I'm having trouble rebooting my Pixel 10 into safe mode. I need to do this to identify and possibly disable or uninstall some malicious apps that I suspect are affecting my phone. Every time I attempt the reboot, the home screen keeps flashing and then the device just powers off. At one point, I saw a message indicating that the Android system couldn't start due to possible data corruption, and I was given the option to either factory reset or try starting again. I opted to start again, but I'm back to square one with my phone seemingly compromised. I've run several malware scanning apps lately, but none of them have found anything. I'm really not sure what my next steps should be.
2 Answers
I totally understand your concern about a factory reset. One strategy you can try is to boot your phone into recovery mode and wipe the cache partition first. This won't delete your personal data but can help remove problematic files that might be causing the issue. After that, check for apps that might be causing trouble. If that doesn’t work, just proceed carefully with a factory reset, as it often clears persistent malware.
I get that factory resetting feels risky, especially with the fear of apps restoring. But, uninstalling the dodgy apps directly might be an option too. Look through your installed apps carefully. If you're sure they're malicious, just boot normally and get rid of them. A reset can fix deeper system issues, but do it after clearing out any problematic apps first, if possible. That way, even if something tries to reinstall itself, at least you've removed it from your device already.
Just a heads up, before you reset, ensure you have important data backed up. Consider changing your passwords once you've done the reset too. Can help secure your account from being accessed while you're doing the reset.
Wiping the cache is a good idea! Also, consider reviewing your Google Play apps list from another device so you can spot suspicious ones before logging back in.