You may know you can use power button to power on Galaxy S8 or power off Galaxy S8 and S8+.
But do you know how to power off Galaxy S8 and S8+ if your Galaxy S8 or S8+ hangs and does not respond to power button?
This guide will show you how to power on, power off and reboot Galaxy S8 and S8 at any situations, including when the phone hangs (power button is not responsive).
Use power button to power on Galaxy S8, power off Galaxy S8, and to reboot Galaxy S8 and S8+
When Galaxy S8 or S8+ is powered off, you can always press and hold power button for a few seconds to power on (turn on) the phone as shown below.
Please note, Galaxy S8 (and S8+) power button is located in the right side of the phone as explained in Galaxy S8 layout and Galaxy S8+ layout page.
Some owners may press the Bixby button, which is located in the left side of Galaxy S8 and S8+ and below volume buttons, mistakenly for power button.
When the phone is powered on, if you press and hold power button for more than 7 seconds, you will then reboot Galaxy S8 and S8+. This is considered as forced reboot.
If you press and hold the power button for 2-4 seconds, you will get the Galaxy S8 power button options:
- Power off. Tap this button (marked as 1 in the screenshot below) to power off Galaxy S8 and S8+.
- Restart. Tap this button (marked as 2 in the screenshot below) to reboot Galaxy S8 or S8+. This essentially is powering off Galaxy S8, then powering it on.
- Use emergence mode.
Using power button options is the safest way to reboot Galaxy S8 or S8+. The system will try to save all necessary data and close apps gracefully.
How to reboot Galaxy S8 or S8+ or force to power off Galaxy S8 and S8+, when phone hangs (and power button is not responsive)?
Occasionally, Galaxy S8 or S8+ may hang due to software issues.
But you cannot remove Galaxy S8 battery to force it to restart because battery in Galaxy S8 and S8+ is non-removable.
In this case, to use the phone, you have to reboot Galaxy S8 or S8+ by holding power button for 15-20 seconds or even longer.
This is a hardware-level simulated operation of removing and replacing battery (battery pull). Software problems normally cannot stop this from working.
If this still does not work, you can try to press and hold volume down button, volume up button and power button together (3 buttons in total) for about 10-20 seconds. This will force the Galaxy S8 and S8 to power off.
Again, this is a hardware level simulated function. It should always work unless your Samsung Galaxy S8 or S8+ has some severe hardware problems in power-control components.
If Galaxy S8 or S8+ does not respond to volume down + volume up + power buttons, it usually indicates some hardware problems. You should check with local Samsung service center.
Can you power on Samsung Galaxy S8 or S8+? Can you reboot Samsung Galaxy S8 or S8+? Can you force to power off Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+?
If you have any questions or encounter any problems to power on, power off, and reboot Galaxy S8 or S8+ (even if your phone hangs), please let us know them in the comment box below.
The community will help you find the answer or solution.
You may also check our Galaxy S8 guides:
- Galaxy S8 new features guide covers all new and unique features of Galaxy S8 and S8+.
- Galaxy S8 how-to guides give you detailed step-by-step guides on using most features of Galaxy S8 and S8+.
- Galaxy S8 user manuals lets you download official Samsung Galaxy S8 user manuals in your won language.
- Galaxy S8 camera guides covered everything related to Galaxy S8 camera is covered in Galaxy S8 camera guides section.
- Galaxy S8 accessories guides help you find the perfect accessories for Galaxy S8 and S8+.
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Tony Fanale says
September 24, 2017 at 6:48 pmMy galaxy s8 hangs constantly.
simon says
September 25, 2017 at 12:02 amYou need find out the cause. Very likely, it’s caused by third-party apps. You can check it in safe mode to see where the problem persists as explained in this guide: https://gadgetguideonline.com/s8/how-to-use-galaxy-s8-safe-mode/
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Shawn M Carter says
October 1, 2017 at 5:01 amThank you, holding all 3 buttons worked
simon says
October 1, 2017 at 11:36 amEnjoy the phone.
