How to Turn Off Safe Mode on Android (Pixel, Samsung and Other Phones)

To turn off safe mode on Android, restart the phone. On a Pixel 6 or later, press and hold Power and Volume up for a few seconds, then tap Restart. On a Samsung Galaxy, restart the phone or swipe down and tap the “Safe mode is on” notification, then Turn off.

Your phone restarted with the words Safe mode in the corner, and half your apps have vanished from the home screen. They aren’t gone. Safe mode only switches them off until the next normal restart.

How to Tell Your Phone Is in Safe Mode

Safe mode starts Android with the apps you downloaded turned off. Only the software that came with the phone runs, which makes it a test: if a problem disappears in safe mode, one of your apps is the likely cause.

Signs that you’re in it:

• The words Safe mode sit at the bottom of the screen on a Pixel, or in the bottom left corner on a Samsung Galaxy.
• Apps you installed are turned off, so they may be missing or won’t open, and some home screen widgets are gone.
• On a Pixel, Airplane mode is on, because Google’s phones switch it on automatically when they enter safe mode.

Phones don’t usually land here at random. There are two documented ways in: touching and holding Power off (or Restart on newer Pixels) in the power menu and tapping OK, or holding Volume down while the phone starts up. A long press in the power menu or a squeezed volume button is easy to do by accident, which explains most surprise visits.

Turn Off Safe Mode on a Google Pixel

Google splits the exit steps by model in its Pixel safe mode help page.

Pixel 6 and Later (Including Pixel Fold)

1. Press and hold the Power button and the Volume up button together for a few seconds.
2. On the power menu, tap Restart.
3. Wait for the phone to start up. The Safe mode label should be gone and your apps back.

Pixel 5a and Earlier

1. Press and hold the Power button for about 30 seconds, or until the phone restarts.
2. Let go and wait for the phone to finish starting.

Google’s Pixel instructions don’t mention a “Safe mode is on” notification, so restarting is the documented way out.

Turn Off Safe Mode on a Samsung Galaxy

Samsung’s Galaxy safe mode support page gives two exits. Either one works, and your screens may look slightly different depending on carrier, software version and model.

Restart the Phone

1. Press and hold the Side button and the Volume down button together until the power menu appears. You can also swipe down from the top right of the screen to open Quick Settings and tap the Power icon.
2. Tap Restart, then tap Restart again if asked to confirm.
3. When the phone starts, check the bottom left corner. No Safe mode label means you’re out.

Use the Safe Mode Notification

1. Swipe down from the top of the screen to open the notification panel.
2. Tap the Safe mode is on notification.
3. Tap Turn off. The phone restarts normally.

If the screen won’t respond to either method, many Galaxy phones can be forced to restart by holding Volume down and Power together for at least 5 seconds, according to an older Samsung support page.

Turn Off Safe Mode on Other Android Phones

Motorola, OnePlus and other makers each handle buttons a little differently, and Google’s own Android troubleshooting page notes that safe mode steps vary by phone. A normal restart is still the exit on any Android phone. Try these in order:

1. Press and hold the Power button until the power menu appears, then tap Restart. If nothing appears, your phone may use a button combination for the power menu; check your phone maker’s support site.
2. If the button doesn’t bring up the menu, swipe down to Quick Settings and look for a power icon, which may open the same menu.
3. If there’s no Restart option, choose Power off, wait a few seconds, then press and hold Power to turn the phone back on. Keep your fingers off the volume buttons while it starts.
4. If nothing responds, on many phones holding Power for a long time forces a restart. If yours doesn’t, check your phone maker’s support site for its force restart buttons.

For more ways to restart by brand, including a frozen screen, see how to restart an Android phone.

