Safe mode on Windows. Also called Safe Mode: basically, a parallel space with minimized functionality, usually used to identify and troubleshoot the operating system.
Few users, on the other hand, know that safe mode also exists on Android, and has the same functions, but it is necessary to use it by taking precautions: otherwise the smartphone settings will be accidentally altered and the data stored in the device will be deleted.
What is Android Safe Mode?
The safe mode of the Android operating system is a minimal operating environment designed for app developers in which the user can also act, for example to restore factory settings. However, Android’s Safe Mode can also be used for other purposes, such as locating problematic apps for the Android system.
In addition to the undoubted usefulness of safe mode, it is important to underline that there is the potential risk of profoundly altering the functioning of the phone, removing apps or even losing all our data if you do not know the procedures to intervene in Safe Mode.
What is Safe Mode for
Once you enter the Android Safe Mode you can choose between several options. The most useful, as reported by Panda Security, are:
- Clear the cache: useful option to free up space and, at times, to solve app functioning problems. In this way, however, the old updates of the operating system, usually saved only in the temporary memory, will also be deleted.
- Reset the phone to factory settings: when the phone works badly, we have a device compromised by viruses or other problems that we cannot solve, the definitive remedy is what in the jargon is called hard reset, or a total reset. In this way, the phone is brought back to the stage it was in when we unpacked it, so without system updates, without apps, without widgets and above all without data.
- Install an update from an SD card: it is used to install a different firmware than the existing one that we have previously downloaded and saved on a memory card. Very useful if the firmware is corrupted or infected or to fix compatibility problems on phones that have exceeded the maximum cycle of updates.
In this context, however, we must not dwell on other features intended for developers, as it would be possible to intervene (voluntarily or accidentally) on the operation of important system components, such as graphics, languages or system partitions.
What to do before entering safe mode
From safe mode you can access delicate components and features of Android, so before acting it is advisable:
- make a backup of files, photos, videos and conversations on your device.
- take a screenshot of the widgets used.
- mark any custom settings (always via screenshot).
- make sure you have the login credentials of all apps and services in use.
How to get into Android Safe Mode
The procedure to access the safe mode varies according to the model of the phone, but in general it is a combined use of the physical keys of the smartphone: specifically those of the volume and power.
Once the intervention in safe mode has been completed, to abandon it, simply select the Power Off item in the list of Safe Mode options, or alternatively force the shutdown by pressing and holding the power button.
Final thoughts on Safe Mode
The simplest and most useful function of this mode for the user is to check if any problem affecting the phone is due to one or more apps, in addition to the factory reset, which sometimes becomes a mandatory choice when our smartphone it does not want to know that it works properly.
The important thing is to know what potential dangers exist and to follow the procedures highlighted in order not to avoid any risk, perhaps having another device connected to the Internet available to consult information and specialized resources.