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Wasi says
October 10, 2017 at 8:04 amI power off my galaxy S8 and now i am unable to start my phone again. I press the right sided button for many seconds but power did not on. There is a red light on top left corner is consistently stayed. Please help me what i can do to power on my phone and if you have an idea about this problem pls guide me from future mishaps. Thanks
simon says
October 10, 2017 at 8:32 amDid you try to hold two buttons (power + volume down) for about 10 seconds ?
What happens if you connect the phone to a charger?
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Shanese M Sanders says
November 30, 2017 at 3:45 pmThis works!! Thank you soooooo much!
Danel S Bonnington says
December 2, 2017 at 6:37 pmMy phone keeps getting frozen on the Samsung startup logo. There also doesn’t appear to be any way to restart my phone in safe mode, despite restarting several times. Also, I’m unable to permanently turn off my phone… it automatically starts up again every time and then freezes on the startup logo.
Daniel S Bonnington says
December 2, 2017 at 6:46 pmOK, made it to the recovery screen by holding power and volume down for 15 sec, then immediately holding down Bixby, volume up together, then quickly holding the power button as well. As soon as the round samsung logo popped up and the music stopped playing, I released all 3 buttons.
Roaa Ayman says
December 28, 2017 at 10:02 amMy S8 doesn’t poweroff using the poweroff button or by holding the volume button. The touch screen is working fine but its frozen on the lockscreen which is displaying the notifications fine. When I swipe and draw the pattern it doesn’t unlock. Basically I can’t unlock it nor power it off. The screen is always on it doesn’t close, When plugged in it starts charging.
First time this happens. I was using it, it didn’t fall.
simon says
December 28, 2017 at 3:25 pmDoes it ask you to unlock the phone to power off?
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Toby Walpole says
January 5, 2018 at 10:07 pmHi Simon. My question relates to using an s8 in a Dex Dock. When I do this the sound still comes out of the phone speaker. I have Samsung Connect always on & this enables the option to change sound from phone to display device, but it does not work unless I manually restart the phone while still in the dock. I have Dex Max & Desktop Hub apps installed which both claim to be able to fix this automatically but neither work. Do you know if there is a way to fix this? If not is there a way to restart the phone from within the Dex software? I tried accessibility – dexterity & interaction – assistant menu but all options are greyed out while the phone is docked.
simon says
January 6, 2018 at 2:32 amFirst, make sure the Samsung Connect app is updated.
You may also try to clear cache partition on S8 to see whether it helps.
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Toby Walpole says
January 7, 2018 at 8:35 pmClearing the cache worked 🙂 Thank you.
simon says
January 8, 2018 at 1:29 amThank you for sharing the update.
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Michael says
February 8, 2018 at 1:55 amThe power button on my 2 month old replacement Samsung S-8 is permanently pushed in and doesn’t work. 2 days later the phone switched into Maintenance Boot Mode, but neither the volume button or the Bixby button (never knew what that button was for) do anything when clicked up or down per the MBM instructions on the screen. If I hold down the volume button at the same time as the Bixby button (or just the volume button) for 7-10 seconds, the screen goes black, I hear a short electronic buzz sound, and then the Maintenance Boot Mode screen comes back. I had some great photos and files saved internally and not to the card that didn’t get backed up to the cloud. Is there any way to get out of MBM, turn on the phone or otherwise access the photo files?
simon says
February 8, 2018 at 6:38 amWhat maintenance boot mode? Download mode or recovery mode? If download mode, your just wait a few mins. If recovery mode, you can choose to reboot.
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Michael says
February 8, 2018 at 6:57 pmThe screen is black except for small print at the top quaater of the screen. “Maintenance Boot Mode” in blue. Below that in tiny print it says “use the volume up/down keys to move highlight and the lower left key to select”
Then there are 4 numbered categories with the first one highlighted in red
“1. Normal Boot: Restart your phone normally.
below that:
2. Factory Reset
3. Safe Mode
4. Power down.
Power button doesn’t work (its permanently pressed all the way in) and neither the volume key or the lower left Bixby key change anything on the screen or do anything when I push any part of them except when I hold down the volume button for 7-10 seconds,after which the screen goes completely black for a couple of seconds, I hear a short electronic buzz sound, and then the Maintenance Boot Mode screen comes back unchanged. I don’t appear to have any options to make the phone do anything at this point
simon says
February 8, 2018 at 10:49 pmIf you tap (not hold) volume down button, does the menu change (one item should be highlighted at any time)?