If Your Phone Keeps Restarting in Safe Mode

Since holding Volume down during startup is one of the ways into safe mode on both Pixel and Samsung phones, a button that stays pressed may be the cause, so it’s worth ruling out first. Work through these:

1. Take off the case. Google suggests removing accessories while you troubleshoot and making sure they don’t touch the phone’s buttons. A tight case may hold Volume down while the phone boots.
2. Unplug accessories. Disconnect chargers, cables and docks, then restart.
3. Test the volume buttons. Press Volume up and Volume down a few times. Each should click and spring back. If one feels mushy or stuck, it may be registering as held down.
4. Restart without touching anything. Start the restart, then set the phone on a table until it’s fully on.
5. Get the button checked. If the phone still opens in safe mode with no case and no hands on it, the button itself may be faulty. Contact the phone maker or your carrier about a repair.

For example, a Galaxy in a thick rugged case might keep waking up in safe mode. If it restarts normally twice in a row out of the case, the case’s volume cover was likely pressing Volume down during startup.

Find the App That Caused the Problem

Maybe you entered safe mode on purpose because the phone kept crashing, or a pop-up ad wouldn’t stop. Before you leave, notice whether the problem is gone. If it is, a downloaded app is the likely cause, and Google suggests finding it like this:

1. Restart normally to leave safe mode.
2. Remove the most recently downloaded app.
3. Restart the phone normally and see whether the problem is fixed.
4. If not, remove the next most recent app and repeat, one app at a time.
5. Once the problem stops, reinstall the other apps you removed. Leave the last one off, since reinstalling it can bring the problem back.

Samsung suggests starting with apps that were updated or installed around the time the problem began, and looking for apps with blank names, random characters, or names you don’t recognize. Google adds a useful habit: keep a list of the apps you find yourself force stopping, since those are good suspects.

For the removal itself, uninstalling apps on Android covers the Play Store, Settings and Samsung routes. If you’d rather keep an app and only reset its temporary files first, try clearing the app’s cache in Settings > Apps, then test again.

Still crashing after the apps are sorted? Check for a system update in Settings > System > Software update (the wording varies by phone). A factory reset is the last resort for a phone that keeps crashing or restarting, not a way to exit safe mode. It erases everything, so back up first and read how to factory reset an Android phone before you start.

What Changes After You Leave Safe Mode

What to check	Phone	What to do
Airplane mode	Pixel	Safe mode turns it on. If Wi-Fi, calls or GPS don’t work afterward, swipe down and turn Airplane mode off.
Home screen widgets	Pixel	Safe mode removes some widgets. On most phones you add them back by touching and holding an empty spot on the home screen and choosing Widgets.
Wallpaper and theme	Samsung	Some customizations, such as wallpapers and themes, may reset to defaults. Set them again in Settings.
Your apps and data	All	Apps return after a normal restart. Neither Google’s nor Samsung’s safe mode pages list any data loss from leaving safe mode.

Google suggests taking a screenshot of your home screen before you enter safe mode on purpose, so you can rebuild the widget layout afterward.

Safe Mode Questions

Can I make calls and send texts in safe mode?

On a Pixel, only after you turn Airplane mode off, since safe mode switches it on. An older Samsung support page says calls and messages still work in safe mode on Galaxy phones. Either way, third-party texting or calling apps won’t open until you restart normally.

Is safe mode a sign of a virus?

Not by itself. Safe mode is a diagnostic mode started from the power menu or a held volume button. Samsung describes it as a way to check whether a third-party app is causing problems. If a harmful app is making the phone misbehave, though, safe mode is a good place to confirm it, because downloaded apps can’t run there.

How do I get out if my power button is broken?

On a Samsung Galaxy, use the “Safe mode is on” notification and tap Turn off, or tap the Power icon in Quick Settings and choose Restart. On other phones, look for a power icon in Quick Settings that may open the power menu. If there’s no software route, the phone maker or your carrier can repair the button.

Can I turn off safe mode permanently?

Google’s and Samsung’s help pages don’t describe any setting that disables it. Safe mode only starts when someone chooses it from the power menu or a volume button is held at startup, so keeping the buttons free is the real fix.

Once the label is gone, give the phone a day of normal use. If it starts crashing again, go back to the one-app-at-a-time test above.