You don’t need to be a hardcore modder to know the importance of booting your S10 into either recovery mode or download mode. In fact, these pre-boot menus are something everyone should be familiar with. The former can help you get out of soft bricks, while the latter lets you use utilities like Odin and Smart Switch to flash firmware files and fix your phone when all other solutions fail.
Just like the S9 and S8 before it, the Galaxy S10e, S10, and S10+ don’t have a physical home button. This means you’ll need enter recovery mode or download mode through a combination of the Bixby, volume and power buttons. The process is pretty straightforward and easy to master once you know the button combinations for either modes, which we’ll highlight below.
Booting into Recovery Mode
To boot your S10 into recovery mode, you’ll first need to turn off your device. After you’ve powered it down completely, press and hold on both the volume up and Bixby buttons (the button just beneath the volume rocker), then press and hold the power button.
Immediately let go of only the power button once your S10 turns on, then release both the volume up and Bixby buttons once you see the blue screen with the Android logo.
From there, the blue screen will almost instantly give way to the recovery screen once your device fails to detect any commands or updates. Now, you’ll be able to run important tasks that range from applying updates either via ADB or SD card, wiping your device’s cache, or performing a factory reset.
Booting into Download Mode
To boot your S10 into download mode, you’ll also need shut down your phone to get started. Then, press and hold the volume down button along with the Bixby key just beneath it, then press and hold the power button.
The phone will instantly boot into download mode after doing so, so release all three buttons once it does. Press the volume up button once more to confirm you’d like to start download mode, and you’ll then be free to flash stock firmware files or other software using Odin or Smart Switch.
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