7 Simple Ways to Enable + Use the Notification Bar on Android

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Learn how you can use your Android's notification bar
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On Android, the notification bar (or status bar) displays vital information as well as apps you have notifications from. You can also display notifications on your lock screen and change which app icons appear in the notification bar. If you really want, you can hide the notifications bar using a third-party app. This wikiHow article teaches you how to display and modify the notification bar on Android.

Where is the notifications bar?

The notifications bar is at the top of the screen. This displays the time, your battery life, if you are on Wi-Fi or a mobile network, and your signal strength. It also displays when you have notifications and which apps they are from.

Section 1 of 7:

Displaying Your Notifications

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  1. Swipe down from the notifications bar. This will display a complete list of all your recent notifications. Tap a notification to open the app and view the activity. Swipe right on a notification to clear it.
    • The notifications menu also gives you access to the quick access icons at the top of the page, as well as the Settings menu.
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Section 2 of 7:

Enabling Lock Screen Notifications

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  1. Swipe down from the top of the screen and tap the Gear icon in the upper-right corner to open the Settings menu. You can also open the Settings menu in the Apps menu. [1]
  2. 2
    Open the Notifications menu. The Settings menu is slightly different depending on what phone model you have. If you have a Samsung Galaxy, tap Notifications on the Settings menu. If you have a standard Android phone, tap Apps & notifications , followed by Notifications.
  3. 3
    Tap Lock screen notifications , Notifications on lock screen or On lock screen . Depending on what Android model you have, this option will be different. Tap the option to edit your lock screen notifications.
  4. 4
    Select from the options available. The options will be different depending on what Android phone model you have. [2]
    • On Samsung Galaxy, tap the toggle switch at the top to turn lock screen notifications on or off. You can select if you want to view notifications in the form of dots, icons at the top of the screen, or a list of cards similar to the notifications panel. You can also select Show content or Hide content . If you select “Show content” you can tap the gear icon next to this option to select which apps you want to receive lock screen notifications for. You can also select if you want to show alerting notifications only.
    • On a standard Android, you can select Show alerting and silent notifications , Show all notifications , or Don’t show notifications .
    • If you want to hide sensitive notifications, open the Notifications menu and tap Advanced Settings on Samsung Galaxy or Privacy on standard Android. Enable “Suggest actions and replies for notifications” on Samsung Galaxy, or “Hide sensitive content” on standard Android.
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Section 3 of 7:

Notification Bar Icons on Samsung Galaxy

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  1. 1
    Open Settings. Swipe down from the top of the screen and tap the Gear icon in the upper-right corner to open the Settings menu. Samsung Galaxy allows you to enable, change, or disable icons in the Notifications.
  2. 2
    Open the Notifications menu. Go ahead and open the Notifications menu in the Settings menu.
  3. 3
    Tap Status bar . This displays options for Status bar (or Notification bar) icons.
  4. 4
    Tap an option to enable or disable notifications in the notification bar. You can select one of the following options:
    • Dots: This option displays app notifications as small dots in the notification bar.
    • Icons: This option displays app notifications as tiny icons in the notification bar.
    • None: This option turns off app notifications in the notification bar.
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Section 4 of 7:

Specific App Notifications

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  1. 1
    Open Settings. Swipe down from the top of the screen and tap the Gear icon in the upper-right corner to open the Settings menu. You can also open the Settings menu in the Apps menu.
  2. 2
    Open the Notifications menu. This will display your Notifications menu.
  3. 3
    Tap App Notifications . This displays your notifications menu for specific apps.
  4. 4
    Tap the toggle switch to enable or disable notifications for specific apps. If you want to stop receiving notifications from a specific app, tap the toggle switch next to that app to turn notifications off. If you are not receiving notifications from a specific app and would like to, ensure the toggle switch next to that app is turned on.
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Section 5 of 7:

