Nexus 6: How to Boot into Recovery Mode

Recovery Mode is required in order to do things like a factory reset or clearing the cache partition. So today I’m going to walk you through the process of how to boot up into the Nexus 6 Recovery Mode.

When we’re modifying the Android operating system, which is what a lot of the tutorials here are about, then sometimes things can go wrong. It’s really difficult to truly brick your Nexus 6(or any recent Android device) because of things like the Recovery Mode. Even if you are unable to boot up into the regular Android operating system, you can follow this tutorial to boot up into the Recovery Mode.

From here you can restore from a Nandroid Backup(if you have a custom recovery installed), or perform a factory reset. Recovery Mode can also be used to wipe the cache partition as well as applying updates that are sitting in the /cache/ directory. Either way, you should know how to boot up into the Nexus 6 Recovery Mode in case something bad goes wrong.

Let’s take a look at the steps involved here. . .

Nexus 6 Recovery Mode

1. Power Down the Nexus 6
2. Boot the Nexus 6 into Fastboot Mode
3. Press the Volume Down Button Twice
4. When the ‘Recovery Mode’ Option Appears, Press the Power Button
5. Wait Until the Nexus 6 Boots into Recovery Mode
6. Then Press the Power, Volume Up and Volume Down Buttons at the Same Time(might take multiple tries)

Explanation

Naturally, you’ll need to power down your Nexus 6 in order to boot up into the recovery mode. If you have root and install a 3rd party application(like Flashify), then you can use the shortcut in the menu in order to get into the recovery mode. If you don’t have root access or don’t want to bother with a 3rd party application, then let’s continue with the tutorial here. Once you have the Nexus 6 powered down, you can follow the tutorial for how to boot up into the Nexus 6 Fastboot Mode(this is linked in the tutorial above).

Once you get into the Nexus 6 Fastboot Mode, you’ll need to use the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons in order to navigate through the menu. When you’re ready to select an option that is highlighted, you’ll need to press the Power button. As long as you haven’t touched anything since you boot up into the Nexus 6 Fastboot Mode, you should only have to press the Volume Down button twice. You’re wanting to get the words ‘Recovery Mode’ to appear in the screen. When you see the words Recovery Mode highlighted, go ahead and press the Power Button to select it.

This will boot you up into a screen with a little green Android laying on its back. You’ll see a red warning sign coming out of its chest and this is where you’ll need to press the Power button, Volume Down button and the Volume Up buttons all at the same time. It might take multiple tries until you get it right. Don’t mash them a lot because you could boot up into the Recovery Mode and automatically select a menu option without knowing. So just try it once, wait a second, try it again, wait another second, etc. When you get it right, you’ll be instantly taken into the stock Android recovery mode.

Let me know if you have any questions or trouble following this tutorial. I might not be able to reproduce the issues you experience but I will do my best to try to find out how to resolve them(generally with the power of Google). As I continue with these tutorials we will talk about unlocking the bootloader, installing a custom recovery, rooting and all sort of other things for the Nexus 6. If you have any requests then click the Contact link at the bottom of every Android Explained page to send me an email request.