On Android-powered Nokia smartphones, the Download Mode is equivalent to the Fastboot mode on other Android devices. You can flash firmware updates on Nokia devices using the OST Tool. If your Nokia phone is stuck in the Download Mode with the Android One logo after the official OTA update or for some other reason, here is a solution to fix the problem.

OTA updates bring security patches, new features, performance improvements, bug fixes, and security enhancements. Android devices download OTA updates automatically and install them only when you allow them. There have been reports of Nokia phones getting stuck in the download mode during a software update.

nokia system update
Nokia software update download
Table of Content

What is the Download mode in Nokia phones?

Nokia phones don’t have the fastboot mode. They have a Download Mode to flash stock firmware using a tool called Nokia OST on a Windows PC.

nokia download mode

While some Nokia devices come with a regular Fastboot mode, most Nokia phones have a Download mode that works like the Bootloader or Fastboot mode. The Download Mode on Nokia Android phones is a gateway to facilitate firmware installation, erase user data, remove Firmware Reset Protection, and backup NV data.

Besides, the Download Mode also lets you use fastboot commands to flash files. One of the solutions to fix the issue involves using Fastboot commands to change the current slot. Since the Nokia 8.1 and Nokia 9 PureView don’t support changing slots, this method may not work with them. You may get ‘FAILED (remote: Slot Change is not allowed in Lock State)‘ error on such phones.

Fixing the Nokia Download Mode Problem

If your Nokia phone got stuck in the Download mode after an official software update, here are four possible fixes. We would start from the easiest method to the more complicated ones.

Method 1: Hold the Power Key

I found a quick fix to exit the Download Mode on Nokia devices while browsing the Nokia community forums. If you accidentally booted your Nokia phone into the Download Mode, you can exit it by holding the Power button for 10-15 seconds. Your phone should reboot normally if it didn’t enter the Download Mode due to a system upgrade.

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Method 2: Let the Phone’s Battery Drain

Did holding the Power button not help you? Don’t worry, here’s another easy thing to try. Just do nothing!! That’s to say, leave the phone for a few hours until it drains out all battery juice. When your Nokia phone turns off, plug in the charging cable and wait until it charges up to 30%. After that power on your device to check if you can get

Method 3: Perform a Factory Reset via Recovery

Warning: This method will wipe installed apps and all data (photos, videos, call logs, text messages, etc.) stored on the internal storage and reset the device to the factory state. Please, proceed carefully.

If the above tips don’t help you, maybe the solution lies in wiping and resetting your device.

  1. Power off your Nokia smartphone.
  2. Connect the device to a charger. When you see the battery charging animation on the screen, press and hold the Volume Up + Power buttons simultaneously.
  3. When you see the Android or Android One logo, release the Power button but keep the Volume Up key pressed.
  4. Your Nokia device will boot into Recovery mode.
  5. Don’t panic if you see a ‘No Command” screen with a dead Android robot.
  6. Press and hold the Volume Up and Power keys together for a few seconds.
  7. You should then see the Android Recovery menu on your Nokia phone.recovery menu on nokia
  8. Since the Recovery mode doesn’t support touch, you’ll have to use the Volume keys to navigate the menu and the Power key to select an option. Go to Wipe data/factory reset and select it.
  9. Now highlight the yes option and select it.
  10. Finally, return to the recovery menu and select the Reboot system now option.

Your Nokia phone should get out of the Download Mode now.

Method 4: Change Active Slot using Fastboot Commands

Android devices have two system partitions known as slots: system_a and system_b. The A/B partition system on some Nokia devices may misbehave sometimes, resulting in flashing errors.

At one time, only one partition or slot is active. It is called the current slot. Whether you install a major OTA update or just a security patch update, the A and B slots keep changing before and after the update on the same device. I made an image to simplify things for your understanding.

current active partition
Current active slot before and after software update

Thus, when you install a software update via OTA, the update patches the inactive slot on the system. If an update fails, the Android device rolls back to the slot that still has the working build of the OS version along with the user data stored on it. However, if your device fails to switch to the inactive slot after installing the software update, it won’t boot normally.

Having understood the function and behavior of the A/B partition or slot, let’s proceed to the actual drill. Since your phone is already in the download mode, it can respond to Fastboot commands.

  1. Download the latest Android SDK Platform-tools on your computer and set up ADB and Fastboot.
  2. Download and install the Nokia USB driver on your Windows PC. Don’t forget to restart your computer after the installation.
  3. Connect your phone to the computer using the stock USB cable to avoid connectivity issues.
  4. Now open the folder that contains the ADB and Fastboot files. Type “cmd” in the folder address bar and hit Enter to launch a command prompt window.launch command window
  5. To check that your Nokia device is properly connected to the PC, type the following command and press Enter.fastboot devices command 
    fastboot devices
  6. You will get an alphanumeric string or serial number representing your connected device. In case you don’t get the expected output, try the following things:
    • Disconnect the USB cable and connect it again
    • Try a different USB port
    • Re-install the USB driver
  7. Now execute the following command to reboot the Download or Fastboot Mode. 
    fastboot reboot
  8. Your Nokia device will reboot into the Download Mode again. According to some users, their phones booted normally after the above step. If you aren’t as lucky, find out the current active partition or slot on your Nokia device.fastboot getvar current-slot 
    fastboot getvar current-slot
  9. If the currently active slot on your Nokia phone is B (current-slot: b), type the following command and hit the Enter key to set the slot to A. 
    fastboot --set-active=a
  10. In the same way, if the currently active slot of your device is A, change it to B using this command. 
    fastboot --set-active=b
  11. It’s time now to reboot your phone using the command given below. 
    fastboot reboot
  12. Your phone will reboot to the Recovery mode with a warning: “Can’t load Android system. Your data may be corrupt. If you continue to get this message, you may need to perform a factory data reset and erase all user data stored on the device.“nokia recovery wipe data option
  13. Ignore that warning message, highlight the Factory data reset option using the Volume down key, and press the Power button to select it.
  14. On the next screen, select yes to confirm reset.

Now, wait for your device to reboot. If the phone boots up normally, it will greet you with the welcome setup screen. If your phone still enters the Download Mode, hold the Power key for about 15 seconds.

Method 5: Flash Stock ROM with Nokia OST Tool

If none of the methods fixed the Download Mode, download the stock Nokia ROM for your Nokia device and flash it using the Nokia Online Service tool. Don’t forget to select the Erase user data option in the tool.

If you are still stuck where you started, visiting a Nokia Care center may be your last resort.

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