How do I turn off safe mode on Android?
Restart the phone normally and it leaves safe mode. Open the power menu, tap Restart, and wait for it to start up. On Samsung, you can also swipe down from the top and tap the Safe mode is on notification, then Turn off. If it keeps coming back, check that the Volume down button is not stuck.
Steps to check
Know what safe mode is
Safe mode is a troubleshooting mode. You will see the words Safe mode at the bottom of the screen. While it is on, the apps you downloaded are turned off for now, so only the phone's built-in apps run, and some Home screen widgets disappear. Your downloaded apps are not deleted. They come back after a normal restart.
Restart the phone normally
Open the power menu and tap Restart. When the phone starts back up, the Safe mode label should be gone. On Motorola, press and hold the Power and Volume up buttons at the same time to open the power menu on many models, then restart.
- Samsung Press and hold the Side button and Volume down together until the power menu appears, then tap Restart. Or swipe down from the top right and tap the Power icon.
- Pixel Pixel 6 and later: press and hold Power and Volume up for a few seconds, then tap Restart. Pixel 5a and earlier: press and hold Power for about 30 seconds, or until the phone restarts.
On Samsung, use the Safe mode notification
Swipe down from the top of the screen. Tap the notification that says Safe mode is on, then tap Turn off. The phone restarts normally.
If a restart does not work, turn it fully off
Open the power menu and tap Power off instead of Restart. Wait until the phone is completely off. Then press the Power (Side) button again to turn it on. This is the exit method in Samsung's troubleshooting guide.
If safe mode keeps coming back, check the Volume down button
On Pixel and Samsung phones, holding Volume down while the phone starts up is one of the ways to turn safe mode on. So a Volume down button that is stuck, damaged, or pressed by a tight case may send the phone into safe mode every time. Take the case off, press the volume buttons a few times so they click freely, then restart. If a button is broken, contact your phone maker or a repair service. The official way out is a normal restart, not an app.
After you leave safe mode
Put back any Home screen widgets that disappeared. On Samsung, some customizations such as wallpaper or theme may reset to the default. On Pixel, airplane mode turns on automatically in safe mode, so if calls or Wi-Fi do not work afterward, check that airplane mode is off. If you used safe mode to find a problem app and the problem went away in safe mode, remove recently downloaded apps one at a time and restart after each, as Google suggests.
Normal vs. not
Usually normal
Safe mode turning on after you held Volume down during startup or touched and held Power off by accident, and going away after one normal restart.
Worth a closer look
The phone starting in safe mode every time even with the case off and the buttons working. Contact your phone maker's support, since a hardware or software fault may need a closer look.
What people are saying
is there software to force it to ignore the issue and just boot normally?
Redditor u/OrchidSea379 said on r/AndroidQuestions. Read the thread
Common questions
- Did safe mode delete my apps?
- No. Safe mode only turns off downloaded apps for the time being. Restart normally and they come back.
- How did my phone get into safe mode?
- Usually by accident. Touching and holding Power off in the power menu offers safe mode, and holding Volume down while the phone starts up turns it on. Either can happen without meaning to.
Related questions
Sources we checked
- Find problem apps by rebooting to safe mode (Pixel Phone Help (Google))
- Find problem apps by rebooting to safe mode on Android (Android Help (Google))
- Power on your Galaxy phone or tablet in Safe mode (Samsung)
- Samsung Galaxy device will not start or is in a boot loop (Samsung)
- Safe mode (Motorola Support)
Menu names can differ by phone brand and Android version. See our editorial policy for how we check steps.