What is Maintenance Mode & how to use it on your Galaxy phone or tablet

What is Maintenance Mode and how to use it on your Galaxy phone or tablet.

Maintenance Mode is a new service introduced alongside Android 14 and One UI 6.0 which has been designed to protect and hide your personal data from being accessed during a repair process.

Once it has been activated Maintenance Mode creates a separate user account (using MUM*) which has no access to your personal data and where only pre-installed applications can be accessed.

Any pre-installed apps that might hold customers information (i.e. Facebook) will be accessible but all user accounts will be logged out to prevent access to your information.

Welcome screen of Maintenance Mode

Maintenance Mode can be found and activated via the Samsung Members app or through the Battery and device care service in the Settings menu.  For instructions on locating it through Settings please follow the steps below.

1 Select Settings from your device
Settings app icon
2 Then select Battery and device care
Battery and device care selected in settings menu
3 Lastly select Maintenance Mode
Maintenance mode selected in battery and device care
4 Turn Maintenance Mode on
Turn on selected in Maintenance mode

Please note that if lock screen security is not used you will be prompted to designate a security method e.g. (PIN, password, pattern or fingerprint) before you can enable Maintenance Mode.

Once this has been enabled the device will restart in Maintenance Mode and personal data such as photos, videos, contacts etc will no longer be available.

To deactivate maintenance mode after the repair you will need to enter the screen lock method.

You can activate Maintenance Mode in Samsung Members by following the steps below.

1 Go to your Samsung Members account and visit support
Support selected in Samsung Members app
2 Then select Maintenance Mode
Maintenance Mode selected in support section of Members app
3 Then Turn On Maintenance Mode
Turn on selected in Maintenance mode

You can use the option Back up to Samsung Cloud (called Temporary cloud backup from One UI 5.1.1) to create a temporary backup of your data while your phone is in Maintenance Mode.

This will ensure that your data is safe even if your device has to be reset or if the mainboard requires replacing.

To back up your data before entering Maintenance Mode, go to:

Settings > Battery and device care > Maintenance mode > Back up your data > Back up to Samsung Cloud

Files backed up to Samsung Cloud are kept for 30 days from the date the backup is created. You can check the status of the temporary backup and the storage period in the Samsung Cloud app.

When the 30-day period expires, temporary backup files will be deleted. A notification will be sent one week before deletion. It is not possible to extend the storage period.

There is no limit to how much data can be backed up, but the maximum individual file size is 100GB.

You need a Samsung account and a Wi-Fi connection to back up your data on Samsung Cloud.

Did you know that you can create a system log prior to activating Maintenance Mode? This will help our service centre repair experts to analyse error log information.

To activate the system log please select the ‘Restart’ option.

Please note that if you select the, ‘Restart without creating log’, option the device will restart immediately into Maintenance Mode.

Restart selected in Maintenance mode menu Restart selected in Maintenance mode menu
Screen showing phone creating log Screen showing phone creating log

Once your repair is complete you can disable Maintenance Mode using your chosen unlock pattern. Please follow the steps below:

1 Tap on the ‘Your phone is in Maintenance Mode’ setting
Your phone is in Maintenance mode popup selected in settings panel
2 Then select ‘Exit’
Exit selected in Maintenance mode menu

Your device will then reboot and return to normal – access will be restored to your usual settings.

What devices is Maintenance Mode available on?

Mobile devices

Table containing mobile devices that have Maintenance mode

Device Name

Galaxy Z Flip6

Galaxy Z Fold6

Galaxy S24 series

Galaxy Z Flip5

Galaxy Z Fold5

Galaxy S23 series

Galaxy S22 Series

Galaxy Z Flip4

Galaxy Z Fold4

Galaxy S21 Series

Galaxy S21 FE

Galaxy Z Flip3

Galaxy Z Fold3

Galaxy S20 Series

Galaxy S20 FE

Galaxy Note20 Series

Galaxy Z Flip2

Galaxy Z Fold2

Galaxy Z Flip

Galaxy S10 Series

Galaxy S10 Lite

Galaxy Note10 Series

Galaxy Z Fold

Tablets

Table containing tablets that have Maintenance mode

Device Name

Galaxy Tab S9 Series

Galaxy Tab S8 Series

Galaxy Tab Active4

Galaxy Tab S7 FE

Galaxy Tab A8

Galaxy Tab S7 Series

Galaxy Tab A7

Galaxy Tab A7 Lite

Galaxy Tab Active3

Galaxy Tab S6 Series

How to activate and deactivate Maintenance mode

Maintenance mode is a feature that is designed to protect the personal data and information stored on your Galaxy smartphone or tablet when it is being repaired.

Please note: Always backup your device before sending for repair as data could be lost.

How to use Maintenance mode How to use Maintenance mode

Benefits of Maintenance mode:

  • Prevents access to your photos, videos, messages, call history and other files
  • Only pre-loaded apps are available
  • All data and accounts generated in Maintenance mode are automatically deleted

1. - Activate Maintenance mode

  • Settings
  • Battery and device care
  • Maintenance mode
  • Turn on
  • You will be given the option of creating a log.
  • This system log will contain information about recent app usage and system errors, which can help with the repair of your device.
  • Restart.

Please note: A lock method is required when activating Maintenance mode

2. - Deactivate Maintenance mode

  • Settings
  • Battery and device care
  • Maintenance mode
  • Exit
  • Tap Restart to confirm
  • Unlock your device to confirm your identity
  • Your device will now restart in normal mode
Maintenance mode is not activating Maintenance mode is not activating

If you are having problems activating Maintenance mode, it could be due to the multi user mode 

The Users menu allows you to provide different levels of access to other users

Find the Users menu in:

  • Settings
  • Accounts and backup
  • Users

If you are using this feature, you need to select Administrator (Owner) to activate Maintenance mode.

Please visit Samsung Support for further support.

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