Android is a Linux system and as such is made so that you don’t have to restart it several times every day. Some androids can show uptime times that many Windows server administrators would be jealous of. But there are real reasons to restart your phone. We list the five most important ones.
In most cases, restarting the phone is completely unnecessary. After a restart, Android doesn’t run any faster than before, and there’s actually no real reason to turn off your phone every evening. Just switch it to flight mode and plug it into the socket. Nevertheless, there are people who dutifully turn off their smartphone or tablet every evening and turn it on again the next morning. This is fine and does not harm the devices in any way. Who, on the other hand, often uses his Android device must restart, should urgently look for a firmware update or a replacement device, because necessary is a reboot in the rarest of cases. We list five real reasons here.
5. Replace the microSD card
Some manufacturers have installed the microSD card slot in such a way that the card can only be removed if the battery is also removed. The ghosts argue about whether that is particularly clever or particularly stupid. The fact is that the microSD card could easily be removed (umount) via the corresponding menu item in the Android settings and then another card could be inserted. But not every app is prepared for such a step. With some androids, the only way to do this is to restart. Even if MicroSD cards are something of yesterday, many users struggle with the small discs. Therefore, it is perfectly okay to reboot the phone to change the memory card. But elegant looks different …
4. Replace SIM card
Yes, they still exist: users who use multiple SIM cards but do not have a dual SIM smartphone. For example, because someone lives close to the border or often goes on vacation, etc. With the exception of a few smartphones, hardly any Android device can switch on the fly and the user is forced to restart the mobile phone. With some devices, it is possible to first switch the mobile phone to flight mode, then remove the SIM card, insert a new one and then switch flight mode off again. Of our test devices, only the Moto X was able to change SIM cards without restarting so far. Most Android smartphones only accept a new SIM card when the phone is rebooted. (Not to mention that in an estimated 60 percent of all devices the SIM card is installed in such a way that you have to remove the battery to replace it.) That could certainly be solved more elegantly, but a SIM card change is also one acceptable reason to reboot the phone.
3. Install firmware update
Every month the manufacturers deliver a firmware update, which usually contains a few small things, important stability and security updates. In order to be able to update the entire Android system, a reboot is currently necessary for every Android device. Linux itself now offers numerous mechanisms that make a reboot superfluous, even kernel modules can be patched “on-the-fly”, but with most androids the drivers (kernel modules) are firmly integrated into the kernel, so that a restart is unavoidable. A firmware update is always a good reason to restart the phone and you don’t have to be ashamed of the restart.
2. Flash custom ROM or ZIP file
Yes, this is how Android is fun. Quickly reboot into the recovery menu using adb reboot recovery and then import the latest firmware or a new kernel. Anyone who knows about this is a real Android freak and doesn’t give a damn about the fact that he sometimes has to restart the phone several times a day. There are even apps on Google Play that specialize in rebooting, because this menu item is missing on most Android smartphones – for understandable reasons. Strictly speaking, this is not a restart at all; the system simply boots into the recovery menu. This is something completely different and actually the only real reason besides the firmware update to say goodbye to the running Android system for a short time! If it weren’t for point 1 on our list …
1. Update for Motorola startup services
Motorola’s pretty boot animations for the Moto E, Moto G and Moto X are the ultimate reason to reboot your phone! The Motorola designers always come up with something new (currently for the World Cup) and an update of the app always appears when you least expect it. So even non-freaks can, with good reason, restart their mobile phone every week and enjoy the Android boot process, and one would like to restart the mobile phone right away to discover all the details. Yes, there really is no better reason to restart your Android smartphone 🙂
Did we forget a good reason? Then let us know in the comments! If you liked this article, please share it with your friends!
PS If you want to know how long ago it was since the last restart, open the Android settings, scroll down to the entry “About the phone” and select the entry “Status”. Here you can find the “operating time” in hours, minutes and seconds at the bottom.
