Safe Mode on your Android devices

For those that have had a reason to troubleshoot their computer systems for some software issues, you would agree with me that booting your system to safe mode can solve several pesky software issues on your system.

Are you aware of the same safe mode effect on your Android phone? Well there is.

Safe mode can help you to track down the causes of problems you may be having with your smartphone. Booting your phone into Safe mode ensures that your phone doesn’t run any third-party apps installed on your device. If your smartphone has been suffering battery drain, overheating or otherwise not performing properly — yet it doesn’t exhibit these issues while in Safe mode — then that has narrowed down your search to the fact that one of the apps you just installed is the cause.

Getting out of Safe mode is always the same for every Android phone even though the process for booting into Safe mode can vary a little between different Android devices.

Turning off safe mode on your Android phone, here is what you should do:

  • Press and hold the Power button.
  • Tap the Restart option.

That’s it. A simple restart of your Android device will turn off Safe mode.

Turning on Safe Mode on your Android Device:

If you use any Android smartphone or tablet running on Android 6.0 or later or a Google Pixel 2, a Samsung Galaxy S9, or any other Android smartphone or tablet, just follow the steps below to turn on Safe mode:

  • Press and hold the Power button.
  • Tap and hold Power off.
  • When the Reboot to safe mode prompt appears, tap OK.
  • Your device will then restart, and it will say “Safe mode” in the bottom-left corner.

This method also works on phones like LG, HTC, Sony, and many other Android phones.

You can also turn on Safe mode with the keys, here is how:

  • Press and hold the Power button and select Power off to turn your device off.
  • Press and hold the Power button, until you see the animated Samsung or HTC logo appear.
  • Release the Power button, and press and hold the Volume down button.
  • Keep holding it until your device boots up.
  • You can let go when you see the words “Safe mode” in the bottom-left corner.

This method works for most Android phones and tablets: Samsung Galaxy S8, an HTC U12 Plus, or any other Android smartphone or tablet.

What can you do in Safe mode?

You can uninstall unwanted or bad apps and use your phone’s core functions while in Safe mode. If your phone is malfunctioning in normal mode and you found out your issue is gone in Safe mode, then you can either uninstall apps one by one and test in normal mode again to try and identify the problem app, or you can restore your device to factory settings and selectively install apps and games, making sure to watch out for a recurrence of any problem after each installation.

If your device continues to crash, overheat, or otherwise perform poorly in Safe mode, then it might be an operating system problem or a hardware issue. Try a factory reset and if that doesn’t resolve things, contact your retailer, carrier or phone manufacturer and find out about a replacement or repair.

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