[GUIDE] Nexus 5 Recovery

Golfdriver97

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Rebooting into recovery can be useful. Sometimes you get caught in a bootloop, sometimes it is just good to use for other activities that can be done through the UI, but as always, it is good to know more than one way to interact with your phone.

Recovery is for what?

Simplest answer, recovery can be used to clear the device cache, sideloading updates, factory resets, etc.

I will show how to boot into stock recovery, and how to do a simple task, like clearing the device's cache. This exercise will give practice on booting into recovery, and allow you to perform an action that is NOT detrimental to the device.

[INFO]In fact, clearing the device's cache is actually something that should be done after an update.[/INFO]

Volume buttons navigate through choices, and power accepts.

1. Power off the device.

2. Hold both volume buttons and the power button. When you feel the vibrate, release.

3. You will see the Android logo laying on his back with his chest panel open, along with the device info and options.
N5-1 (569x640).jpg
The home screen for rebooting into recovery.

4. Use the Volume rockers to navigate to Recovery Mode
N5-2 (516x640).jpg
This is after pressing volume down a few times. Click Power to accept

5. Once there, you will see No Command. Press and hold Power and click volume up like you want your music to go up one increment.
N5-3 (569x640).jpg

6. You will then be shifted to the Recovery screen.

7. Use the volume Rockers to navigate to what you would like to do, and power accepts the selection. Use the rockers to go to 'Clear Cache Partition'.
N5-4 (480x640).jpg
Click Power to accept.


8. To reboot, click reboot system now.
N5-5 (480x640).jpg
The option you need to get back into your device normally.


I have cleared cache several times on my Nexus 5, and each instance takes between 5 and 10 minutes.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using AC Forums mobile app
 
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crxssi

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Re: [GUIDE] Nexus 5 Recovery.

By clearing cache am I in any way deleting apps or necessary files that I myself have added?

No. When apps are run, they are "compiled" and then stored in the cache, then the copy in the cache is run. If the cached version is missing, it will simply rebuild that app in the cache when you start it the next time. The procedure does not remove apps, nor any settings for those apps.

Occasionally a cached version of an app can become corrupt and cause issues with apps crashing or the OS acting strangely. This is why if that happens, it is recommended to try and wipe your cache partition. You can also do something similar and faster by going into settings-> Storage-> Cached data-> Clear cached data. This will do same thing as wiping the cache partition, although it will not reformat it.

After an OS update, you will see it spend 5 to 10 minutes saying "Optimizing App 1 of X" or something like that, it is actually rebuilding the cache for every app on the phone :)
 

pdangcil

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Re: [GUIDE] Nexus 5 Recovery.

No. When apps are run, they are "compiled" and then stored in the cache, then the copy in the cache is run. If the cached version is missing, it will simply rebuild that app in the cache when you start it the next time. The procedure does not remove apps, nor any settings for those apps.

Occasionally a cached version of an app can become corrupt and cause issues with apps crashing or the OS acting strangely. This is why if that happens, it is recommended to try and wipe your cache partition. You can also do something similar and faster by going into settings-> Storage-> Cached data-> Clear cached data. This will do same thing as wiping the cache partition, although it will not reformat it.

After an OS update, you will see it spend 5 to 10 minutes saying "Optimizing App 1 of X" or something like that, it is actually rebuilding the cache for every app on the phone :)

Okay, what happens if it keeps optimizing the apps every time i reboot? This is going on in my nexus 5 and I have to wait at least 10-15 mins for it to finish.
 

Golfdriver97

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Re: [GUIDE] Nexus 5 Recovery.

Okay, what happens if it keeps optimizing the apps every time i reboot? This is going on in my nexus 5 and I have to wait at least 10-15 mins for it to finish.

Are you running the device with Android Run Time?

From a Sprint Moto X using AC Forums app
 

Viktor Hanssen

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Re: [GUIDE] Nexus 5 Recovery.

It didn't help, the battery continues to drain very fast, i cant even use the phone , is there a way to restore 4.4.2 ???? what the hack is going on with the Google this 4.4.3 is a mess :(
 

Golfdriver97

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Re: [GUIDE] Nexus 5 Recovery.

It didn't help, the battery continues to drain very fast, i cant even use the phone , is there a way to restore 4.4.2 ???? what the hack is going on with the Google this 4.4.3 is a mess :(

The only way I know how to roll back to 4.4.2 is to reflash the factory images which will wipe your device.

What seems to be the trouble?

From a Carbon M8 and AC Forums app
 

xstinkyx

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Re: [GUIDE] Nexus 5 Recovery.

1) Your text says "Use the rockers to go to 'Clear Cache Partition'." Yet the photo shows "wipe cache partition". Might seem like a minor difference, but technical documentation shouldn't include discrepancies like that.

2) After I select "wipe cache partition" and click Start then I immediately see "erasing" in the middle of the screen (under the robot). And the lower-left corner has:

-- Wiping cache...
Formatting /cache...


The above seems like a step 7.5 that maybe you could include in your helpful post?

It took nearly 20 minutes for my N5 to get "cache wipe complete" (and thus go from step 7 to step 8).
 

avivazuck

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Re: [GUIDE] Nexus 5 Recovery.

I am having the same problem.
but the above solution doesn't help.

My phone died while trying to open the camera app.
It was more than 80% charged.

Now it won't turn on. When I plug it into my computer, the computer recognizes a device has been connected/or disconnected (i.e. it beeps accordingly) but the device isn't visible as a extra drive, and the phone does not indicate that it is charging.

I tried holding down the buttons for more than 20 seconds and no response.

HELP!!!!

--------post traumatic report-----------
Just now the battery symbol came back while connected, and i was able to turn it on.
I immediately cleared the cache (which was over 700MB)

Should I be concerned that this will reoccur?
 
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B. Diddy

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Re: [GUIDE] Nexus 5 Recovery.

Welcome to Android Central! Are you sure the phone died, or did the screen just go blank? If the phone truly died and powered off, I don't think it should register with your computer when you plug it in. If the screen itself went blank but the phone was still on (but frozen for some reason), then it would make sense that the computer registers it when you plug it in. When you pressed and held the power button for 20 seconds, maybe nothing happened because you actually forced it to power off, and since the screen was already blank, there was no way for you to know you powered it off. Did you try pressing the power button again afterwards?
 
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My phone suddenly switches off and when I try to boot it then it either gets stuck at the google logo or loads normally. It kept happening so I tried the recovery mode and cleared the cache.But my phone is still responding in the same manner, it either hangs and switches off and then hangs at the google logo when turned on or works normally for sometime and switches off.
 

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