Just like Windows, Android also comes with a built-in Safe Mode that works almost like the Windows Safe mode. In Safe Mode, the operating system boots up in its original configuration without loading any third-party software. Thus, the operating system should be immune to any bad/corrupt files and you can safely get rid of them.
You can manually enter or exit this Safe Mode easily. There are also cases when Android will detect a problem and enter the Safe Mode automatically. The issue is then how to correct the problem, and boot back into Normal Mode. In this tutorial, we will help you enter or exit Android Safe mode using different methods.
Turn on Android Safe Mode
There are basically two different methods to enter the safe mode manually. You can either access the Safe Mode from the Power Menu (supported by select phones) or hold volume buttons while the phone is booting. When the phone will enter the Safe mode you will be able to see “Safe Mode” written at the bottom of the screen, confirming you are in the Safe Mode.
The phone can also enter the Safe Mode automatically if the operating system gets corrupt or any app prevents it from booting normally. It can be a bit difficult to exit the Safe mode in such situation, but don’t worry, we will show you as well (later in the article).
Method #1: Use Power Menu To Enter the Safe Mode
Press and Hold the “Power Button” for about 2 seconds and the Power Menu will open up. From the Menu, tap and hold “Power Off” until you see a prompt confirming if you would like to enter the Safe Mode or not. Just tap on “OK” and your phone will turn off and reboot in safe mode.
Note: This method will not work on all Android phones, especially old ones. It will generally work for HTC, Huawei, LG and Motorola phones.
Method #2: Enter the safe mode while Booting
Press and Hold the “Power” button for about 2 seconds and from the “Power Menu” tap on “Power off” and confirm the prompt to turn off the phone. You can also Press and Hold the “Power” button for about 5 seconds to turn off the phone directly.
Once the Phone is turned off completely, press and hold the “Power” button again to turn it on. As soon as the screen turns on, press and hold the “Volume Down” button or both Volume Up and Down button (depends on the Manufacturer of your phone). Keep holding the button until your phone turns on completely and you see “Safe Mode” written at the bottom of the screen.
Now, you are in Safe Mode and you can make all the required changes you like. When you are done, just restart the phone and it will boot normally.
Turn Off Android’s Safe Mode
If you have manually turned the Safe Mode on, then simply restarting your phone will get you out of the Safe mode. However, if your device automatically entered the Safe Mode, then it can be a bit difficult to get out as there must be a system error which we must resolve first.
You can go through different methods to get out of the Safe Mode and resolve the issue. They each have some pro and cons. We will guide you through each step to get your phone out of the Safe Mode and resolve any particular error.
Step #1: Turn Off Your Phone “Completely”
When we say “Completely”, we mean literally draining all the power from the Phone. When the phone turns (completely) off, it still has access to power and can keep track of the data such as Date and Time, etc. To get out of Safe Mode, we need to drain all the power from the phone.
Before Turning off the phone, make sure your phone is not connected to a charger or USB data cable that could be powering it. Now, Turn the phone off from the Power menu like we mentioned above.
Once the phone is off completely, remove the back cover and remove both of the Battery and SIM card (if possible). Now, wait at least 20-30 seconds, as there will be still some power left even if the battery is removed.
As the specified time passes, insert both Battery and SIM card and Turn on the phone by holding Power button for few seconds. After going through this process you should be back to the normal mode. If not, then move towards the next step.
Step #2: Uninstall Recently Installed Apps
There is a chance a recently installed an app might be causing the phone to boot in Safe Mode. You need to uninstall all recently installed apps, in most cases, uninstalling last three installed apps is good enough to delete the culprit. However, if you have installed a lot of apps at the same time, then you will need to uninstall all of them, or try rebooting after each uninstall.
The process of uninstallation is same in the Safe Mode like it is in a normal mode. Just go to Settings and tap on Application Manager.
There you will see all the installed apps, tap on the app which you would like to uninstall and from the next page tap on “Uninstall” to uninstall the app.
Do the same with all recently installed apps and when you are done, just restart the phone and you should be out of the Safe Mode.
Step #3: Wipe The Cache Partition
The Cache Partition are temporary files that store data of apps, unlike standard app/browser cache they cannot be deleted from the application manager. These files can sometime get corrupt and force the phone to boot in the Safe mode.
You need to wipe the Cache partition to make sure no corrupt files are causing your phone to boot in the Safe mode. However, the process is completely different from deleting the Cache of an App/browser, you will have to delete it from the “Recovery Mode”.
The process is the same, but the key combination of accessing recovery mode is different from device to device and manufacturer to manufacturer:
You need to turn off the phone and again turn it on by holding the “Power Button”. Once the screen turns on, you will have to press and hold “Power Button”, “Home Button” and “Volume Keys” in different combinations (depending on Device and Manufacturer) and the phone will boot in the Recovery Mode.
Before asking your phone’s manufacturer, you can check the most popular key combinations to enter the Recovery Mode. . If nothing works, contact your phone’s manufacturer and ask for the key combination.
In recovery mode, there will be different options, and you can navigate them by pressing the volume up and down keys and select the option by pressing the “Power Button” (touch screen doesn’t work here).
You will see the option “Wipe Cache Partition” there, just navigate to it and press the “Power” button to wipe the cache partition. When you are done, restart the phone and see if you are out of the Safe Mode or not.
Step #4: Factory Reset Your Device
If you are still stuck, you can try a Factory Reset your phone. This will make your phone software completely fresh (out of the box state), and will delete everything in it (not a secure delete however). However, this is the last resort and is never recommended to be done before trying all other solutions mentioned above.
Note: This will delete all the data in your phone, so make sure you create a backup of all your important data before Factory-resetting your phone.
Just like in normal mode, go to Settings and tap on Backup and Reset.
In there, tap on Factory data reset and from the next page tap on “Reset phone”. Your phone will restart and will take 5-10 minutes to completely the whole Factory Reset process and boot in “Normal mode”.
If for some reason, you cannot access the Factory Reset Settings (Touch screen may not be working) or the phone is not booting at all, then you can also Factory Reset from “Recovery Mode”.
Just enter “Recovery Mode” like we mentioned above and there you will find the option of “Wipe data/ factory reset”. Navigate to this option using the volume keys and press the “Power” button to select it. After that, confirm the prompt and your phone will Factory Reset..
You should be able to get out of Safe Mode with the help of above mentioned steps. If you managed to solve your problem or had any interesting experience, let us know in the comments below.
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