Snoozing Notifications

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  1. Swipe down from the top of the screen and tap the Gear icon in the upper-right corner to open the Settings menu. You can also open the Settings menu in the Apps menu. [3]
  2. The Settings menu is slightly different depending on what phone model you have. On most devices, you will find the Notifications option in the Settings menu. [4]
  3. 3
    Tap Advanced settings (Samsung Galaxy only). If you have a Samsung Galaxy phone, tap the Advanced settings option.
  4. 4
    Tap the option that allows you to snooze notifications. If you have a Samsung Galaxy, tap the toggle switch next to the “Show snooze button” option. If you have a standard Android phone, tap the toggle switch next to “Allow notification snoozing.”
  5. 5
    Open your notifications panel. To do so, swipe down from the top of the screen.
  6. 6
    Tap the arrow icon next to a notification. It’s the bracket pointing down next to notification. Tap this icon for an app or user you want to snooze.
  7. 7
    Tap the alarm clock icon. This will snooze notifications from this application or person for two hours by default.
    • If you have a Samsung Galaxy phone, you will need to select how long you want to snooze notifications. You can select up to two hours. Tap the radio button next to the option you want and tap Save .
    • If you have a standard Android phone, you can change how long you want to snooze the notification for by tapping the arrow next to the notification and select how long you want to snooze the notification for.
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Section 6 of 7:

Screen Recording With No Bars

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  1. 1
    Swipe down from the top of the screen two times. Swiping down once displays your notifications panel with a few Quick Access icons at the top of the page. Swiping down a second time displays the rest of your Quick Access notifications.
  2. 2
    Tap and hold the Screen Recording option. This displays the options menu for screen recording.
    • If you don’t see the screen recording option, swipe left to view more Quick Access icons. If you still don’t see it, tap the pencil icon at the top of the screen. Locate the Screen Recording option in the icons at the bottom of the screen. Tap it to add it to your Quick Access panel.
  3. 3
    Tap the toggle switch next to “Hide Status and Navigation Bars.” This will enable or disable the notification bar at the top of the screen and the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen during screen recording and screen capture.
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Section 7 of 7:

Hiding the Notification Bar

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  1. 1
    Download and install Fullscreen Immersive. There isn’t an option to hide or disable the notification bar in the Settings menu on Android devices, however, you can do it with a third-party app. Fullscreen Immersive is a free app you can download from the Google Play Store.
    • Fullscreen Immersive is free with ads, or you can pay to unlock an ad-free version of the app.
  2. 2
    Open Fullscreen Immersive. It has a purple icon with an oval-shaped bar with some icons in the middle. You can tap the icon in the Apps menu to open the app or tap Open in the Google Play Store once it is finished installing.
  3. 3
    Go through the setup process. The first time you open the app, you will need to go through a brief setup process. The first screen gives you some instructions. Tap Next to continue. Then tap I agree on the next screen.
  4. 4
    Allow the app to enter Fullscreen mode. On the third screen, tap Allow in the lower-right corner. Then tap the toggle switch next to the Fullscreen Immersive app in the list. Tap the back arrow to return to the app and tap Allow again. Then tap I understand in the lower right corner.
    • You may need to watch an ad to use the Fullscreen Immersive app. If so, just wait until you see an “x” icon in the upper-right corner. Then tap the “x” icon to exit the ad and return to the app.
  5. 5
    Select an option. There are four options in Fullscreen Immersive. They are as follows:
    • Hide Nothing : This displays both the notifications bar and the navigation bar. This is the default setting.
    • Hide Navigation Bar : This hides the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen.
    • Fullscreen : This hides both the navigation bar and the notifications bar.
    • Hide notification Bar : This option hides the notification bar at the top of the screen.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.androidpolice.com/turn-on-lock-screen-notifications-android/
      2. ↑ https://support.google.com/android/answer/9079661
      3. ↑ https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS10002524/
      4. ↑ https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS10002524/

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