Customize Android Status Bar Without Rooting
Customizing the Android Status Bar Without Root Access
Many Android users express a desire to personalize the appearance and functionality of their device's status bar. This could involve altering the clock's placement, displaying the battery percentage, or simply achieving a fresh visual aesthetic.
Fortunately, achieving this level of customization is readily attainable without the need for rooting your Android phone or tablet.
Introducing Material Status Bar
A straightforward solution for modifying your status bar is available through an application known as Material Status Bar.
This app, obtainable at no cost from the Google Play Store, empowers users to tailor their status bar experience.
- It allows for adjustments without requiring root privileges.
- Users can modify elements like clock position and battery display.
- The app provides a variety of visual customization options.
With Material Status Bar, achieving a personalized status bar is both simple and accessible.
Initial Setup: Installing Material Status Bar and Authorizing Permissions
Begin by downloading and installing the application from the Google Play Store. Locate it within your app drawer and launch it. The app will request several permissions, which are essential for its functionality.
Specifically, the app requires access to Accessibility, Notifications, and Storage Write permissions within your Android device’s settings. Convenient shortcuts to these settings are provided directly within the application.
Granting Accessibility Permission
First, tap the shortcut leading to the Accessibility settings.
Within the Accessibility menu, select Material Status Bar from the list of installed applications.
A confirmation prompt will appear, verifying your intention to grant the requested permission. Confirm your choice by tapping "OK".
Authorizing Notification and Write Access
Navigate back to the Material Status Bar app using your device’s back button. Then, select the "Notifications" option. Activate the toggle switch located in the upper-right corner and subsequently tap "Allow".
Finally, return to the main app interface once more via the back button and choose "Write". Enable the toggle switch in the upper-right corner to grant the necessary storage access.
The initial setup is now complete. The application is successfully configured and ready for customization.
Step Two: Personalizing the Status Bar
The application’s main menu offers several customization options. Let’s explore these features. First, ensure the toggle located in the upper right corner is activated to enable the app, as illustrated below.
Within the Theme settings, four distinct styles are available: Lollipop, Gradient, Dark Gradient, and Flat. The default setting is Lollipop, which is currently displayed. However, the Flat theme is particularly appealing, presenting as follows:
This theme automatically synchronizes the status bar color with the action bar – the colored bar at the top of most applications, as defined by Google. Should the app fail to select an appropriate color, or if a different aesthetic is desired, custom colors can be assigned to individual applications via the App List.
A screenshot of any application can be captured and utilized with the Color Picker to directly extract colors from it. Consider how the Chrome browser appeared before applying Material Status Bar:
Subsequently, after setting a custom orange color for the status bar, Chrome was transformed:
The Transparent Status Bar feature is designed specifically for use with your home screen and functions optimally with a static, non-scrolling wallpaper. My scrolling home screen caused some visual discrepancies, as demonstrated:
Transparency is not supported for other applications. However, apps that already utilize a transparent status bar, such as Google Maps, will revert to your default color setting.
Access to additional menus is available by swiping in from the left side of the screen, or by tapping the three-line icon in the upper left corner.
Under the Customize section, several minor adjustments can be made. These include centering the clock and displaying the battery percentage, both of which I have found to be quite useful.
The Notification Panel menu allows for modification of the notification panel’s appearance when pulled down from the status bar.
The options here are limited, consisting of three themes that offer only subtle variations. One of these themes is shown below:
Older Android versions (prior to Nougat) typically require two swipes down – one for notifications and another for Quick Settings. Material Status Bar adopts a Samsung-inspired approach, featuring a horizontally-scrolling Quick Settings panel that is always visible.
The behavior of Heads Up notifications can also be adjusted within this application. This includes options to position them at the bottom of the screen or slightly lower, preventing obstruction of the status bar. Only two styles, dark and light, are currently available.
Should you switch to a new device, flash a new ROM, or need to reset your current device, the app’s settings can be easily backed up and restored at any time.
This feature can be a significant time-saver if you have a large number of custom app color configurations.
Upgrading to the Paid Version of Material Status Bar (Optional)
Material Status Bar is available in both a complimentary edition and a Pro version priced at $1.50. The free version, which underwent testing, operates effectively. The primary inconvenience lies in the relatively frequent appearance of full-screen advertisements.
However, these ads are confined to when the application is actively in use. Given the option to configure the app once and then minimize it, their impact is considerably lessened.
Two key benefits drive the potential upgrade to the Pro version: the functionality to utilize your device’s native notification panel alongside Material Status Bar, and expanded access to a wider selection of notification panel themes. Ad removal is also included with the Pro purchase.
Consider this example of an alternative theme:
Therefore, if you find the free version’s notification panel behavior unsatisfactory, investing the $1.50 for the Pro version may be worthwhile.
This concludes the customization process! This application allows for a visually appealing and customizable Material Design status bar.
Should this solution not fully meet your needs, exploring device rooting for more extensive customizations, such as achieving an Android Nougat-style notification panel, is an option. Furthermore, regardless of your chosen modification, integrating app shortcuts into your notification panel remains a possibility.