If your Android phone is running slow, freezing, or outright crashing, you can diagnose the root cause by putting it in Safe Mode. When you boot Android phones in Safe Mode, it disables third-party apps and various useful Android widgets. If your device works normally in Safe Mode, that means a third-party app is the culprit.
And while the feature may come in handy when diagnosing issues on your phone or tablet, it also can make most of your third-party apps useless if you accidentally enable it. If you’re new to Android or are wondering why many of your favorite apps suddenly stopped working, follow along for a quick tutorial on how to turn of Android’s Safe Mode.
3 ways to turn off Android’s Safe Mode feature
If you accidentally enabled Safe Mode on your phone or tablet, there’s no need to panic. You might not see your apps and data, but everything is safe. Everything will return to the way it was once you disable Safe Mode by using one of these methods. t
Turn off Safe Mode by restarting your phone or tablet
The easiest way to turn off the Safe Mode on your Android smartphone is to restart your device.
- For Samsung and Google Pixel 5a and earlier devices, press and hold the Power button until you see the power options.
- If you have a OnePlus phone or a Google Pixel 6 and newer device, press and hold the Power and Volume up buttons for a few seconds.
- Tap the Restart button to restart your phone.
If you don’t see a Restart button, press and hold the Power button (or Power and Volume up) for about 30 seconds, and your phone automatically restarts.
Use the Android Notification Panel to turn off Safe Mode
As Android is customizable by nature, Android smartphone OEMs like Samsung deliver a different experience than stock Android. While you may not like all their choices, some are handy. For example, the best Samsung smartphones let you turn off Safe Mode using the notification panel.
- Pull down the notification panel.
- If your Android device supports this feature, you’ll see a persistent notification showing that safe mode is enabled on your device.
- Tap the notification and choose the Turn off option.
Extreme option: Disable Safe Mode with a factory reset
If the above two methods didn’t work, it might mean that some weird error is forcing your Android device into Safe Mode. In such cases, there’s no other way than to nuke and pave your Android device. That means you have to factory reset your Android device to bring it back to its factory setting. However, before going through with it, know that it’s a drastic method that deletes all the data on your Android device. To ensure that you never have to worry about your data, keep a backup of your Android device.
We provided a step-by-step guide for resetting a Pixel phone. The steps to reset any Android phone are almost the same, with the main difference being the names of some of the Settings menus. For example, on OnePlus phones, “Reset options” is dubbed as “Backup and reset.” For clear instructions on resetting Samsung and OnePlus devices, read our article on how to factory reset Android devices.
- Launch the Settings app on your phone and open System.
- Tap Reset options and choose the Erase all data (factory reset) option.
- When prompted, tap the Erase all data button and confirm with your password, pattern, or PIN.
How to use Safe Mode to troubleshoot your Android
If you didn’t boot your Android device in Safe Mode by accident, chances are you want to troubleshoot some errors.
To find any pesky problems, you’ll want to see if your phone works in Safe Mode. If it works, it means a third-party app is the culprit. If a third-party app is responsible, you can start weeding out the exact app. It will be a hit-and-trial method and can take a long time, so be patient.
First, make a list of the apps you recently downloaded. In Safe Mode, delete an app’s cache and storage, and restart your phone to turn off Safe Mode. To delete cache and storage, go to Settings > Apps, choose an app, and tap Storage & data.
If the issues are fixed, the app was responsible for the errors. You should delete and reinstall the app. However, if the issues persist, repeat the steps with the other apps until you find the culprit app. Once you find and uninstall the bad app, reinstall the other apps on your phone.
Deleting app storage removes user data for that app. It means you will have to set up the app again.
More options to troubleshoot your Android phone
Safe Mode is an excellent feature that can help you troubleshoot problems on your Android devices. Also, it’s easy to get out of Safe Mode on your Android device without losing any data.
