What to do if your Samsung Galaxy Note 5 won't turn on [Troubleshooting]

Your Note 5 maybe expensive and powerful but it's not perfect. In fact, I already addressed a lot of problems with it and just today, I have to check on a unit that won't turn on.

According to the customer, he just left the phone on his table overnight and when he woke up in the morning, the screen is black and the phone won't respond. He tried turning it on to no avail.
What could have happened? No one knows.
Well, here's what your going to do to troubleshoot it…

1. Force reboot.
2. Charge it.
3. Try booting in safe mode.
4. Try booting in recovery mode.
5. Seek help from a technician.

Now that I've given you those five troubleshooting steps, I'm obliged to explain them one by one for you to understand why they're necessary.

Why do I need to force reboot my Note 5 and how?

Frankly, you have no choice! This procedure is necessary because Android, which is the operating system of that expensive paperweight, crashes more often than you think. When it happens, the phone just won't respond; the screen is black, it won't turn on even if you press the power button so hard and it may not charge if you plug it in.
Well, it could have been easier if the phone has a removable battery but it doesn't. So, you really have to do this procedure:
Press and hold the Volume Down and Power buttons simultaneously (together) for 10 to 20 seconds.
If it were just a minor system crash, it would reboot, otherwise, you have to proceed to the next procedure.

Is it really necessary to charge my Note 5?

Yes! You are not actually just trying to charge it, you're also trying to find out how it reacts if it detects current flowing from its utility port down to its battery.
The most common reaction of the phone when there's current flowing is to notify the owner that it's charging; it may display the usual charging symbol or icon, and lights up that little red or green LED light at the upper portion of the screen.
Two things may happen here: either it shows it's charging or stays dead. In case it stays dead, skip the next two procedures and do the last one--send  your phone in for repair.
However, if the charging signs are showing especially if you're seeing the red light, leave the phone be for, at least, 10 minutes to make sure there's enough battery to power all its hardware.
After 10 minutes of charging, you're ready to turn it on normally. Yes, just hit the Power button just like you always do when turning the phone on. If it did turn on, then problem solved, otherwise, you have to try the next two procedures.

What is safe mode and how can I make my Note 5 boot in it?

It's like a fail-safe. If third-party apps have rogue and affected the normal operation of other apps as well as the firmware, the phone may automatically reboot itself but in safe mode, which temporarily disables all downloaded apps leaving only the pre-installed ones running.
You've already seen your phone charge but still won't turn on. There's a chance that some third-party services or apps are preventing it from doing so. Therefore, you need to start the phone up without interference from them and here's how…

1. Press and hold the Power key.
2. Once ‘Samsung Galaxy Note5’ shows on the screen, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
3. The Note 5 will restart but keep the Volume Down button pressed.
4. Once it has finished restarting, ‘Safe mode’ will be displayed in the lower-left corner of the screen.
5. You may now release the Volume Down button.

If the phone boots up in safe mode, it confirms our suspicion that one or some of the third-party apps is causing the problem. But since it's impossible to pinpoint which app is the culprit, you may want to do the factory reset. Of course, do what you have to do before that like backup your pictures and other files as they will be deleted.
In the event that your Note 5 refuses to boot in safe mode, you need to proceed to the next procedure.

Why do I have to boot my Note 5 to recovery mode and how do I do that?

The recovery mode is a very important feature of your phone since it requires all the hardware to be powered on without the firmware being loaded.
Your phone was charging fine but it refused to boot up even in safe mode. At this point, there's a possibility it's a firmware issue. So, to rule out this possibility, you need to boot your phone in recovery mode and here's how you do it:

1. Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home buttons first, and then press and hold the Power key.
2. Keep the three buttons pressed and when ‘Samsung Galaxy Note5’ shows, release the Power key but continue holding the other two.
3. Once the Android logo shows, release both the Volume Up and Home buttons.
4. The notice ‘Installing system update’ will show on the screen for 30 to 60 seconds before the Android system recovery screen is shown with its options.

If your Note 5 has successfully booted up in recovery mode, then there are a couple of things you can do; first, wipe the cache partition and if it still refuses to boot up normally, you have to do the master reset (Yes — delete all user data).
In case the reset failed to fix the problem or if the device still won't boot in recovery mode, then you have no other choice but to do last procedure.

So I need to send the phone in, what should I say to the technician?

Tell him what happened exactly or how the problem started not only to make his job easier but to help him diagnose the problem accurately.
You also need to tell him the troubleshooting steps you've undertaken in a bid to bring the phone back to life.
If there was a significant situation or event that could have caused or contributed to the problem, be honest and mention it.
And that's pretty much it!
Do you have problems with your Note 5?
You're in luck because we will help you troubleshoot it. All you need to do is contact us through sebertech@gmail.com and describe the problem(s) in details. Provide all necessary information especially how and when the issue started. Don't worry, this service is free.