When notifications arrive, the screen lights up. How to get the functions of proprietary firmware in standard Android

Notifications are a feature that distinguishes the Android operating system. In the 2000s, we could not even imagine that in the future individual applications would learn to notify about certain events - previously, even the operating system itself could only tell about a received SMS message or email. But some people consider Push notifications to be a natural evil. The fact is that the developers of many programs go beyond all limits of reason. Notifications from such applications pour in like a river. They may also contain advertising, which no one wants to be distracted by. That's why many people think about how to set up notifications on Android.

Previously, you couldn’t even dream of managing notifications. The user considered it lucky if the application developer included in the “ Settings» item regarding Push notifications. If it was not there, then they could only be disabled by the so-called “freezing” of the utility. But then the meaning of her presence on the smartphone was lost.

Fortunately, the situation has now changed. This happened with the release of Android 5.0. Google has made sure that the owner of a tablet or smartphone can easily configure the appearance of certain notifications. Moreover, from now on you can turn off notifications from a specific application with just a couple of touches on the screen, using the corresponding panel. And in future versions of Android, even more global customization of the notification panel will be available, which should make the user’s life even easier.

Disable notifications in a few taps

If notifications from a particular application begin to annoy you, then turn them off. This will take you about one minute.

This method only works in Android 5.0 and newer versions of the operating system!

Step 1. Wait for the next notification from the intrusive program or game to appear. When this happens, open the notification panel.

Step 2. Hold your finger on a received notification until it changes color to a darker color.

Step 3. Click on the round button with the letter "i".

Step 4. You will be taken to a menu dedicated to receiving notifications from this application. Here you can activate the checkbox next to the item “ Block" After this, you will no longer receive notifications from this program or game.

Slightly longer way

Of course, it is not necessary to wait for the notification to arrive to make this setting. To do this, you can do the following:

On Android 10:

Step 1. In settings, select "Applications", and then "All applications" to view the programs installed on your smartphone.

Step 2. In the list, tap the app you want to turn off notifications from. A page will open where you can configure various settings.

Step 3. Select "Notifications", and then move the slider "Show notifications" in a state "Turned off". Allow or disable other alerts as needed.

Step 1. Go to " Settings».

Step 2. Go to the section " Apps and notifications».

Step 3. Click on the item " Setting up notifications».

Step 4. Turn off notifications for individual apps.

On older versions of Android:

Step 1. Go to " Settings».

Step 2. Go to the section " Sounds and notifications».

Step 3. Click on the item " Application notifications».

Step 4. Select the program you don't like.

Step 5. This will take you to the menu we have already discussed. Check the box next to " Block».

It should be noted that on some devices the number of steps is greatly reduced. For example, on devices from running Android 6.0, you just need to go to the “ Notifications", and then deactivate the checkboxes of unwanted applications.

And if you do not want to receive any notifications at all, then you need to turn off the checkbox near the top “ All applications».

Eliminate notifications from the lock screen

Some people are very afraid of losing their smartphone, not because of the subsequent financial costs, but because a stranger may gain access to the owner’s personal information. Such people tend to remove notifications from the lock screen so that even they are not visible to a stranger. If it was impossible to do this before, today’s smartphones really allow you to clear the lock screen of unnecessary elements. To do this, perform the following manipulations:

Step 1. Go to " Settings».

Step 2. Proceed to the subsection we have already discussed “ Sounds and notifications" To do this, you may need to go to the “ Device».

Step 3. Here you should see the item " On a locked screen"(may have a similar name). Click on it.

Step 4. In the context menu that appears, select " Don't show notifications».

Some devices offer slightly more extensive customization for this feature. For example, you can often enable the display of notification titles, but at the same time specify that the text contained in them not be shown.

Summarizing

Oddly enough, the Android operating system is still far from ideal. Yes, it allows you to block notifications from individual applications. You can turn off the display of all notifications at once. But for some unknown reason, Google does not allow you to turn off the sound that plays when you receive an alert about an event. More precisely, you can disable it, but also for calls and SMS messages. Separately, the sound for calls and notifications is regulated only on a select number of devices that have a special shell.

The firmware of smartphones from many manufacturers is often much more than just Android. The same Galaxy S4 is simply stuffed with various functions. On the other hand, often the additional functionality turns out to be so good that you want to immediately contact Google and ask to include it in vanilla Android. Fortunately, even if Google doesn't answer, there is always an application that replicates the desired function quite accurately.

Preface

The reason for writing this article was the announcement of the Moto X smartphone from the well-known Motorola. One of its functions, namely Active Display, which displayed notifications directly on the screen as they appeared or when you took the smartphone in your hand, fascinated me so much that I started looking for an alternative implementation of something similar for stock Android. Of course, we couldn’t find anything right away, but over time, several implementations of the idea appeared on Google Play, one of which turned out to be very good; I purchased the paid version and am still enjoying using the app.

Later, there was a desire to explore the world of firmware for other smartphones and find out whether it was possible to get their functionality in bare Android. The results of these studies are brought to your attention.

