Restart your Android phone without the power button

Restarting your phone regularly can improve performance by clearing temporary caches, enhance security by disrupting potential cyberattacks and removing malware from memory, and often fixes issues like slowdowns, overheating, app crashes or connectivity problems.

The author restarts a Pixel 9 Pro weekly and notes Google removed an auto-restart feature, so many prefer to do it manually rather than rely on third-party apps. The usual way is to press and hold the power button until the power menu appears and tap Restart. That works for most people, but some find pressing and holding the button difficult—people with arthritis, for example—and physical buttons can wear out over time.

One alternative is the Notification Shade: pull it down twice and tap the small power icon at the bottom right. That opens the same power menu you get from the physical button; tap Restart to reboot the device. This is the method the author uses. Another option is the Accessibility Menu.

android, restart phone, power button, notification shade, power menu, accessibility menu, pixel 9, auto-restart, third-party apps, temporary caches