S7 edge stuck on padlock with spinning circle

[vinz4ever]

I went abroad and then took pictures and then it restarted, now when i turn it on it asks me to the pin and i enter it and it verifies, it then goes onto this padlock which then turns into an open padlock and then spinning circles which changes colour. Ive kept this on for 8hours but it just does that but makes the phone absolutely hot! I tried recovery mode but it takes me to Odin mode and says downloading data do not switch off target....i left that on for an hour or two and just got stuck there. If i do a soft reset it takes me to the spinning circle and padlock which i have no idea what it is.... however i have pictures i need to back up before i even think about factory resetting it..... any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[VidJunky]

Try powering it on without the SIM card... It sounds like it's looking for something and I'm not sure but I think it will ignore whatever if it can't see any data connection. Used to have a similar issue with my Incredible. Those were incredible days.

 

[PJesse]

The padlock that you are talking about is what happens when you encrypt your device storage. It's act as a "firewall" of sorts, so that hardware wise your phone has booted up, but you need to enter the password to allow android to start up. Maybe try pulling out your SD card, because it could have corrupted, and the decryption is failing, preventing your phone from ever initializing android.

P.S.
Device encryption is a setting that you have to check, did you check on accident, it's not a short process and can take quite a while even on a fresh phone.

 

[VidJunky]

I agree it sounds like encryption but encryption isn't something that happens by accident, and surely one encrypting their device would have unlocked it at least a few times and know what they're seeing. But if I can suspend my disbelief that it happened, the OP is a little absent minded neglecting to mentioning it, and yada yada yada, then I would agree with the SD thing. And hope it's the SD and not the internal.

 

[vinz4ever]

Hi all,

Thanks for the suggestions however I don't have any sim in there and neither any sd cards. I put in the correct pin, but it gives me that screen.....Is there a way i can access the phone internal memory so i can back it up as it has pictures of the holiday. I personally havent ticked the box could it be possible if someone who was taking pictures with it could have pressed.

 

[PJesse]

The encryption setting is almost hidden within the security panel in the settings menu. As for recovery, if it is encrypted nothing short of the NSA is getting in there, and there's a really possibility even they can't.

 

[vinz4ever]

Thanks but i know what my pin is so shouldnt that be the key...am i able to recover if i factory reset it, and am i able to factory reset it?

 

[VidJunky]

Well the pin or any lock screen setup is the key for encryption so if you're sure your puting it in correctly then that's all you should need. The unlocked padlock is proof of that, so that answers that. Here's the test if your device is encrypted, put the code in wrong one time. It should then tell you you have 9 attempts left before the device is wiped. I'm not sure since I've been encrypted so long but I don't think the regular security lock threatens to wipe the device. It should just give up and allow you to unlock with your Google credentials. I think. Now if it's encrypted no, you will not be able to recover anything from the device. Your only hope would be auto backup. G+, Google Drive, Dropbox something like that. You may be able to get something back otherwise. There are several pc programs that claim to be able to recover data on Android devices... Emphasis on claim.

 

[anonymoustl]

I know exactly what you are talking about.. It just happened to me... I DID encrypt the device... I DID enter the correct PW... It authenticated, then came to the same black screen with an unlocked padlock and spinning animations. The OP is NOT crazy

I just registered to chime in on this... It has happened to more than just the OP.. It happened to me after a manual upgrade from PG1 to the newest TMO firmware. I activated encryption at registration on the stock rom with a developers kernel/bootloader... Reflashing to stock now.

 

[jaradale]

You are right. It's not what they are telling you. It doesn't have anything to do with your settings. It's just a part of the starting up process. I found this post while looming for answers as to what exactly it is wanting in order to pass that screen quicker.. I usually just circle the lock with the likes and tap it and hold down on it and everything else I can think of before it finally let's me in. So I'm not sure which is the correct answer lol. Did you ever find out about it?

 

[Not4u_sd]

Go to settings > lock screen & security > secure setup > make sure "do not require" is selected. This will fix the padlock load screen issue on the galaxy s7.

 

[sjlee]

I had the same issue on my S7. To get past it, I ended up forcing a shutdown (holding power button and volume down for 12 seconds, then selecting turn off from the menu). When I turned the phone back on, it started normally.

 

[sjlee]

Go to settings > lock screen & security > secure setup > make sure "do not require" is selected. This will fix the padlock load screen issue on the galaxy s7.

That doesn't really fix the issue... it just turns off the encryption. If you want the encryption, that is not a solution.

 

[tv_james]

Same problem today on a non-rooted AT&T Galaxy S7 acquired last month.

I have it set to require the hardware level password before starting Android. AT&T pushed an update to the phone and prompted me to install it. I allowed it, and after it returned to the hardware password prompt, it wouldn't get past the unlocked padlock with alternating green and aqua progress circles around it.

I turned the phone on and off a few times before it was able to successfully get past it. (It took an awfully long time holding down the power key to get it to turn off.)

I don't know if it needed to decrypt and/or re-encrypt anything as a result of the software update or what, but it seems to be functioning fine now.

I wasn't going to let it sit there for 8 hours like someone else did, if it hadn't worked on this try, I was going to try safe booting to see if it could at least complete the boot.

 

[Frisky070802]

....

I wasn't going to let it sit there for 8 hours like someone else did, if it hadn't worked on this try, I was going to try safe booting to see if it could at least complete the boot.

This happened to me. Verizon wireless suggested various things that failed, but rebooting into maintenance mode and doing a safe boot fixed it. (Kudos to my teenager, no credit to VZW.)

 

[coffeenapples]

Had the same issue today with Samsung Galaxy A5 trying to upgrade OS or firmware...
According to Samsung help, holding in "Volume DOWN and Power for 10-20sec" will simulate battery disconnection.
(Yes in the good old days before integrated batteries we all just popped it out and back in and that was that!)
Did this once, got stuck on Unlock again, did this a second time and BINGO - I'm in.

Thought this might work for your S7 as well... ??

Considering a restart to the boot menu and go clear the cache now (just to be safe...)

 

[coffeenapples]

Had the same issue today with Samsung Galaxy A5 trying to upgrade OS or firmware...
According to Samsung help, holding in "Volume DOWN and Power for 10-20sec" will simulate battery disconnection.
(Yes in the good old days before integrated batteries we all just popped it out and back in and that was that!)
Did this once, got stuck on Unlock again, did this a second time and BINGO - I'm in.

Thought this might work for your S7 as well... ??

Considering a restart to the boot menu and go clear the cache now (just to be safe...)