Unable to Clear Cache in Galaxy S23 Ultra

[Sammix]

When I follow Samsung's official instructions to clear the cache in my up-to-date Galaxy S23 Ultra, I am brought to an aqua colored screen that says "Downloading ..." and is accompanied by lots of cryptic (to me) technical information, like Carrier, RPMB, CURRENT BINARY, FRP Lock, KG Status, etc.

The VOLUME UP button does nothing and the VOLUME DOWN button just dims the screen. Pressing the side button restarts the phone and I'm back where I started.

I just want to clear the cache - why is it so hard?

[LongHiker]

@Sammix Try this:

1. Turn off your phone
2. Press the volume up and side key until you see the Samsung banner. Then you can let go of both buttons.
3. This should present you with a black screen which has orange text at the top, blue text in the middle and white text at the bottom of the screen. 
4. Use the volume down button to move down until Wipe  cache partition is selected.
5. Press the side key to wipe the cache partition.
6. After it is complete (very fast), the Reboot system now will be highlighted. Click the side key to reboot. 

[Sammix]

1. Press the volume up and side key until you see the Samsung banner. Then you can let go of both buttons.
2. This should present you with a black screen which has orange text at the top, blue text in the middle and white text at the bottom of the screen. 

Afraid not.

Doing this results in a dim, aqua-colored screen that says:

Warning! A custom OS can cause critical problems in phone and installed applications. If you want to download a custom OS, press the volume up key.

Volume up: Continue

Volume  down: Cancel (reset phone)

Side key: Show bar code

-------

I surely don't want to reset my phone, so I pressed the side key, which shows three bar codes and then "Side key: Download Mode"

With no other choice presented, I pressed the side key. That brought me to the aqua-colored screen that I described in my original post.

[LongHiker · Accepted solution]

@userNN0zYFKx8o It sounds like you are holding the volume up AND volume down button down. You only want to hold the volume up button. 

[Sammix]

Ta-DA. I had to hold the Volume Up button by its very most upper edge to make this work, but I succeeded. Thanks.

[Faith7777]

Hi, I noticed on the S24 Ultra before I sent it back that it was missing the repair apps function on the bottom.
Does anyone know why I decided to keep my S23 Ultra? I didn't feel there was much of an upgrade.
PS This is an excellent, detailed step in this process.
I screenshot it because I always have a hard time explaining how to do this step.

[Sarge2]

Yes I had the same issue on only 1 of my 3 S23's after receiving the March 2024 update.
I ended up following the powering off the phone, then held the volume up and power off as usual and received the green screen as well.
I ended up powering off, plugging the phone into a charger and holding the volume up and power on key all at the same time and the recovery screen appeared as normal.
My other S23's did not require the charging step so no explanation as to why this occurred as they were all at 80% charge.

[stratguy]

Your phone must be connected to a computer via USB to access boot menu . Connect to computer then power on the phone holding power and volume up. When Samsung logo appears let go . Boot menu will appear use volume buttons to navigate to clear cache portion then click the power button . I just did my s23ultra and my wife's.

[LongHiker]

@stratguy "Your phone must be connected to a computer via USB to access boot menu ."

Have never had to do this. 

For a tablet, yes there must be a USB connection before you can access that menu. But not for a phone. 

[stratguy]

That's the only way both my s23ultras will access boot menu. No other way. Samsung support told me this and it works every time. I can't access boot menu without doing this. I've tried many times. It's up to you take it or leave it. It works for me instantly.