You should not hold volume down button.
Anyway, if the power button is stuck, it’s better to fix it in Samsung service center. It’s a small job. Also, you phone should be still under warranty.
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Michael says
February 8, 2018 at 10:57 pmTapping does nothing. It is under warranty and they just sent me a new phone, but there are files on the old phone that didn’t get backed up in the Cloud (although most did). I guess I need to back up more often. Thanks for responding
simon says
February 9, 2018 at 1:08 amIt’s hard too evaluate the situation. If volume keys still work, it should work in the recovery mode. Actually, the touch screen also works in S8 recovery mode.
You can try to hold volume button, but release it immediately after you see the the screen is off.
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Amaranta says
February 9, 2018 at 3:18 amHey. Muchas brother has just recently bought a Samsung s8+ but happens that it doesn’t turn off. He can’t remember his password and the phone need it to turn off. He tried the volume down + power bottom and home bottom but didn’t work. What else can he do?
simon says
February 9, 2018 at 4:25 amHold power button for 2-3 seconds, you should see the power menu. One is restart. One is to power off. And the third one is for emergency mode.
If the phone hangs, hold volume down and power button (holding 2 buttons) for 10 seconds to reboot.
There is no home button
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Nikki L Ray says
March 27, 2018 at 5:52 pmHello
My volume down button stopped working suddenly. Any idea as to a fix?
Thank you
simon says
March 28, 2018 at 4:21 amIf it’s a hardware problem, you have to visit the service center to check and repair it.
For the time being, you can use a headset to adjust the volume.
You can also go to Settings – sounds and vibrations – volume to adjust volume.
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Dorota says
April 29, 2018 at 10:45 ammy screen is not working, it flahes green. I have to delete everything from my phone before I send it back to the insurance company. Holding buttons doesnt work. I cant use smart swich, i got notificaion that my phone is blocked and I cant unlock it because I screen is not working.
simon says
April 29, 2018 at 12:20 pmDid you add a Samsung account on the phone? If yes, you can use Samsung’s Find My mobile to reset the phone remotely.
You can also use Google’s Android device manager to reset the phone remotely.
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Natalie Sampson says
August 12, 2018 at 1:07 amHello i was given Samsung 8 i set it all up and worked fine but now I forgotten pattern. it is saying my phone was restarted and needs to be unlocked using pattern n I can use my biomethics next time. Can anyone help me? }I tried pressing home button power n volume same time ..thank you
simon says
August 12, 2018 at 3:23 amIf you have added a Samsung account on the phone, and the phone is connected to the internet, you can use Samsung’s Find My Mobile to unlock the phone remotely. You may refer to this page.
This is the ONLY way to unlock the phone without resetting the phone if you forget the pin/password/pattern.
If you reset the phone, you will need the Google account existed on the phone to activate the phone after the reset as explained in this page.
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S8+ Phone says
January 21, 2019 at 10:14 pmholding 3 buttons doesn’t shutdown my S8+ phone. Instead it reboot. Is there another way to force “shutdown”?
simon says
January 22, 2019 at 12:20 amNope. After the phone reboots, you can hold the power button for 2 seconds to get the power button options. You can then reboot the phone.
If the phone cannot reboot normally, you can reboot it into recovery mode and shut it down.
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Sam says
March 9, 2019 at 11:49 amThe above did not work for me (seven seconds for hard reboot) until I first logged in.
Until logging in, the power button does nothing for me but take me in and out of the log in screen, no matter how long I hold it down.
So: Is there no way to reboot an S8 without logging in first?
simon says
March 9, 2019 at 1:58 pmIn the lock screen, after holding the power button for more than 2 seconds, it should give you power button options. Did you get it?
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