While you can simply press and hold the power button on most Android devices to bring up the power menu, things aren't as simple when it comes to newer Samsung devices. By default, if you press and hold the power button (or Side Key, as Samsung likes to call it) on a Galaxy smartphone, it brings up Bixby -- Samsung's virtual assistant. This means you can't actually switch off newer Samsung devices by simply pressing or holding down the Power button. So, how on Earth do you power off your Galaxy smartphone then? It's still rather simple, albeit not as intuitive anymore. The newer generation of Samsung phones support four methods to help you switch off or restart your device and, in this post, I'll demonstrate all four using the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3.

How to switch off the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3

As stated earlier, you can switch off your Galaxy Z Flip 3 using four unique methods. Three of these methods don't require you to make any changes to the settings, so let's take a look at those first.

Method 1: Switch off your Galaxy Z Flip 3 using the side key and volume down button

On most Android devices, you can press the power button and volume down button together to take a screenshot and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is no different in that regard. But, did you know that you can also use the same button combination to bring up the power menu? The only difference between the two shortcuts boils down to the duration you hold the buttons.

Galaxy Z Flip 3 buttons

If you press and hold the side key and volume down button on your Galaxy Z Flip 3 for two to three seconds, the power menu should pop up. You can then tap on the gray Power off button to switch off the device or tap on the green Restart button to reboot it. Simple, isn't it?

Galaxy Z Flip 3 power menu

Now, let's move on to the next method, which will let you turn off your Galaxy Z Flip 3 using a voice command.

Method 2: Switch off your Galaxy Z Flip 3 using Bixby

As mentioned earlier, when you press and hold the power button on your Galaxy Z Flip 3, it triggers Bixby instead of bringing up the power menu. You can use this to your advantage and ask Bixby to switch off your device for you. Simply trigger Bixby using the power button and say "Switch off" or "Turn off my phone."

Bixby will then bring up a confirmation prompt with two buttons -- Power off and Reboot. You can then tap on the former to switch off your device or the latter to reboot.

In case you're not fond of either of these methods, you can also switch off your Galaxy Z Flip 3 from the Quick Settings menu. Read on to find out how you can do that.

Method 3: Switch off your Galaxy Z Flip 3 from the Quick Settings menu

To turn off your Galaxy Z Flip 3 using the power off button in the Quick Settings menu, swipe down on the home screen twice to open Quick Settings. Then, tap on the power icon that appears next to the settings cog in the top right corner. This will open up the same power menu shown in the first method.

You can then tap on the gray Power off button to switch off the device or tap on the green Restart button to reboot it.

Still not satisfied with these alternatives? You'd be glad to know that Samsung also lets you remap the Side key to open the power menu by default, instead of triggering Bixby. Check out the following method to learn how you can remap the Side key on your Galaxy Z Flip 3.

Method 4: Switch off your Galaxy Z Flip 3 by remapping the Side key to open the power menu

In order to remap the Side key to open the power menu instead of triggering Bixby, you'll have to jump into the Settings. You can do so by either tapping on the Settings icon in the app drawer or by tapping on the settings cog in the Quick Settings menu.

Once you're in the Settings menu, head over to the Advanced features section and tap on the Side key option. On the following page, tap on the Power off menu option under the Press and hold section to remap the Side key.

Your Galaxy Z Flip 3 will now open the Power menu instead of Bixby when you press and hold the side key, letting you easily switch off or reboot the device. If you want to skip a couple of steps, you can also search for the Side key setting by tapping on the search icon in the top right corner of the settings menu.

Now that you're familiar with these methods, let's take a look at another alternative that will come in handy when your phone is unresponsive and none of these options seem to work.

Bonus: Switch off your unresponsive Galaxy Z Flip 3

In case your Galaxy Z Flip 3 just froze and none of the methods mentioned above seem to work, you can try one more alternative method to reboot it. This method to force reboot the phone uses the same power button and volume down button combination. However, this time around, you need to hold the buttons for around fifteen seconds. Doing so will force restart your device and whatever issues you were facing before the reboot should clear up.

That pretty much sums it up. You now know all the ways in which you can switch off your Galaxy Z Flip 3. If you just purchased your device and are looking for cases, we have some case recommendations for the Galaxy Z Flip 3.