How to turn off or restart your Samsung Galaxy S24 and other Samsung devices

Are you trying to turn off your Samsung phone? There are multiple reasons to do this. For starters, it can be a quick and straightforward way to avoid smartphone distractions during movies, meetings, and other events. Additionally, it’s often the first troubleshooting method you should try whenever you’re experiencing issues with your handset. It seems to magically fix most problems. Regardless of your reasoning, there are multiple ways to turn off or restart your Samsung phone, whether it’s a Galaxy S24, Galaxy S23, Galaxy S22, Galaxy S21, or earlier iterations. Let’s go over all of them.

Editor’s note: The steps in this article were put together using a Samsung Galaxy S23 running Android 13. Remember, some devices’ specific steps might differ slightly, depending on your particular hardware and software.

Using the side and volume down buttons

More recent Samsung phones like the Galaxy S24, Galaxy s23, Galaxy S22, Galaxy S21, and Galaxy S20 have removed dedicated Bixby and power buttons. Instead, they have a single button that operates as both. This can confuse things, so let’s help you figure out how to use it.

Turn off or restart your Galaxy phone using the side and volume down buttons:

1. Press and hold the side and volume down buttons simultaneously.
2. You’ll get a few options. Tap on Power off to turn the phone off. Select Restart to reboot it.
3. Tap on the option again to confirm.

Long-pressing the power button

Those who don’t like using the side and volume down button combinations have a way to use only one button to turn off or restart their Galaxy phones, but it requires a bit of tinkering. You’ll have to remap the side key to stop it from launching Bixby when long-pressed. Here’s how to do it.

Remap the side button to turn off a Galaxy phone using a single button:

1. Launch the Settings app.
2. Tap on Advanced features.
3. Select Side button.
4. You can now change what certain side key presses do. Under Press and hold, select Power off menu.
5. Press and hold on to the side button.
6. You’ll get a few options. Tap on Power off to turn the phone off. Select Restart to reboot it.

Note: Samsung phones with dedicated power buttons won’t need you to change the settings. Devices like the Galaxy S10 and previous iterations come with dedicated power buttons that serve no other purpose. Press and hold on to the power button to reach the boot settings on those.

Use the notification panel

The power button works great, but some might prefer software actions. Thankfully, Samsung has provided many ways to turn off your Galaxy phone. The quickest one might be in the notification panel.

Turn off or restart your Galaxy phone using the notification panel:

1. Swipe down from the top of the screen.
2. Swipe down from the top of the screen again to expand your options.
3. On the top-right corner, you’ll see a power icon. Tap on it.
4. You’ll get a few options. Tap on Power off to turn the phone off. Select Restart to reboot it.
5. Tap on the option again to confirm.

Ask Bixby to turn off or restart your phone

Samsung’s digital assistant, Bixby, can also be used to turn off your Galaxy phone using voice commands.

How to turn off Galaxy phone using Bixby:

1. Once you have activated Bixby Voice, go ahead and call upon it. You can do this by saying “Hi Bixby” or pressing the side button.
2. Tell Bixby to “Turn off the phone.”
3. Bixby will take care of the rest.

How to force restart a Samsung phone

If your device isn’t responsive, you can force restart Samsung devices. Here’s how to do it.

How to force restart a Samsung Galaxy S23:

1. Press and hold the side and volume down buttons simultaneously for about 15 seconds.
2. Your phone will vibrate briefly, and the display will turn off. This will be followed by the splash screen and the boot animation, indicating a successful force restart. You will soon boot into your phone’s home screen as you would on a regular restart.

FAQs

Are you looking to customize your Android experience further? We also have a guide on the best Samsung Galaxy S24 tips and tricks. You can also look at our guide to the best smartphone accessories for some great product recommendations.