How to Get Your Android Phone Out of Safe Mode

Is your android cell phone stuck in Safe Mode? Wondering how to turn Safe Mode off? Then here is the solution.

Understanding Safe Mode

Before we begin, if you’re unfamiliar with this feature but would like to know what Safe Mode is and the powerful uses that it can have then you might find Using Safe Mode on an Android smartphone very informative. If however you would simply like to know how to get your phone out of Safe Mode then this article will let you know how to do it. 

The standard method used to disable Safe Mode

Typically it is extremely simple to turn off the Safe Mode feature on an Android. All you have to do is restart your cell phone.

Once it boots up again your phone should no longer be in Safe Mode and you can use it to its full potential. So go ahead and restart your phone (if you haven’t already done so) and see if it will reboot normally. If so then enjoy your smartphone and don’t forget to push the Facebook Like or Google + buttons at the bottom of this article.

If you restart your phone and it doesn’t start up normally but automatically boots into Safe Mode and your phone seems to be stuck in Safe Mode then I suggest proceeding with the suggestions listed below for some common causes and best of all some common solutions that can often get your android cell phone up and running properly again.

Stuck in Safe Mode

If you have already tried restarting your cell phone, powering the phone off and on and even removing the battery and your Android smartphone is stuck in safe mode then here is the most likely reason.

One of the keys is malfunctioning

If you turn on your phone without trying to activate Safe Mode and it seems to boot into safe mode no matter what you do then chances are one of the physical keys on your phone is defective or malfunctioning and is stuck in the pressed down position. When you go to turn on your phone your phone believes that you are trying to activate safe mode and does exactly what it thinks you are telling it to do.

So for example, if you have a Samsung Galaxy S 5 then to access the Safe Mode feature you would turn the phone off, push the power button to turn the phone back on and then immediately press and hold the Volume Down key until the phone booted up into safe mode.

If the Volume Down button on a Samsung Galaxy S5 was defective or malfunctioning though, and the phone thought that the Volume Down key was being pressed (even though you yourself were not holding or pressing it down) then after turning on the phone it would think that you just pressed the power and Volume Down buttons and would boot itself into Safe Mode because that’s exactly what it is programmed to do.

So, check your buttons and press them in a few times to make sure that they are not sticking or in the pressed in position. If you are using a protective case also check to make sure your case isn’t pressing or applying unwanted pressure to any keys. I would go as far as to suggest that you try re-booting your phone without its protective case just to make sure it isn’t a case that is causing problems.

Damage

This goes hand-in-hand with the malfunctioning key. If your cell phone has physical or liquid damage then it can certainly affect how your smartphone operates and whether or not it does so properly. If your cell phone does not have any signs of physical damage and no signs of liquid damage (don’t forget to check for any activated Liquid Damage Indicators) then I suggest looking into your warranty options.

You can TRY to perform a backup and reset as well just as a final precaution to try and rule out a software issue but it would mostly just be for good measure as this problem is usually hardware related.

Warranty, Replacement, and Repair

If you have tried the advice listed above and everything else that you can think of and simply cannot seem to get your cell phone out of safe mode then at this point you might want to consider your repair or replacement options which includes filing a warranty claim and possibly these other options.

If your phone is no longer covered under the manufactures warranty for whatever reason being out of warranty by date (over a year old) or damaged and you are looking for any possible option that will allow you to take your phone out of safe mode then you can try the advice below.

Additional advice to consider

If you are looking for a more unusual yet very possible solution to this problem and have run out of other options then consider removing the malfunctioning key from the phone entirely. A little more of an unorthodox suggestion I know but if the key is malfunction then removing it completely should prevent it from pressing itself in and allow the phone to boot up properly.

So if you had the Samsung Galaxy S 5 (as mentioned above) you could remove the volume down button and then try rebooting the phone. By removing the key you will also be able to check to see if any dirt or grime has built up under the key preventing it from working properly and of course be in a better position to clean it.

If removing the key fixes it then you can reinsert the key and see if briefly removing it was able to resolve the problem. You can also consider giving that area of your phone a quick cleaning. If you use a liquid to help clean it then don’t forget to power the phone off first and I suggest that you use 99% isopropyl alcohol as it’s a none conductive liquid and shouldn’t cause any electrical problems such as an electrical short. But I digress.

I have seen a few cases where removing the key from the phone, albeit a last resort, can fix this issue on a cell phone and get it out of Safe Mode. So I thought I would mention it, again, as a last resort.

Important Disclaimer: Remember that this is a LAST RESORT and if your phone is still covered under the manufactures warranty then physically removing a piece such as a volume key from the phone would be considered tampering or physical damage by the manufacture and it will void the warranty.