Mode

Many key or button sequences for smartphones come with the key combination or an application available from the Google Play store people can install if they are struggling with pressing the keys correctly. However, there is no app available for this mode. That means you must learn how to use your fingers to press the correct combination of buttons. Unfortunately, some people are giving the wrong combination and that’s why some people are struggling. You will have no trouble entering the mode after reading our simple steps.

The picture above represents the official warning message you’ll see on your device display when pressing the keys. It says “a custom operating system can cause problems for the phone and for the applications you have existing on the OS. It’s our suggestion you backup the data before starting your custom operating system. Before using the guide to go along with entering this mode, you should use the built-in backup feature, or download a third-party app from Google Play. Helium is our pick at the moment and is really popular with Android enthusiasts.

How to Enter Download Mode On Samsung Galaxy S5

1. Power down the device completely.

2. Press the Power, Home and Volume Down keys at the same time and hold them in until reading the next step.

3. Look at the display while holding the buttons and wait until you see a warning message. Now let go of the buttons.

4. Tap the Volume Up button above the Volume Down down button and enter the Download Mode.

5. You are running the device in the desired mode where you can upload firmware files from Kies or Odin.

Just because you are running in the correct mode doesn’t mean everything will work. Remember to have the latest USB drivers for your device on the computer. You can download the drivers from the official Samsung website or use third-party links. You will find that if your S5 refuses to upload the files of your choice, it’s often a result of the out of date drivers, and not the mode itself.

As I mentioned before, DM is usually reserved for official features issued by phone carrier networks, Android or the device manufacturer. However, you can still access the same if you are running with root access and have a custom ROM installed. The steps to using it, however, are different. You’ll find the Reboot in Download Mode option coming from the Power menu. Hold down the Power button on the phone to bring up the Power menu.