How to Boot Galaxy Tab A into Download Mode

Boot Samsung Galaxy Tab A SM-T355Y into Download Mode using our step by step guide. Download mode is a special state or we can say a sub-system of an Android device and is mainly used to flash stock firmware through official means. Once you enter your Galaxy Tab A into download mode, the system of your device will boot from external sources instead of the stock bootloader which will directly help you to replace the stock ROM on your phone.

By booting your Galaxy Tab A into Download Mode, it makes it possible to install the newly released Samsung OTA updates. You can easily flash them from your computer directly into your smartphone using only a USB data cable. Remember that for flashing an official stock firmware you’ll need a tool called Odin which must be installed on your computer. Below you can find the download links for all versions of Odin.

If you are flashing ROM by entering your Galaxy Tab A into download mode, then you need the ROM package file in tar or tar.md5 format which can be flashed by Odin tool from a computer. Note that Odin does not accept zip files which is completely different from flashing ROMs through recovery mode. Download Mode is essentially considered as the same as Bootloader Mode.

Entering Galaxy Tab A into download mode is one of the easiest tasks that any Android user can implement, as you just need to follow any of the instructions mentioned below. Here in this step by step guide, we’ll discuss four important methods on how to easily enter Galaxy Tab A into download mode with or without keys.

How to boot Galaxy Tab A into Download Mode

Here we have mentioned 4 different ways to enter your Galaxy Tab A into download mode. You can refer to anyone of them.

Method 1: Using Hard Keys

• Switch off your Galaxy Tab A smartphone completely until it vibrates.
• Press and hold the Volume Down key + Home button (middle button) + Power button simultaneously until you see a warning message. Leave all the keys as you see the warning message window.
• Now just press the Volume up button to continue.
• This will directly land your Galaxy Tab A into download mode.
• That’s all! You’ve successfully booted your Galaxy Tab A into download mode using hard keys.

Method 2: Using ADB commands

ADB and Fastboot is a versatile command-line tool that lets you communicate with your device when connected to a computer (Windows, Mac, or Linux) using a USB cable. Through these commands, you can perform various actions such as installing and debugging apps, backing up partitions, and many more. Let’s use this ADB and Fastboot method to boot your Galaxy Tab A into download mode.

• Enable the USB debugging mode on your phone.
• Also, enable OEM unlocking and Advance reboot mode from Developer options.
• Now, download and install ADB and Fastboot setup on your PC.
• Connect your Galaxy Tab A to the computer using a standard USB cable.
• Launch Command window on your computer. For doing so, hold the Shift button and right mouse click anywhere on your PC.
• You’ll see a list of options from which select Open command window here option.
• This will launch the command prompt window on your computer.
• Now to ensure that your Galaxy Tab A is properly connected to your computer or not, type the following commands in the command window and press enter key:

adb devices

• As soon as you press enter key, you’ll see a message saying ‘List of devices attached’ along with some random numbers.
• This will confirm that your Galaxy Tab A has properly connected to your computer.
• If such a thing doesn’t happen, then re-install device drivers, enable USB debugging mode, and try again.
• If the problem persists, try changing USB cable or even the USB port.
• Now to boot into download mode, type the following command in the command window and hit enter key:

adb reboot download

• As soon as you press enter key, your Galaxy Tab A will boot into download mode.

Method 3: Using Terminal Emulator (Requires ROOT)

Terminal Emulator app helps you in accessing the Android’s built-in Linux command-line shell.

This method requires root access on your phone.

• Download and install Terminal Emulator App.
• Launch Terminal Emulator App.
• Type this command in it and press enter:

su

• As soon as you hit enter key, a popup will appear to grant Superuser permissions.
• So click on Grant option.
• On the next line type the following command and press enter:

reboot download

• As soon as you hit enter key, your Galaxy Tab A will enter into download mode.

Method 4: Using Quick Reboot App (Requires ROOT)

Quick Reboot app provides advanced reboot options to boot your Galaxy Tab A into download mode, recovery mode, normal reboot, fast reboot, safe mode, and much more.

This method also requires root access on your phone.

• Download and install the Quick Reboot app in your Galaxy Tab A.
• Launch Quick Reboot app.
• Tick the ‘I have read and accept the terms’ and click on confirm.
• To boot into download mode, simply click on the Fastboot mode option.
• Then Tap on Yes to confirm.
• As soon as you hit Yes, a popup will appear to grant Superuser permissions.
• So click on Grant option.
• This will enter your Galaxy Tab A into download mode.

How to Exit (get out of) Download Mode

• For Android phones with a removable battery, you just need to open the back panel, remove and re-insert the battery and then normally start the phone by pressing the Power button.
• In the case of non-removable battery phones, long press + hold the Power button to exit the download mode and restart the device.
• For phones with Android 6.0 Marshmallow and above OS, Google has introduced a new process to exit the Download mode. For that, you need to press and hold Power button + Volume Down key simultaneously until your device reboots.

I hope that this clear things up on how to enter and exit your Samsung Galaxy Tab A SM-T355Y into Download Mode. If you have any queries regarding the article mentioned above, then do comment below.