Sony Support

Article ID : 00293239 / Last Modified : 03/05/2023Print

How to use the Power button on my Xperia smartphone

    The Power button in newer Xperia phones does a lot more than turn your phone on and off. Follow the tips in this article to discover all the different Power button functions.

    Note: The Power button functionality may differ depending on the Android version.

    Customise the Power button functions

    You can now choose what happens when you press the Power button once, twice, or long press.

    On your smartphone, go to Settings → System → Gestures → Power menu to see all the customisable options.

    Open the Power menu

    To open the “Power menu”, press and hold the Power button and the Volume Up (+) button at the same time. From the “Power menu”, you can:

    • Lock your screen by tapping Lockdown.
    • Turn off your phone by tapping Power off.
    • Restart your phone.
    • Force restart your phone.

    If you’d rather turn on the “Power menu” by pressing and holding the Power button, you can change this in the Gestures settings.

    1. Go to Settings → System → Gestures → Power menu.
    2. In the Power menu, toggle the switch next to Hold for assistant to Off.
      Disabling this option will launch the “Power menu” when you press and hold the Power button instead of launching the Google Assistant.

    Turn on the Google Assistant using the Power button

    When the "Hold for assistant" setting is set to Off, pressing and holding the Power button will show the power menu. By setting it to On, you can make the Google Assistant appear instead.

    1. Go to Settings → System → Gestures → Power menu.
    2. In the Power menu, toggle the switch next to Hold for assistant to On.

    Take a screenshot

    To take a screenshot, press and hold the Power button and the Volume Down (-) button at the same time. Learn more about taking screenshots on your smartphone here.

    Open the camera app

    If you’d like your phone to launch the camera app when you double press the Power button, change your phone’s settings as follows:

    Go to Settings → System → Gestures → Jump to camera → Change this setting to On.

    Force restart an unresponsive phone

    If your smartphone doesn't respond when you press the Power button, try holding down the Power button and Volume Up (+) button for a longer period of time (about 30 seconds until the phone vibrates) to force a hard reset. If this doesn’t help, check the battery level and try charging the device. For more information, visit How do I force restart my phone.

    Call for help

    If you need to contact an emergency number, you can press the Power button quickly five times on some Xperia models. Doing so will trigger the actions below:

    • Call 112 by default (the recipient of the emergency call can be changed in the settings).
    • Send your location to the emergency services.
    • Start recording audio and video.
    • Play a countdown alarm; your phone will start playing a loud sound even when the phone is in silent mode.

    For more information, check the Emergency SOS settings on your smartphone.