Galaxy S6 Guide

How to use Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode?

Learn about Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode: what's safe mode, when you need it and how to use it.

Table of Contents hide
1) 1. What is Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode?
2) 2. When will you need Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode?
3) 3. How to boot into Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode?
3.1) Step 1: Power off the phone.
3.2) Step 2: Wait one or two minutes.
3.3) Step 3: Press and hold volume down button AND the power button.
3.4) Step 4: Hold the volume down button until you get the lock screen
3.5) Step 5: Unlock Galaxy S6
4) 4. How to exit Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode?
5) 5. How about Samsung Galaxy S6 edge safe mode?
5.1) Can you use Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode? Do you know how to boot into Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode, or exit safe mode?

1. What is Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode?

Safe mode is an integrated, and usually hidden part in Android OS.  It is a defense system of Android to prevent the device from messing up itself, usually due to third-party apps.

Most Android users probably never use Android safe mode because of the improvement in each version of Android. But sometimes, safe mode can solve your problem without modifying your settings or changing your files on the phone.

Some Android vendors may implement safe mode in a slightly different ways. So, in different Android devices, the way to access safe mode may be slightly different.

Samsung fully implemented Android safe mode in Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge, similar to previous generation of Galaxy devices.

Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode may be launched automatically if the system detects some miscreant apps or operations are trying to crash the system.  But this happens very very rarely nowadays.

Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode is a special state of your Galaxy S6: all third-party apps (apps that are installed by you, not pre-installed) are disabled. Some settings are also temporally rolled back to default settings in Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode.

2. When will you need  Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode?

Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode temporally  turns off all user-installed apps.  Only pre-installed apps are available in safe mode.

You will need  Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode:

  • when you need check some weird behavior of your phone. Such abnormal behavior is usually caused by some buggy or incompatible third-party apps.
  • when you are locked in kids mode and forget the password to exit kids mode.
  • when your Galaxy S6 thinks it should enter safe mode because of the abnormal behavior or operations of certain apps.

3. How to boot into Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode?

To boot Samsung Galaxy S6 into safe mode, you may follow these steps:

Step 1: Power off the phone.

If your Galaxy S6 is on now, you need power off the phone first.

Press and hold the power button for 2-4 seconds to get the power menu on the screen as shown below.

Tap Power off as shown below.

Tap POWER OFF in the confirmation window as shown below. This step is to avoid powering off Galaxy S6 accidentally.

This will turn off Galaxy S6.

samsung_galaxy_s6_safe_mode_1_power_options samsung_galaxy_s6_safe_mode_2_power_off

Step 2: Wait one or two minutes.

After Samsung Galaxy S6 is turned off, it ‘s better to wait one or two minutes  before proceeding to step 3.

Like any consumer electronic products, some residual electromagnetic field or residual heat may affect the life span of your Galaxy S6 if you turn on Galaxy S6 immediately.

Step 3: Press and hold  volume down button AND the power button.

To boot into Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode, you cannot just press power button to turn on Galaxy S6.

Instead, you need press and hold two buttons on Samsung Galaxy S6: Volume down button and Power button.

Once screen lights up, you can release power button.

But you should NOT release the volume down button.

Step 4: Hold the volume down button until you get the lock screen

You must continue to hold the volume down button until you get the Galaxy S6 lock screen.

Before you can unlock the phone, the Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode will change your Galaxy S6 theme to the default one. This will eliminate possible issues due to third-party themes.

You will notice there is a Safe mode icon in bottom left of the lock screen as shown below.

samsung_galaxy_s6_safe_mode_3_apply_safe_mode samsung_galaxy_s6_safe_mode_4_safe_mode_home_screen

Step 5: Unlock Galaxy S6

Unlock your Galaxy S6 lock screen.

Please note, Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode does not change your lock screen settings. You have to unlock the phone normally. So, if you forget your screen lock, safe mode is NOT your solution.

