The kernel provides the connection between software and hardware. It is the essential center of an OS, and it stays in a device’s RAM. If it gets corrupted, you’ll see an “invalid kernel length” error, which raises the question, “what does invalid kernel length mean?”
An invalid kernel length error on your mobile means that your OS is corrupted. Something has tipped the OS, and now the kernel doesn’t contain all the important stuff that it should.
Basically, the kernel controls everything as it helps with file management, networking, memory, and process management. So, seeing such an error also means that you cannot use your device.
What Is “Invalid Kernel Length”?
An invalid kernel length error occurs when your device’s memory is corrupted. Each smartphone has RAM (Random Access Memory) and storage memory.
Users can only access the storage memory by default and make changes by copy-pasting, deleting, etc. However, if an app or your device tries to make changes in the RAM, such an error occurs.
The Random Access Memory contains the OS, and by default, you cannot make changes to it. While on most forums, you’ll find that Samsung devices face this problem, it can happen in any other Android device.
The most common reason to get this error is if your device suddenly shuts down and you can’t get to save your data. When you turn on the device, you’ll see this error on the boot screen.
Since your OS and your data were moving between the hardware, a sudden shutdown corrupted them. That damaged data messes with the kernel, corrupting it too.
What Happens When You See “Invalid Kernel Length”?
Seeing this error is not a big problem as you can solve it and get the device running again. However, you’ll lose all your data if you haven’t made a backup somewhere else.
Until you solve this error, you can’t access your device by any means. If you are lucky and have a rooted device with a custom recovery, you can access all your storage.
You can connect your device to a PC and copy the data in recovery mode. Although, you can only recover the data available inside the device before shutting down.
How to Fix Invalid Kernel Length
If you are okay with losing your data but want the device back in working condition, the fixes are easy to apply. You’ll need to get the stock firmware and install it on your device.
Samsung has a different method, while the rest of Android devices have a different method. We’ll share with you both these methods, and you’ll get your device back in no time.
Fix Invalid Kernel Length in Samsung Devices
Samsung allows its users to flash stock ROMs quickly via Odin. Odin is a tool with an easy-to-use interface that helps you flash stock firmware and mods with simple clicks. There are a couple of things you need before you start using Odin.
First, you’ll need to download Odin from its official website. Then download the corresponding firmware to your device and ensure it is the latest version.
The latest firmware contains all the fixes, and it is the most optimized one for your device. After downloading these two files, follow the steps below to install them.
- Extract the firmware file since it downloads in a zip format. Depending on your device, you’ll get four to five different files or one big file.
- Boot your device in download mode. You need to press and hold the volume down key and Home button simultaneously and press the power button.
- Connect your device to the PC using a USB cable, and make sure that you get a blue light in Odin to confirm the connection.
- Odin has five buttons; BL, AP, CP, CSC, and UMS, our concern here is with the first few buttons. The firmware you extracted has four files in it. Check their names and find that each file matches one button in Odin.
- Click on each button and add the corresponding file. The AP file will take the most time since it is the biggest.
- After adding all the files, click the Start button. You’ll see the Pass message on Odin, and your device will automatically restart.
Don’t touch your device yet; let it take time to boot so you won’t mess up again. It might take five to ten minutes for the first boot to finish. Your device will boot up to the home screen if everything goes alright.
Fix Invalid Kernel Length in Other Android Devices
Odin is exclusively available for Samsung devices. You need to follow a different pattern for other Android devices. It requires some basic CMD commands, a firmware file, and fastboot/Android SDK files.
You also need to unlock your device’s bootloader. All these files are readily available over the internet; download the latest versions and follow the steps below.
- Download and install fastboot files on your PC.
- Download and extract the firmware file inside the fastboot folder.
- You can choose to flash the entire firmware or just the kernel file. Unlike Samsung, stock Android firmware has a separate kernel file. You can check it inside the firmware folder.
- Connect your device to your PC, open CMD on your PC, and type the following command: adb reboot bootloader
- Select fastboot and execute the following command in bootloader mode: fastboot flash kernel XXXX (replace XXX with the kernel filename).
- If you want to flash the entire ROM, flash all the files. If there is a flash-all.bat file inside the firmware folder, just double-click it, and it will do everything automatically.
If the flashing process goes without any error, your device will boot up, giving you access to the home screen.
Conclusion
If you ever experience this error, and the question arises in your mind, what does invalid kernel length mean? We thoroughly explained it in this article and all the possible fixes. Make sure not to use your device while charging to avoid this error.