Over the years, smartphones have become more complex, thanks to the number of technological innovations they pack.
Sometimes, this makes a simple task more complicated than it needs to be. Talk about Google’s Pixel phone. In the past, you could turn them off using the power button, but that’s not the case anymore.
Depending on which Pixel phone you own, the process for restarting or powering it off will differ. This is because the power button is mapped to bring up the Google Assistant instead of the power menu on the new Google Pixel phones. So how do you turn off a Google Pixel phone? Find out in this guide.
How to Shut Down or Restart Google Pixel 5 and Older Pixels
Rooting a Pixel 5 and older Pixel phones running Android 11 or Android 12 is a relatively simple process.
Press and hold the Power button on your Pixel for a few seconds.
The Power menu should pop up on the screen. From here choose the option of Power off. To restart, select the Restart option.
A black screen will appear for a few seconds, after which your Pixel will completely shut down or reboot, depending on the option you selected.
How to power off or restart Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 6
Turning off or restarting the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 series is different from older Pixel phones. By default, you cannot turn off these devices by long-pressing the power button.
Press and hold the Power and Volume Up buttons simultaneously on your Google Pixel phone.
To turn your Pixel back on, long press the Power button . Your phone will vibrate when the boot process begins.
You can change the behavior of the power button on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 from the Settings menu.
Long-pressing the power button on your Pixel will now bring up the power menu, where you can quickly shut down, restart, or put the device into lockdown mode. If you’re not a fan of digital assistants, consider turning off Google Assistant on your Android phone.
How to Shut Down or Restart Your Google Pixel Without Using the Power Button
If your Pixel’s power button isn’t working, you can use the software-based power button to bring up the power menu to shut down or restart the device.
On your Pixel home screen, swipe down to bring up the notification shade.
How to hard restart your Google Pixel phone
If your Pixel is unresponsive and not responding to any button inputs, then you can try doing a hard reboot.
If you just got a new Pixel phone and are still exploring all of its features, check out The Right Way to Set Up Your New Android Phone.
Explore Your Pixel
Turning off or restarting a Google Pixel phone isn’t as straightforward as it should be. On the positive side, Google offers several options for powering off the phone, so if you’re not happy with one method, you can try another.
Emergencies can happen anywhere, anytime, so lucky you if you have a Google Pixel. You can count on its emergency features that could literally save your or a loved one’s life one day.
All Pixel phones come with a standard emergency dial button (as well as some additional functions), while the newer Pixel phones come with a feature called Emergency SOS Call. But how do you use them? let’s take a look.
What is a quick call for emergency?
For a long time, Android phones have integrated emergency information on the lock screen that can be accessed without unlocking the device. From this, it’s possible to access medical data (if it’s prefilled), as well as call emergency services even when the phone is locked (in fact if you have some apps you don’t even need cell service) like 911 to call).
On all Google Pixel phones, this menu is accessed by holding down the Power button and tapping the Emergency Call button. On Pixel 4, 5, and 6, you can automatically make an emergency call by pressing the power button five times.
Activating and configuring both the Medical Data and SOS Emergency Call feature on your Google Pixel is essential because you never know when you’ll need it. It may be too late to make this configuration when the time comes.
Follow the steps below to add medical data to your Pixel in case of an accident. Emergency services will be able to view data such as blood group, allergies, weight, organ donation status and contact persons without having access to the rest of the phone’s contents. On the modern Pixel (4, 5, and 6) you can also make an emergency SOS call.