There’s been a small but significant change to the Galaxy S models in recent years, so for those looking to buy the Galaxy S21 or a newer model from the S22 series, you might find that you can’t figure out how to turn your new device off.

That’s because these handsets don’t support a press-and-hold of the power button to give the power or standby buttons - instead Bixby voice assistant will load by default - but you can reprogramme this side button if you wish.

Here’s how to figure out all your Samsung Galaxy S22 and S21 power-off options.

Galaxy S21 or S22 power off using software

Firstly, here’s how to power off or restart your Samsung Galaxy S22 or S21 handset:

  • When signed in, swipe down the quick settings pane. You’ll see a power icon. Tap that icon and you’ll see the option to power off or restart in the screen that loads.

See, it’s simple once you know where to find it. But that’s only the software option - there is also a hardware option.

Galaxy S21 or S22 power off using buttons

Simply press and hold the power/standby button and volume down buttons together - but not for too short a time, as that’ll take a screenshot - and you’ll get to the same power-off options window.

Restarting S21 or S22 after a software crash

If your phone has crashed or becomes unresponsive, the same hardware option as above works. Simply press-and-hold the power/standby and volume down buttons for 10 seconds. You should feel a little buzz and your phone will reboot, without the need to select any software buttons (which wouldn’t be possible due to a crash).

Reprogramme the S21 or S22’s power button

By default, a press-and-hold of the side button on your Samsung Galaxy S22 or S21 device will trigger Bixby, letting you talk to Samsung’s digital assistant.

If you don’t want that or want to restore the power options that you had available on older Samsung devices, that’s possible too:

  • Follow the steps above to get to the power screen. At the bottom of the page, tap on ‘Side key settings’. Select what you want the button to do.

Here you have a range of options for a press-and-hold of the button (i.e. the old way of turning your device off), as well as a double-press option.

We prefer to launch the camera app using a double press, but you can change that to launch any app you like.

If you’ve got a Samsung Galaxy S22 device, we’ve run through a whole range of tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your phone.