Use safe mode to find problematic apps
Important: Some of these steps only work if your Fairphone has Android 13 or above. Learn how to Check and update your software version.
Rebooting into safe mode temporarily turns off downloaded apps. This can help you find apps that cause your Fairphone to slow down, freeze, or restart unexpectedly.
- Step 1: Reboot into safe mode
- Step 2: Check if the issue goes away
- Step 3: Exit safe mode
- Find problematic apps
Step 1: Reboot into safe mode
To reboot into safe mode, follow these steps:
If your phone is on
- On your Fairphone, press the Power button to turn on the screen.
- Press and hold the Power and Volume up buttons at the same time.
(On some Fairphones, press and hold the Power button.) - Tap and hold Power off for a few seconds.
- Tap OK.
If your phone is off
- Press and hold the Power button to turn on your Fairphone.
- When the blue circle animation starts, press and hold the Volume down button.
- Release the Volume down button when you see the lock screen.
Important: Rebooting into safe mode may remove some widgets from your Home screen.
Step 2: Check if the issue goes away
When in safe mode, only system apps are active. Downloaded apps are inactive, and app icons appear greyed out.
Use your phone normally and check if the problem goes away:
- If the problem goes away, a downloaded app is likely the cause.
- If the problem doesn't go away, a downloaded app is not the cause. Try our Find & fix an issue yourself tool.
Step 3: Exit safe mode
To exit safe mode, restart your Fairphone:
- Press and hold the Power and Volume up buttons at the same time.
(On some Fairphones, press and hold the Power button.) - Tap Restart.
Find problematic apps (optional)
If the problem went away in step 2, a downloaded app is likely the cause.
- Start by removing some apps:
- If you suspect a specific app is problematic, remove that app.
- If you don't know what app is problematic, one by one, remove recently downloaded apps.
- Restart your Fairphone normally after each app removal.
If removing an app solved the issue, you can download and install the other apps that you removed. Learn how to Download and manage apps.