Credit: Lucas Gouveia / Android Police | Elvard project / Shutterstock
By
Conor Cawley
Published 19 minutes ago
Conor has been staunchly in favor of Android since graduating to a smartphone from his hot pink Motorola RAZR. In fact, he'll gladly ruin a friendly dinner in service of lambasting Apple devices to those that use them, which he admits is one of his worst personality traits. After being talked out of sports writing by someone working for ESPN Chicago ("it's the same thing every year, it's like purgatory"), Conor decided that the ever-evolving world of tech would be a much more interesting topic to focus on. Now, more than half a decade later, he covers everything from new devices and big conferences to small startups and business trends. In addition to freelancing for Android Police, Conor is the Lead Writer for Tech.co, a tech publication focused on helping small businesses grow and succeed. He's worked with the likes of Forbes, WeWork, General Assembly, Chase Bank, Tech in Motion, and SXSW, among others, through Tech.co in service of making tech a bit more accessible. Conor also can't properly pronounce the word "colloquially," but honestly, who can?
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The only thing worse than a malfunctioning smartphone is not understanding why.
Whether it be small glitches, annoying boot loops, or a full-on crash, the frustration of trial and error can be too much for some users to endure.
That's where Safe Mode comes in handy. When used correctly, it allows you to more effectively identify problems with your device, so you can save a bit of money on repairs or, heaven forbid, a new phone.
The process isn't terribly complicated, but you won't be able to enter Safe Mode without at least a bit of guidance.
That's why we've put together a helpful guide that explains what Safe Mode actually is, walks you through the steps required on the Google Pixel 10 to enter it, and, more importantly, how to exit when you're done.
Read our review
The Google Pixel 10 is the Android you buy when you’re sick of using an iPhone
The entry-level Pixel delivers value
Posts 4 By Stephen Radochia Aug 27, 2025What is Safe Mode?
The most basic version of your phone
Safe Mode is a type of mode on your smartphone or other mobile device that is designed for diagnostics.
It launches the device with only the most basic, rudimentary systems in place, getting rid of third-party apps, drivers, and certain settings that may impact performance.
More specifically, the goal of Safe Mode is to find problems by removing some of the services that could be causing them.
If you enter Safe Mode and the problem with your device is resolved, you know that one of your apps, drivers, or settings is causing it, and you can begin to isolate the issue to eventually eliminate it.
How to access Safe Mode
A bit more than turning it off and on again
All this talk of diagnostics and performance problems may sound a bit intimidating, particularly to Android users who aren't particularly proficient in the technical aspects of their devices.
Fortunately, Google has made accessing Safe Mode on Android devices a lot easier over the years, so there's nothing to worry about.
To get started, all you do is access the power pop-up menu, which requires you to push the power button and the volume up button at the same time. Then, you'll want to press and hold either the Power button or the Restart button on your display.
This will produce a pop-up on your display that asks if you want to Reboot to Safe Mode, which you do. When you press OK, your device will turn off and restart in Safe Mode.
Close
How will you know whether your device is in Safe Mode? It should be glaringly obvious if you are, because none of your third-party apps will be usable.
Oh yeah, and there will be a big Safe Mode banner at the bottom of your display, which should give it away. All that to say, it will be pretty hard to miss that you're in Safe Mode.
It's also worth noting that entering Safe Mode will remove some of the widgets on your device, so if you have a lot, we recommend taking a screenshot beforehand to quickly add them back to where they were.
Not all widgets disappeared on me, but Google Keep, Google Fit, and the ESPN scoreboard were all gone when I came back.
How to exit Safe Mode
We can't stay here forever
After you've clicked around your device in Safe Mode long enough to figure out if the problem is an app, a driver, or just bad luck, you'll want to return the device to its non-Safe Mode.
After all, you can't use Safe Mode forever, because it disables every third-party app on the device. Maybe, if you're trying to do a tech cleanse, it could help, but beyond that, Safe Mode is designed to be temporary.
Luckily, if you thought entering Safe Mode was easy, just wait until you hear about how simple Google made it to exit Safe Mode on Android. Literally, all you do to get out of Safe Mode is to restart your device. That's it, end of the step-by-step guide.
Another important note is that the instructions listed above to both enter and exit safe mode only work for Pixel smartphones, specifically the Pixel 6 and later (including the Pixel Fold).
If you have a smartphone that predates the Pixel 6, we'd recommend checking out the Google Support page to get instructions on how to use Safe Mode.
Do-it-yourself diagnostics
Save your device and a bit of money in the process
Even a few short years ago, device diagnostic work was pretty intimidating for everyday people.
Sure, Android users are generally a bit more open to this kind of do-it-yourself technical prowess, but that doesn't mean it wasn't difficult for even the most proficient among us.
Now, though, with Safe Mode being just a few short clicks away, even the most novice of Android users can troubleshoot problems on their own without having to take the device to Best Buy to get fixed, or worse, replaced.
Credit: Google
Google Pixel 10
9/10
SoC
Google Tensor G5
RAM
12GB
Storage
128GB / 256GB
Battery
4970mAh
This striking-looking addition to the Pixel line offers a slew of Gemini features, an 5x telephoto lens, and seven years of updates, making this a smartphone that will last you a while.
$780 at Amazon Expand Collapse-
Operating Systems
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