It has probably happened to you before, an Android smartphone that overheats or freezes, either because it is not performing well, or because too many applications have been launched at the same time.

Different reasons could cause your phone to freeze, and most of the time, there isn't much you can do. Very often the only thing to do is to force stop the phone, so that all applications and other processes are shut down.

Unfortunately, it's when your phone is blocked that it's harder to turn it off. We will see in this article the different methods that you can use in order to force shutdown of an Android smartphone.

What are the best techniques to stop a stuck Android smartphone

Here are the different methods used to force shutdown your phone. We consider that you are looking for an answer because this one is blocked or malfunctions, and you cannot really access the classic stop menu.

Remove the battery from your phone to switch it off

A little brutal method, but very effective. Without battery, your phone cannot stay on, and therefore necessarily go out. However, this technique does not work on all phones, as some do not have the battery easily accessible.

If you have access to the battery, you can remove it and thus force the stop. Don't panic, you won't lose any data doing this.

If you don't no access to the battery on your Android smartphone, or that it's too complicated, don't panic, there is different tips for you.

Force stop a smartphone using the power button

This method, like the one explained above, will not damage your phone, nor will it delete its data. It is simply a feature built into your phone that will shut off whatever it is doing to shut down.

To do this, you may need also press one of the volume buttons. So first try to press the power button for at least 15 seconds.

IF nothing happens, also try again with one of the volume buttons.

IF all that doesn't work, then you still have a method to turn off your phone. This method requires downloading a small tool available on the net, called ADB.

We explain everything to you details,.

Use ADB on computer to connect to the phone and force it to turn off

ADB, acronym for Android Debug Bridge, is a tool designed to help correct the various problems that we could meet on his phone. It makes it possible to make the bridge between a computer, and your telephone.

This thus makes it possible to carry out a certain number of commands on your PC, that would not have been possible on your smartphone, since it is blocked and that he does not want to go out.

To use it, you simply need installer this tool on your PC, in order to access your phone, and so force stop by an order on your computer.

However, it is possible to do this only if the USB debugging has been previously activated on your phone.

USB debugging is an option of protected for your smartphone, who limit connections to this one. When disabled, interactions with your smartphone are very limited.

You do not will not be able to use ADB to force shutdown your phone if USB debugging has not been enabled. If you have any doubts, try the procedure anyway, it's pretty quick to set up.

For more info on this manipulation, check out this article :

HOW TO ACTIVATE USB DEBUGGING ON ANDROID?

If you think you have debugging enabled, or if you can still do so, do so. Then tdownload ADB on the following link:

PC-based tool to shut down a smartphone remotely

Control the shutdown of your phone by ADB on PC

Here is how to force shutdown of an Android smartphone with the ADB tool:

So download this tool, and install it on your computer. follow the standard procedure installation.

  • Then run it by double clicking on the executable.
  • Connect your Android smartphone to your PC via USB
  • On the order page that opened on your PC, as below, type " adb reboot«, And validate with the enter key
switch off your phone remotely with ADB on your computer

Logically, you will be able to see stopping your phone, and its restart. If nothing happens, or you see an error message on your computer screen, there is a good chance that the USB debugging has not been activated.


Here are our tips to know how to force shutdown your phone when stuck or that he no longer responds. If you have other Android concerns, here are some guides you may find helpful: