How to Turn Off Safe Mode on Your Phone and Keep It from Coming Back
updated 11 July 2026
Quick answer
The simplest way to turn off safe mode is to restart your phone: hold the power button and choose Restart. After the reboot, Android starts normally. If safe mode comes back after every boot, the culprit is a stuck volume button or a faulty app you need to uninstall.
Step by step
- 1
Restart your phone
Hold the power button for a few seconds and choose Restart from the menu. A regular shutdown followed by powering back on works just as well. On some models, there's no restart option, so you have to turn the phone off first, wait a few seconds, and switch it back on with the power button. On most phones, that's all you need to exit safe mode.
- 2
Use the notification shade
Many manufacturers show a notification in the shade saying that safe mode is on. Pull down the shade at the top of the screen and tap that notification. The phone will offer to exit the mode and restart on its own.
- 3
Keep the buttons untouched during startup
Safe mode most often kicks in when the volume down button is held while the phone boots. Turn the phone off, wait a moment, and switch it on without touching the volume buttons. Also check that no button is getting stuck in the case.
- 4
If the mode comes back, remove the latest app
If the phone lands back in safe mode after a restart, one of your recently installed apps is probably breaking it. While staying in safe mode, go to Settings → Apps and uninstall the one you added right before the problem appeared. Then restart the phone.
- 5
Last resort: back up your data and reset
When nothing helps, back up your photos and contacts first, and only then consider a factory reset from the Settings → System menu. A reset fixes software damage but wipes all your data. Treat it as the final step, not the first reflex.
What safe mode is and where it comes from
Safe mode on Android starts the system with only the built-in apps, and every program you installed yourself gets disabled. You'll recognize it by the Safe mode label in the corner of the screen and by some icons disappearing. It's a tool for diagnosing problems, not a phone malfunction.
The phone enters this mode in two ways: deliberately, when you hold the right button during startup, or on its own, when the system detects that some app is causing constant freezes and restarts. That's why simply exiting isn't always enough - if the problem lies in an app, the mode will return after a reboot. Calls and texts work normally in safe mode, so the phone stays usable while you hunt for the guilty app.
Airplane mode and incognito mode are something else
Airplane mode cuts connectivity: the mobile network, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. Turn it off by pulling down the quick settings at the top of the screen and tapping the airplane icon so it goes dark. After a moment, the phone logs back into your carrier's network on its own.
Incognito mode, in turn, is a private browser window, not a setting for the whole phone. To close it, open the tab view in your browser and close all the incognito tabs. Pages opened this way don't save history, but they don't hide you from your carrier or the network administrator.
When the phone refuses to leave safe mode
Sometimes a phone stubbornly returns to safe mode despite several restarts. The most common cause is a physically pressed volume button: check whether it's being blocked by a too-tight case, crumbs, or a damaged key. Take the case off, clean around the buttons, and try booting without it before you go after the apps.
If the hardware is fine, an app is to blame. Going back into safe mode each time, uninstall the programs added just before the problem first appeared, starting with the ones from outside the Play Store. If that doesn't help and the phone is under warranty, drop the experiments and take it to a service center instead of forcing a factory reset.
Frequently asked questions
›How do I turn off safe mode if a restart doesn't help?
Stay in safe mode and uninstall the most recently added app via Settings → Apps, then restart the phone. If that doesn't work, check whether a volume button is getting stuck in the case and forcing the phone to boot into this mode.
›Does safe mode delete my data?
No. Safe mode only temporarily disables installed apps, while photos, contacts, and files stay untouched. Some app icons disappear while it's active, but they come back after a normal restart.
›How do I turn off airplane mode on my phone?
Pull down the quick settings at the top of the screen and tap the airplane icon so it stops glowing. You'll find the same toggle in Settings, in the section covering networks and connections.
›How do I turn off incognito mode on my phone?
Open your browser, go to the open tabs view, and close all the incognito tabs. Once the last one is closed, the browser returns to normal mode with history saving.
›Why does my phone enter safe mode on its own?
Most often because some app is causing freezes, or because the volume down button is pressed during startup. Remove the suspicious app, take off the case, check that no key is sticking, and then restart the phone.