Windows PC users know that when there is some problem in Windows, they can use the boot into Windows recovery mode and fix some the things. The popular smart phone operating system Android also offers a special mode called recovery mode (or just recovery) for some special functions like wiping the cache partition, wiping the user-data, factory reset, applying an update etc. Just like in any other operating system, you can boot into this recovery mode in a multiple number of ways. Here is a list of some of the methods you can try to boot/reboot into the recovery mode:
- Special key combinations: Some of the Android smart phones can boot into recovery when you press Power + Vol Up + Vol Down keys on the phone. Others do the same when you use the combination Power + Vol Down. Which key combination works for your phone can be determined by either from the phone manual or from hit and trial.
- Terminal Emulator command: If your phone is rooted, then you can install the Terminal Emulator app in your Android device and give the command su -c reboot recovery to reboot the phone into the recovery mode. This command works very faster than other methods for the reason that you are using superuser access.
- ROM Manager: The app ROM Manager basically allows you to manage recovery images and other ROMs available for your smart phone. But it can also be used to reboot your smart phone quickly into the recovery mode. All you have to do is launch the app and then touch the Reboot into Recovery option. This also requires your phone to be rooted.
- ADB Command from PC: If you have enabled developer options in Android and installed ADB in your PC, then you can just connect your Android device to your PC via a USB data cable and give these commands:
adb devices
adb reboot recovery
Conclusion: If you are not able to get into the recovery of your Android smart phone using the usual key combination, then there is nothing to panic as there are so many different ways to boot or reboot into recovery mode.