How to Turn Off Safe Mode on Android

If you look at the bottom-left corner of your Android phone screen and see a translucent watermark that says “Safe mode,” your phone is currently operating in a diagnostic state. Safe Mode completely disables all third-party apps you have downloaded from the Google Play Store (like WhatsApp, Spotify, or custom launchers) and only allows the core Google system apps to run.

Safe Mode is an incredibly useful tool for diagnosing whether a newly installed app is causing your phone to crash or drain battery. However, once you are done troubleshooting, you need your apps back. Getting out of Safe Mode is usually incredibly simple, but occasionally a phone will get “stuck” in this state.

Method 1: The Standard Restart (The Normal Way)

99% of the time, Safe Mode is a temporary state. The Android operating system is designed to automatically boot back into normal mode upon the next restart.

1. Press and hold the physical Power button on the side of your phone for a few seconds. (On newer Samsung phones, you may need to swipe down from the top of the screen to open the notification shade and tap the virtual Power icon).
2. A menu will pop up on your screen.
3. Tap the button labeled Restart.
4. The phone will power down and boot back up.

When the lock screen appears, the “Safe mode” watermark should be gone, and all your downloaded apps will be restored to your home screen.

Method 2: The Notification Panel Shortcut

Some Android manufacturers (particularly Samsung) provide a dedicated shortcut in the notification tray to exit the diagnostic state, saving you from having to hold the power button.

1. Swipe down from the absolute top edge of your screen to open the notification shade.
2. Look for a persistent notification that says “Safe mode is on” or “Tap here to turn off Safe mode.”
3. Tap that notification.
4. A confirmation pop-up will ask if you want to turn off Safe Mode. Tap Turn Off.
5. The phone will immediately reboot itself into normal mode.

Method 3: How to Fix a Phone Stuck in Safe Mode

If you have restarted your phone three times and it absolutely refuses to exit Safe Mode, it is not a software glitch. It is almost always a physical hardware problem.

To enter Safe Mode in the first place, a user must hold down the physical Volume Down button while the phone is booting up. If your phone is stuck in Safe Mode, your Volume Down button is physically jammed.

1. Remove your phone case. A tight, poorly fitting, or damaged rubber phone case is the number one cause of a jammed volume button. Take the case completely off.
2. Check for debris. Look closely at the Volume Down button. Is it sticky? Is there lint or grit jammed in the crevice? Use a soft toothbrush or a Q-tip with a tiny drop of rubbing alcohol to clean around the button.
3. Press the button repeatedly. Firmly press the Volume Down button 15 or 20 times rapidly. You want to feel it “click” and pop back out freely. You are trying to dislodge the internal spring mechanism.
4. Once you are confident the button is no longer physically depressed, restart the phone again.

Method 4: Uninstall the Rogue App

If the buttons are working perfectly and the phone still boots into Safe Mode, the Android operating system might be intentionally locking itself down because a specific third-party app is catastrophically crashing the system on boot.

While in Safe Mode (where the rogue app is blocked from running), you must hunt it down and delete it.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap on Apps (or “Apps & notifications”).
3. Tap See all apps.
4. Scroll through the list and find the most recent app you installed right before the phone started acting strangely. (System optimizers, sketchy battery savers, and extreme customization apps are usually the culprits).
5. Tap the app and select Uninstall.
6. Restart the phone.