On Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+, Samsung replaced the unpopular Bixby key with the Galaxy Note 10 Side key, which is mainly a Power key as in old Galaxy Note devices (but on the opposite side).
So, many Galaxy Note 10 owners are a bit confused about the new Side key. It is in the location of the Bixby key, but it functions mainly as the Power key (with some differences).
This Galaxy Note 10 guide explains the functions and usage of the Side key and shows you how to customize (remap) the Side key on Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+. Questions on how to power on, power off, and reboot Galaxy Note 10, as well as Galaxy Note 10 recovery mode and the safe mode, are also covered.
Although Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+ differs as explained in this post, the Side key on both phones are identical.
Samsung used to place the Power key (Power button) on the right side of the phone.
But as illustrated in the Galaxy Note 10 layout, there is no button on the right side of Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+.
Samsung actually moved the Power key to the left side and replaced the unpopular Bixby key. And they named it the Side key. This is one of the new features of Galaxy Note 10.
Of course, Samsung did not give up Bixby. They added one Bixby feature into the new Side key. For Bixby-haters, you can remove this Bixby feature (read on) and restore the Side key as the traditional Power key.
Functions of Galaxy Note 10 Side key
As mentioned, the Side key is a combination of the Power key and the Bixby key.
By default, the side key has the following functions:
- When the phone is off, you can press and hold the Side key to power on Galaxy Note 10 or Note 10+.
- When the phone is off, you can hold Side key and volume up key to reboot Galaxy Note 10 into recovery mode.
- When the phone is on, you can press the Side key once (one time) to lock the phone or wake up the screen.
- When the phone is on, you can quickly press the Side key twice (two times) to launch the Camera app (Camera Quick launch).
- When the phone is on, you can press and hold the Side key to wake up Bixby.
- When the phone is on, you can press and hold the Side key and Volume down key simultaneously for more than 7 seconds to power off Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+.
- When the phone is on, you can press and hold the Side key and Volume down key simultaneously for less than 2 seconds to take a screenshot.
- When the phone is on, you can press and hold the Side key and Volume down key simultaneously for longer than 2 seconds but shorter than 7 seconds to get the Power button options menu. You can also access the power button options menu in the quick settings panel (and notification panel).
You may notice it is very tricky to use Side key with the volume down key.
Anyway, Samsung allows you to customize (remap) the double press and long press options.
How to customize (remap) Galaxy Note 10 side key?
Like the Bixby button after the Android Pie update in previous Galaxy phones, Samsung allows you to customize or remap the side key on Galaxy Note 10.
On Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+, you can remap the double press and long press functions for the side key.
In Galaxy Note 10 settings, as shown below, tap Advanced features.
In the Advanced Features page, tap Side key, as shown in the screenshot above.
It should bring you to the Side key settings page, as shown below.
As mentioned, you can customize or remap two functions (gestures) of the Side key:
- Double press.
- Press and hold (long press)
For the double press, you can use it to:
- (default) Launch the camera (camera quick launch).
- Open Bixby.
- Open any apps. You can tap the gear icon to choose any apps on the phone.
For the press and hold (long press), you can use it to:
- Wake Bixby.
- Access the Power button options menu.
For the double press function, you can also disable it if you want.
As shown above, you can disable the double press function of the Side key.
As mentioned above, you can access the Power button options menu on Galaxy Note 10 in two ways:
- Press and hold the Side key and Volume down key simultaneously for longer than 2 seconds but shorter than 7 seconds.
- Use the button in the notifications panel/quick settings panel as shown below.
Of course, you can also remap the long press (press and hold) function to the Power button options menu as mentioned above.
How to power off Galaxy Note 10?
You can tap the Power off button in the Power button options menu as shown above to power off Galaxy Note 10.
If Galaxy Note 1o is not responsive and you cannot access the Power button options menu, you can hold the Side key and Volume down key simultaneously until it reboots.
How to restart (reboot) Galaxy Note 10 when the phone is not responsive?
You can use the Power button options to reboot Galaxy Note 10.
But if the phone is not responsive, you have to hold the Side key and Volume down key simultaneously for more than 7 seconds. This is a hardwired feature and it should always work unless there are some hardware issues in related components.
How to reboot into Galaxy Note 10 recovery mode?
Like in other Android phones, you can use the Galaxy Note 10 recovery mode to clear the cache partition, to reboot into the bootloader (download mode), to apply updates from SD card, to factory reset the phone, or to change carrier code (CSC).
To reboot into Galaxy Note 10 recovery mode, you need to power off the phone first.
When the phone is off, you need to press and hold Volume up and the Side key concurrently until you see the droid.
How to reboot into Galaxy Note 10 safe mode?
You can use Galaxy Note 10 safe mode to identify certain problems are caused by third-party apps or by the firmware.
There are two ways to reboot into Galaxy Note 10 safe mode:
- If the phone is off, you can hold the Side key to power on Galaxy Note 10 normally. When the phone vibrates, release the Side key and hold the Volume down key until you see the lock screen.
- If the phone is on, you can hold the Power off button in the Power button options menu for about 2-3 seconds. The Power off button should now turn into Safe mode button, as shown below. Tap the button to reboot Galaxy Note 10 into the safe mode.
Can you use the Galaxy Note 10 Side key now? Can you customize the Side key?
If you have any questions on using the Side key on Galaxy Note 10 or Galaxy Note 10+, you may let us know in the comment box below.
We will try to help you.
You may check our Galaxy Note 10 guides if you have any other Galaxy Note 10 or Galaxy Note 10+ related questions,
You can read online or download a PDF version of the official Galaxy Note 10 users manuals in your language here.
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