Over the years we have come to rely on our smartphones for nearly everything – be it work, leisure, or entertainment. So when your phone randomly shuts off, it can get really annoying really quick if you don’t have any alternatives. Luckily, not all hope is lost and you may not actually need to replace your device. In this article, we bring you the top 12 ways to fix the ‘Android phone keeps turning off’ issue.
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Table of Contents
Restart your phone
Restarting your phone should be the first step in fixing minor issues with your smartphone. A simple restart resolves any software-related background glitches that may have prevented your smartphone from functioning correctly. To restart your smartphone, press and hold the side key for a few seconds and select ‘Restart’ from the power options. Newer smartphones that use the side key to trigger the voice assistant require pressing and holding the side key and Volume Up key simultaneously to access the power options.
Reboot your phone in Safe Mode
Rebooting your phone in Safe Mode disables all third-party apps. Press and hold the power off icon in the power menu to reveal the Safe Mode option. If your phone works fine in Safe Mode, it means that one of the third-party apps is at fault. Delete the apps that you installed right before this issue surfaced on your phone. Once that’s done, reboot your smartphone normally. The issue should be fixed. If you’re experiencing the issue in Safe Mode as well, move on to other fixes.
Make sure your phone is charged
Your Android smartphone shuts off when its battery has been depleted. If it won’t start back up, you need to plug it into a charger. It is possible to miss low-battery reminders when you’re not paying attention to your phone. If you don’t plug your phone into your charger in time, it will shut down within a few minutes. Even when the phone is locked, the background tasks demand battery usage. This leads to the phone shutting off after the battery has been fully drained.
Check if your phone is scheduled to turn off
Most Android phones can be scheduled to turn themselves off at a particular time. If you notice that your smartphone shuts down at a certain time every day, chances are you scheduled that power-off time and probably forgot about it. To turn off ‘Scheduled On/Off’ go to Settings>Additional Settings>Schedule power on/off and turn the toggle bar off.
Check your phone’s storage
If you’re about to reach your phone’s maximum storage potential, you may have already noticed a drop in performance. At times this could also lead to the phone shutting down randomly because the RAM cannot handle all the tasks thrown at it. It is a good idea to have a breathing space of 20-30% in your phone’s storage. Go to Settings>Battery and device care>Storage to manage your smartphone’s storage. This is where you’ll see the breakdown of your phone’s internal memory and get an idea of which apps consume the most space on your phone. To free up space, delete all duplicate files on your phone and uninstall unused apps.
Check your phone’s battery health
Older smartphones lose a significant portion of their battery capacity with time. In most cases this means reduced power backup, but if the battery health has rapidly declined it could lead to random shut-offs as well. To check your phone’s battery health, go to Settings>Battery>Battery Health and see the maximum capacity of your phone’s battery.
Check your phone’s battery status
If your phone’s battery has a workable capacity, it could be suffering from some other issues. To check your phone’s battery status, launch the Phone app and dial *#0228#. This will bring up detailed information about your battery. This code may vary for different smartphones. Look up the dial code for your smartphone manufacturer beforehand.
Check if the power button is stuck
Maybe you have been looking at it the wrong way. Maybe the cause of your phone’s weird behaviour is hardware-related and has nothing to do with the software at all. Sometimes the power button gets stuck in its cutout and constantly pushes inwards, leading to the phone shutting down. Check if that is the case with your phone, and try to pull the button out with a small pair of tongs. Do not apply too much pressure, if you’re not able to restore the button, take your phone to a professional repair shop. Maybe the power button isn’t stuck but it is the phone’s protecting cover that is pressing it inwards, leading to the phone getting shut down. Take off the phone case and see if the problem still persists.
Check if the battery is loose
Smartphone batteries are known to swell up over time. Once they increase in size, you can see the back panel protrude a little bit. This can also lead to the connections inside the phone becoming loose, which may cause the battery to disconnect from the device. To verify this, shake your phone and give it a few jerks. If it turns off, it means that the battery is loose. Take your phone to a professional repair centre and get the battery replaced.
Update your phone’s OS
If the issue is bug-related, chances are that your phone’s manufacturer fixed it with a quick update. Go to Settings>Software Update>Download and Install to check for new updates. If there is a pending update, download and install it on your device.
Perform a scan for viruses
It is possible that a virus or malware is causing your phone to shut down at random intervals. Install a good anti-virus app on your phone and perform a deep scan of your device. Let the anti-virus app find the source of the virus. Once you know which files are compromised, delete them from your phone.
Factory Reset your smartphone
This is a last-ditch effort to restore normal functioning in your smartphone. If you’ve had no luck trying the above-mentioned fixes, it is time to restore your smartphone to its factory settings. To perform a factory reset, go to Settings>General Management>Reset>Factory Data Reset. Make sure you back up all the data on your smartphone before resetting it to its factory settings as this step will wipe all its data.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my Android phone suddenly turn off?
Your Android phone abruptly turns off when its battery has been completely drained.
What does it mean if your phone keeps turning off by itself?
If you haven’t scheduled a power-off time for your phone, then random shutoffs could be a battery-related issue. Check your phone’s battery health to know more.
How do you fix a phone that keeps turning off by itself?
Make sure the phone is fully charged and the battery is functioning correctly.
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Conclusion
These are the top 12 ways to fix the ‘Android phone keeps turning off’ issue. If the problem still persists after trying all the fixes mentioned in this list, you should take your phone to a repair centre for further diagnosis. If your phone is quite old, you would need to replace it. Here is our list of the top smartphones with good cameras you can buy in 2023.
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