Boot Modes Reference Guide

The Qin F21 Pro supports several special boot modes for system maintenance, firmware flashing, and device recovery. This guide provides the button combinations needed to access each mode.

Critical: Device must be completely powered off before entering any boot mode. Hold power button for 10+ seconds if needed to force shutdown.

Button Reference

  • Power Button - Right side of device

  • Owl/Heart Button - Heart-shaped button, left side below screen

  • Star (*) - Keypad, lower left

  • Back Button - Top right of device (alternatively, keys 4+7 pressed simultaneously produce the same keycode)

  • Joystick Up - Center navigation pad, press upward

Recovery Mode

Used for: Factory resets, accessing TWRP, entering fastboot/fastbootd modes

Button Combination Method

  1. Power off device

  2. Hold: Star (*) + Owl/Heart + Power

  3. When Duoqin logo appears, release Power only

  4. Continue holding Star + Owl/Heart until “No command” screen appears

  5. Press: Joystick Up + Power (may require multiple attempts)

ADB Method (requires USB debugging enabled)

adb reboot recovery

Then press Joystick Up + Power when “No command” appears.

Navigation: Joystick to move, Power to select

Fastboot Mode

Used for: Bootloader unlocking, flashing boot/recovery images

ADB Method

adb reboot bootloader

Display: Black screen showing “=> FASTBOOT mode”

Exit: Hold Power for 10 seconds or use:

fastboot reboot

Fastbootd Mode

Used for: Flashing super partition, dynamic partition operations, GSI ROMs

Through Recovery

  1. Enter Recovery Mode

  2. Select “Enter fastboot”

From Fastboot

fastboot reboot fastboot

ADB Method

adb reboot fastboot

Display: Menu with reboot options

Preloader Mode

Used for: MTKClient/SP Flash Tool operations, complete ROM backups

Connection Method

  1. Power off device completely

  2. Start MTKClient or SP Flash Tool on computer

  3. Connect USB cable without pressing any buttons

  4. Tool will detect “Preloader” with MT6761 chipset info

Display: None (screen remains off; detected by computer only)

Troubleshooting:

  • Ensure device is fully powered off

  • Try different USB cable/port

  • Verify tool is running before connecting

BROM Mode

Used for: Emergency recovery, hardware-level access when preloader fails

Button Combination Method

  1. Power off device

  2. Start MTKClient or SP Flash Tool

  3. Hold: Owl/Heart + Back

  4. While holding, connect USB cable

  5. Hold until tool detects “BROM mode”

Display: None (screen remains off; detected by computer only)

Quick Reference

Mode

Access Method

Display

Recovery

* + Owl/Heart + Power → (release Power at logo) → Up + Power

Android robot + menu

Fastboot

Recovery menu: “Reboot to bootloader”

“=> FASTBOOT mode”

Fastbootd

Recovery menu: “Enter fastboot”

Menu with options

Preloader

Connect USB without buttons (device off)

None (computer detection)

BROM

Owl/Heart + Back + connect USB

None (computer detection)

Troubleshooting

Device won’t enter mode:

  • Verify device is completely powered off

  • For recovery: Try Up + Power combination multiple times

  • For preloader/BROM: Ensure tool is running before connecting USB

Computer won’t detect:

  • Install MediaTek USB drivers (preloader/BROM)

  • Try different USB cable and port (USB 2.0 preferred)

  • Verify detection (fastboot mode):

    fastboot devices

Stuck in boot mode:

  • Hold Power button 10+ seconds to force restart

  • From fastboot:

    fastboot reboot

  • Last resort: Drain battery, recharge, restart