These are the steps to enter download mode on the Samsung smartphones and tablets. You should find the guide works for every smartphone and tablet in the Samsung range. It doesn’t matter if you have the Samsung Galaxy S6, the Samsung Galaxy S5, the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, or even the Samsung Galaxy J1 smartphone.

The words “Download Mode” are most commonly used in reference to Samsung devices. The words mean the same thing as Fastboot Mode or Bootloader Mode for other devices. When you enter the Google Nexus 7 in bootloader mode or the Samsung Galaxy S7 in download mode, you are preparing the device to be ready for flashing files.

Samsung Galaxy S7

Entering Download Mode on Samsung Devices

  1. Long-press the Power button — or press the Power button quickly — and then select Switch Off‘ from the Device Options menu.
  2. Reboot the Samsung device by holding the Power + Home + Volume Down buttons at the same time.
  3. Continue holding the three button combination until you get the display changing and it tells you to press the Volume Up button.
  4. Release the three aforesaid keys and just tap on the Volume Up button.
  5. Your Samsung device will now be entering the download mode and in a few moments is ready to connect to the computer.

That’s all.

Those of you into customizing a device with root access and a custom ROMs can often find the download mode available from the Power menu as a new feature. Just press the Power button once and you will see the option to boot the device in download mode.

Download mode for Samsung devices is an official mode brought to you by Samsung developers. Entering this mode does not void any warranty agreements.