But if you forget your kids mode password, you can use this method to remove kids mode as detailed in this guide.  In Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode, kids mode will be disabled.

Once you unlock the lock screen, you will enter Galaxy S6 home screen.

But now, you are in Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode.

You will notice:

  1. All third-party apps installed by you disappear from Galaxy S6 home screen.
  2. All third-party apps installed by you disappear from Galaxy S6 Apps screen.
  3. There is always a Safe mode icon in bottom left of the screen.

If your Galaxy S6 behaved abnormally before entering  safe mode, you can try it now.

If you want to exit kids mode, you can now uninstall kids mode app.

Once finishing your job, you can reboot the phone. Please read on.

4. How to exit Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode?

You can exit Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode by tapping the notification as shown below.

Tap Safe mode enabled as shown below.

You will get the confirmation pop up:

Turn off Safe mode

To turn off Safe mode, your device will restart. All your apps will then be available.

Tap OK as shown below to exit Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode.

Your Galaxy S6 will then reboot into normal mode and you can use all apps.

samsung_galaxy_s6_safe_mode_5_safe_mode_notification_panelsamsung_galaxy_s6_safe_mode_6_turn_off_safe_mode

5. How about Samsung Galaxy S6 edge safe mode?

Safe mode in Samsung Galaxy S6 edge is identical to that in Galaxy S6.

So, the guide above works for Samsung Galaxy S6 edge safe mode as well.

Can you use Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode? Do you know how to boot into Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode, or exit safe mode?

Please let us know in the comment box below, if you have any questions or encounter any problems on how to use Samsung Galaxy S6 safe mode in your Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 edge.

We will try to help you.

For other features of Galaxy S6, please check Galaxy S6 online manual page.

For detailed guides on how to use Samsung Galaxy S6, please check Galaxy S6 how-to guides page.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dave says

    My s6 edge has gone into safe mode and when asked to tap on the massage to unlock it really boots but still in safe mode

    Reply

  3. sarosh says

    i switched on the safe mode to check for S note working but after switching off the mode most of the icons disappeared when I want to play store is shows software installed but icons are missing. Also the way i had arranged icons has changed. How do I get them back.

    Reply

  4. Jbb says

    My s6 got stuck in safe mode after about a week of use. After hours with Verizon tech support and Samsung tech support, and a hard reset, which did erase all my apps but did not get it out of safe mode, I was told to either send it in or go to a Verizon store for a reflash. the store said they cannot do that but did offer to replace the phone. They did not have the 128gb in stock so I will have to do it via post.

    Reply

  6. Heidi says

    I had the same problem, With Safe mode appearing, and problems to get rid of it.
    I noticed that Safe Mode was triggered every time I tunred the phone in Flight Mode. Thus I will avoid using Flight Mode on the future. I was Lucky to get the phone out of Safe Mode after many attempts by waiting a long time before turning it on again after disabling Safe Mode. Seems sometitmes this precedure Works. And it has nothing to do With Aps, just With Flight Mode.

    Reply

  7. nora says

    1my phone just had an update and it’s in safe mode. I can’t get it off. I didn’t add any new applications just the update. What can I do to get it off?

    Reply

  8. Kathy says

    My Edge opened in Safe Mode after running out of batter power. I was able to get it out of Safe Mode without a problem but how do I get my home screen back to the way I like it? Do I have to do everything again or is there a way to reset it?

    Reply

  9. phoebe says

    My s6 wouldn’t charge in normal mode it totally turned off on me and said “Downloading Target” I rebooted it still didn’t charger and tried other chargers now it only charges in safe mode :S

    Reply

  10. Chyanne Cooper says

    My phone is still stuck in safe mode I factory reset it an pulled down the notifications an pressed all that but it’s still in safe mode also my volume down button is broke . Is there any way to fix it ?

    Reply

  12. Jose Leguillou says

    Hey I put my Samsung Galaxy S6 in Safe Mode and I still couldn’t select the option for USB Debugging, what should I do?

