[Update: Jan. 09] ICYMI: Samsung devices on One UI 3.0 (Android 11) update now require a USB connection to boot into recovery mode

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on December 29, 2020) follows:

A number of users have reported that they are unable to access their Samsung device’s recovery mode soon after the One UI 3.0 update.

As more and more users receive the update, the rise in the number of complaints pertaining to such issues is only natural. If interested, you can explore them through our dedicated One UI 3.0 bugs/issues tracker.

i just got my one ui 3.0, wanted to clear the system cache as i do after every android update. I find out that for somw reason i cant boot into recovery mode. the phone just decides to restart over and over showing the samsung galaxy s20 in the beginning of boot. the phone is not in a boot loop it however. anyome else facing this?
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As apparent from the above complaints, the usual method of accessing the recovery mode has ‘broken’. Now upon holding down the power and volume keys simultaneously, the device simply restarts without booting into recovery.

Users discovered this when they tried to clear the cache partitions soon after the update.

The thing, though, is that the culprit behind this issue is nothing to be worried about. It is actually just a change Samsung has silently made on the latest version of their custom Android skin.

As shown in the below screenshot of a correspondence between a user and a support agent, a USB cable must now be inserted into the phone in order to access the recovery menu.

However, this isn’t the only way as users were quick to discover that the same can also be performed using USB Type-C earphones.

The weird part of this is that the change has only been made applicable to Exynos variants. Snapdragon users were still able to access the recovery menu without requiring a USB cable.

Yeah what I’ve noticed is that people with Exynos need to use an additional accessory to access the recovery menu whereas people with Snapdragon don’t need anything extra, such a strange update tbh
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It is unclear as to why Samsung enforced such an implementation. Whatever the reason, it seems nonsensical and unnecessary, and judging by comments, users are certainly displeased.

In conclusion, with the onset of One UI 3.0, the new method to enter the recovery mode is the following:
1. Turn off your phone.
2. Connect it to a PC via USB (not to the charger).
3. Press and hold down the volume up and power buttons and keep them that way until the device powers on.

As per a screenshot shared by a Redditor, Samsung has now provided a justification for this move. They say that the change was implemented to prevent users from accidentally booting into the recovery mode.

This was done following the ‘advice’ of various telecommunication companies. Again, the change is only applicable on Exynos devices and Samsung does not seem to indicate doing the same for Snapdragon variants as well.

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