Samsung Download Mode: How to Enter and Exit It

What is Download Mode?

Download Mode, also called Odin Mode, is a pre-boot screen on Samsung Galaxy devices. Samsung phones don’t have Fastboot, so this is the mode you use to flash firmware from a computer.

Here’s what it looks like when you get there.

You need it whenever you want to flash stock firmware with Odin, fix a bootloop, or install a patched AP file for rooting. If you only want to update your phone, you don’t need any of this. Go to Settings > Software update > Download and install instead.

The short answer

On most phones from the last few years, turn the phone off, hold Volume Up and Volume Down together, and plug in the USB cable that’s connected to your PC. When the blue Warning screen shows up, press Volume Up.

Older phones with a Home or Bixby button use a slightly different combo. I have all three below.

Running One UI 8.5? Read the section on the D2 error first, or the key combo may not work at all.

Which key combo does your phone use?

Samsung changed the buttons a couple of times, so the right combo depends on what keys your phone has.

Phones with a Side key (Galaxy Note 10 and newer)

This covers the Galaxy S20, S21, S22, S23, S24, S25, Note 20, the Z Fold and Z Flip series, most Galaxy A phones, and tablets like the Tab S7 and Tab A7. These phones only have Volume and Side keys.

1. Power off the phone and wait a few seconds until the screen is fully dark.
2. Connect the other end of the USB cable to your PC, but leave the phone end out for now.
3. Hold Volume Up and Volume Down together.
4. While holding both keys, plug the cable into the phone.
5. Let go when the blue Warning screen appears.
6. Press Volume Up to continue into Download Mode.

Pressing Volume Down on the Warning screen cancels and restarts the phone.

Phones with a Bixby key (Galaxy S8 to S10, Note 8 and Note 9)

1. Power off the phone.
2. Hold Volume Down, Bixby and Power together.
3. Release the keys when the blue Warning screen appears.
4. Press Volume Up to continue.

Phones with a Home button (Galaxy S7 and older)

1. Power off the phone.
2. Hold Volume Down, Home and Power together.
3. Release the keys when the blue Warning screen appears.
4. Press Volume Up to continue.

Enter Download Mode with an ADB command

If a key is broken or you already have ADB open, you can skip the buttons. This works when the phone is turned on and unlocked.

1. Enable USB debugging in Settings > Developer options. If you don’t see Developer options, go to Settings > About phone > Software information and tap Build number seven times.
2. Connect the phone to your PC and tap Allow on the debugging prompt.
3. Open a command window in your platform-tools folder and run adb devices to check that the phone shows up.
4. Run adb reboot download

The phone restarts straight into Download Mode. On macOS or Linux, use ./adb instead of adb.

One UI 8.5 and the D2 error

This is the part that trips people up now. On some phones updated to One UI 8.5, the usual key combo doesn’t open Download Mode. You get a blank blue screen with a D2 error instead.

Samsung hasn’t said anything official about it. PiunikaWeb reported it in March 2026 on the Galaxy S26 series, and said it also affects some older phones back to the S24 and the Z Fold 7. Which phones are hit depends on the build, region and security patch.

The fix people found is to turn on Maintenance Mode first. Technastic lists these steps.

1. Go to Settings > Battery and device care > Maintenance Mode and turn it on. On some builds the page is under Device care.
2. Wait for the phone to restart and finish setting up. Technastic says this takes about two minutes.
3. Power the phone off.
4. Use the Side key steps above: hold Volume Up and Volume Down, then plug in the cable.
5. Flash what you need in Odin.
6. Restart the phone and turn Maintenance Mode off again.

The same article says removing your screen lock (Settings > Lock screen and AOD > Screen lock type > None) also works. Turn it back on afterward.

A quick honest note. I haven’t tested this on a One UI 8.5 phone myself, so I’m passing on what those two sites reported. Menu names can differ between builds. If it works or fails on your phone, tell me the model and I’ll update this section.

Also keep in mind that the bootloader still blocks older firmware. If you try to flash a build older than what’s on the phone, Odin will stop with a SW REV CHECK FAIL. My Odin FAIL errors guide explains that one.

How to exit Download Mode

If Odin finishes a flash with the default settings, the phone restarts on its own. That’s it.

If you got there by mistake, or the phone is stuck on the Download Mode screen, hold Volume Down and the Side key (or Power key) together for 7 to 10 seconds. The screen goes black and the phone starts normally. The exit steps are also printed at the bottom of the Download Mode screen.

Still stuck on the Warning screen? Press Volume Down once. It cancels and restarts the phone.

What to do once you’re in

Now the phone is ready for Odin. Here’s where to go next.

• Install the Samsung USB Driver on your PC. Without it, Odin won’t show the blue ID:COM box.
• Download Odin3 v3.14.1, the version I recommend.
• Follow the step-by-step Odin tutorial to flash your firmware.
• Not sure what BL, AP, CP and CSC mean? Read my Samsung firmware files guide.
• On a Mac or Linux PC? See Odin for Mac and Linux.