    Reply

  13. Oskar says

    Had the same problem – restarted from safe mode to normal mode and my apps went missing but they were still installed on the device. Easy solution for that problem is go to application manager->all applications, find TouchWiz Home application and delete data – It fixed the problem for me, but you will have to rearrange your home screen.

    Reply

  14. chinny says

    please,how do i acess information transferred to my phone through the bluetooth because i can’t find the bluetooth folder anywhere,also i am having trouble with finding recent downloads in my phone.

    Reply

  17. Cynthia Woodley says

    My phone is in safe mode and I and tired and tried to get out of safe mode but I can’t. I have done everything they told me to do even deleted some apps and I still can’t get out of safe mode. What do I do?

    Reply

  19. David Burns says

    Re previous comment, it was in Safe Mode because my volume down button is stuck. I just got it out of Safe Mode by switching it off while holding volume up, & keeping hold of it when restarting. Just holding it on restart did not work

    Reply

  20. Nikita says

    i need help my down volume button is stuck i cant get it out.
    How do i get out of safe mode now?

    Reply

  21. Narayan shrestha says

    I recently updated my samsung s6 edge software Lollipop 5.0.1 to Marshmallow, Android 6.0.1 OS. I downloaded Build Pro editor app from google play and tried to have multi-window mode in my device. Under property name ro.build.type , i changed property value “user” to “Userdebug” and rebooted my device to apply the change. ( I did all this as directed under Android Marshmallow tips and tricks: 15 you should try: homepage.) But my device did not reboot. What happens all the time is that it displays SAMSUNG logo in the screen and with regular interval device vibrates. it does not opens.
    * I tried for reboot my device pressing vol up, home key and power bottom key simultaneously. It displays 3 options only. 1)
    reboot the system (does not work). 2) reboot to bootloader ( i have no idea). 3) power down. it does not have wipe data
    option
    * i also pressed vol down and power key to take my device to safe mode but it does not worked at all.

    Please suggest me how can i give life to my Samsung S6 edge. I heard that Marshmallow has lots of problems. Is it because of this ?

    Reply

  25. Sara says

    Hi. my phone put itself into safe mode and after several attempts to deactivate it I backed up the phone and factory reset it. now it has wiped out all contacts etc and is still in safe mode.
    What else can I try

    Reply

  26. Heidi says

    It should not be neccessary to delete all apps and og back to factory reset state.
    I had this problem after using “flight mode”. The solution was to turn off safety mode and then off the phone, and leave it off for quite a while – maybe 10 min. Eventually it will start up in normal mode.
    I I will NEVER put it in flight mode again, it was a nightmare to get it back.

    Reply

  27. Zanele says

    Hi there,

    I tried to follow every step including the one where I was required to uninstall some of my apps, I did exactly that but still on Safe Mode and the worse part is that every second I try to increase sound it decreases by itself. Not sure what to do anymore

    Reply

  28. Heidi Neuffer says

    HI! My phone had problems, so my carrier helped me get it into smart mode. The issues stopped. They suggested I add 3 apps at a time, wait 24 hrs, see if the phone is still ok. My problem is, how do I reactivate the “safe apps” that were disabled in smart mode, without taking it out of smart mode?

    Someone suggested factory reset, but then all the apps will be wiped. Is this your suggestion? Thank you

    Reply

  29. Kaye Elizalde says

    Hi! “Unfortunately, Google has stopped” keeps appearing in my phone most of the time since I disabled some Google play apps like hangouts, maps, play newsstand, play books and every free apps from Google aside from Google, Voice Search and Gmail. then afters a month, I enabled them all because I thought that “Unfortunately, Google has stopped” thing will stop once I enable them all. but it never stopped. and whenever I try clicking (for example) maps, the “Unfortunately maps has stopped” appear. tried clicking the others and it just keeps happening. okay, that was fine with me. I can handle that. but then when I tried opening my S Health, it unfortunately stopped too! and S Health is a big help on me. please help me fix this problem.

    Reply

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