How to Power Off or Restart Your Samsung Galaxy S20

Unlike many other Android handsets, turning off or restarting your Samsung Galaxy S20 isn’t as easy as holding down the Side button. Instead, you’ll need to remap the button or try a different option. Here are four ways to power off or restart your phone.

Open the Power Menu using the Side and Volume Keys

The easiest way to access the Power Menu on your Samsung Galaxy S20 is by holding down the Side and Volume Down buttons simultaneously for several seconds.

Once the Power Menu appears, tap the “Power Off” or “Restart” button.

If you chose to turn your Galaxy S20 off, hold the Side button down for several seconds until you see the Samsung logo appear onscreen. Your handset will fully boot within a minute.

Reprogram the Side Button’s Long-Press Behavior

As mentioned above, out of the box, pressing and holding the Galaxy S20’s Side button launches Bixby, not the Power Menu. You can reprogram the Side Key’s behavior by going to Settings > Advanced Feature > Side Key.

Once you enter the Side Key menu, select the “Power Off Menu” option.

Now, when you long-press the Side button, you’ll have the option to “Power Off” or “Restart” your handset.

Access the Power Menu Through the Quick Panel

Samsung also offers a shortcut to the Power Menu from the smartphone’s Quick Panel. To access the shortcut, swipe down from the top of the Galaxy S20’s display to pull down the notification shade. From there, select the Power icon in the top-right corner.

Samsung’s Power Menu will now appear. Tap on the “Power Off” or “Restart” button to perform the respective action.

If you chose to shut off your Galaxy S20, press and hold the Side button until you see the Samsung logo. Release the key and wait for 30 to 60 seconds for the phone to boot.

Use Bixby to Power Off or Restart Your Phone

You might not find Samsung’s built-in voice assistant, Bixby, handy, but you can use it to shut down and restart your Galaxy S20.

Start by launching Bixby. If you haven’t already remapped the long-press action of the Side button, you can hold down the key for a second until you see the Bixby icon appear at the top of your screen. Alternatively, you can swipe up from the home screen to open the app drawer and then select the “Bixby” app to launch it.

With the voice assistant now listening to you (you might have to tap the Bixby icon in the bottom-left corner if you launched the app), you can now ask it to power off or restart your handset by saying “Turn Off My Phone” or “Restart My Handset.”

Bixby will confirm that you want to power off or restart your Galaxy S20. Either tap on the corresponding button or hit the Bixby button again to voice your answer.

Your smartphone will now power off or restart. Hold down the Side button until the Samsung logo pops up to turn it back on.