Factory Reset & Reinstall Stock Firmware on Galaxy S6 When it Freezes or Stuck in Bootloop

Samsung Galaxy S6 has powerful hardware, which means chances for software related issues are very rare on the phone. However, sometimes your Galaxy S6 freezes for no apparent reason and in some extreme cases, it stuck in a bootloop. In such a situation, you can do two things. One is factory resetting the Galaxy S6 and the other is reinstalling the stock firmware.

This tutorial shows you a potential way to factory reset Galaxy S6 when it freezes and reinstall stock firmware when it is stuck in a bootloop or it is only getting as far as the bootloader or recovery mode. These two methods support all variants of Galaxy S6 (Galaxy S6 International, T-Mobile, Sprint, etc.), but download correct firmware in case you want to reinstall firmware.

If your Galaxy S6 is non-rooted, then there is less susceptible to booting and freezing issue, but they can still occur. For instance, when you are attempting to root your Galaxy S6 and something went wrong, you have previously achieved root, but bricked by flashing an incompatible ROM, or a Mod or a root app can cause issues. Whatever will be the reason, you can do below things whenever your Galaxy S6 needs a refresh.

Important: As always, backup any important file stored on your device before factory resetting and installing the firmware.

How to Factory Reset Galaxy S6 when it Freezes

Sometimes your Galaxy S6 freezes for no apparent reason. As Galaxy S6 has no removable battery you cannot remove the battery and reinsert it as you did previously. So do as follows.

1. Press and hold the Volume Down, Home and Power/Lock buttons until you come to a warning screen.

2. In the recovery menu, select “wipe data factory reset” option and perform the action. Once done, select reboot option to reboot your Galaxy S6.

How to Reinstall stock firmware on Galaxy S6

WARNING: Follow the instruction at your own risk. We will not be liable if any damage occurs to your device and/or its components. It is recommended for technically talented users only.

For installing stock firmware, you need to enable USB debugging on Galaxy S6. You can do that by going to Settings -> About -> tap 7 times on Build number to unlock Developer options. Now, again go to Settings -> Developer options -> enable USB Debugging.

1. Download drivers for Galaxy S6 [HERE] and install it on your computer.

2. Download Odin v.3.10.6 zip [HERE] file for installing the firmware. Unzip it and run the Odin exe file.

3. Download Galaxy S6 stock firmware [HERE] or [HERE]. Ensure that you are downloading correct firmware for your device model number.

4. Reboot Galaxy S6 in Download Mode. To do so, press and hold Home + Power + Volume Down buttons together for few seconds.

5. Now, connect your phone to your PC. Wait until you get a blue sign in Odin

6. Select AP in Odin and choose the firmware file (with .tar extension) you have downloaded.

7. In Odin, make sure Re-partition is NOT ticked.

8. Click the start button, sit back and wait few minutes. Once the Pass message appeared in Odin, reboot your phone.