Active Display

Let's start with the same active display. If you missed the announcement or review of Moto X, then Active Display is a background service that, when a new notification appears (a letter, message, SMS has arrived), turns on the screen and displays information about missed events in a concise form. After a while, the screen goes out, but when you pick up the smartphone, it lights up again, so you don’t need to press the power button at all. Moreover, if a notification arrives while the phone is in your pocket, the display will light up only after you take it out.

This is truly a very convenient way to view incoming messages and notifications, which will also save your smartphone from the premature death of the power button. There are currently only two applications that activate this function in stock Android: Active Notify and DynamicNotifications. Moreover, as it turned out, the first is just a parody of Active Display, which can turn on the screen when events occur, but does not turn it on when picking up the smartphone or taking it out of your pocket. Therefore, in fact, there is only one real replacement.

The required functionality is only available in the paid version of DynamicNotifications, but it costs only one dollar, so feel free to buy, install and launch, after which you will see the settings screen. We enable the Enable DynamicNotifications option, below we enable the Auto-wake option, which is responsible for the smart display of notifications, as well as, if desired, the Night-mode option, which turns off the active display at night (yes, the time can be adjusted). If we are talking about a device running Android 4.3, after launching the application, it will also ask you to give it access to notifications and will redirect you to the desired settings section. Thanks to this feature, DynamicNotifications will be able to show not only the fact that a notification occurred, but also details about it.

Then the smartphone can be safely used in everyday life. When a notification arrives, the screen will light up and allow you to access event details and unlock your device. The internal algorithms of the application are good enough so that, for example, when taken out of your pocket, the screen always lights up as expected. If the smartphone is lying on the table, then you can access notifications by simply moving your palm over the proximity sensor (just above the screen). If the smartphone is turned over, the active display will turn off.

Now let’s talk about how much battery the software consumes and what to do with non-AMOLED displays. The simple answer to the first question is 2–4%. Complex: unlike the Moto X, in which the active display is dedicated to a processor core running at reduced frequencies, Dynamic Notifications is turned on only when there are notifications themselves, and only at this time it wastes the battery monitoring the proximity and position sensors, the rest of the time the process is sleeping. If you enable the use of DynamicNotifications as a lock screen in the application settings, it will always be awake and will eat about 20%. Whether you need it or not, decide for yourself.

As for AMOLED, the story with it was invented by those who did not know how the active display in Moto X actually works, and thought that the screen there was always on. In this case, the type of display makes virtually no difference, and the Moto X could just as easily have an IPS+ matrix.

Air Swiper

I already mentioned how you can turn on the screen by moving your palm over the proximity sensor. Essentially, this is a bug (which is a feature) of DynamicNotifications, which appeared as a result of the work of the algorithm responsible for turning on the screen after removing it from the pocket. However, if in this application contactless gestures are just a side effect, then in some firmware and applications this is a full-fledged function that the manufacturer boasts about.

For example, in Samsung firmware, contactless gestures are not the least important among other popular functions. Here you can use them to turn your smartphone on and off, turn pages in the browser, switch tracks and receive calls. And the smartphone can even distinguish which side of the user’s hand was held over the sensor: the palm or the edge.

Much of this functionality is just Samsung's usual marketing gimmick with little to no practical use (it's hard to imagine someone who would be more comfortable turning pages by waving their hand than by swiping with their finger), but as the DynamicNotifications example showed, even such a controversial idea as non-contact gestures, can find worthy applications.

Google Play has a completely free app on the topic of touchless gestures called Air Swiper. Among its features:

• Automatically turns on the screen when receiving an SMS and opens the message with a gesture;
• turning the screen on and off with a gesture;
• turning on silent mode by holding your hand over the proximity sensor;
• turn on/off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth with a gesture.

I don’t know whether all this functionality will be convenient for you, you’ll have to try it yourself. For myself, I found only one useful function: turning on the screen with a gesture. After all, DynamicNotifications only works when there are notifications, but this app always works. It turned out, however, that the function is much less convenient than it seems. To unlock the device, you have to swipe your hand not once, but three times, which is not always possible to do correctly. In addition, a three-time swing also does not protect against accidental activation; The phone can be unlocked if, for example, you hold it in your hand and walk next to a fence.

In general, Air Swiper is an interesting application, but its usefulness is low, as is the usefulness of similar functionality in proprietary firmware.

Smart Stay

Another much-touted Samsung firmware feature is the Smart Stay feature, which was introduced in the Galaxy S3 and was designed to keep the screen on until the user turned away from it. The mechanism was based on a fairly simple algorithm, which periodically took a picture with the front camera and analyzed whether the user’s eyes were open. Yes - the shutdown timeout is extended, no - we turn off the screen.

The feature worked really well and was a hit with users, so with the Galaxy S4, Samsung expanded on it and, as is its tradition, took the idea to the extreme. In particular, a function has appeared to enable a pause in the video player when looking away from the screen (especially for watching porn, apparently), scrolling the page when the gaze reaches the end of the screen in the browser (game: have time to read the last line) and disabling automatic screen rotation when tilting the device together with your head (we love to read while lying on our sides!).

But no matter how absurd the ideas behind the S4 are, the original Smart Stay is really good. And it is not surprising that many imitators have appeared on Google Play. Smart Stay Ex is one of them. This is a small application that does exactly what the original function from the third Galaxy does, that is, it simply prevents the screen from going dark.

All you need to do to get this feature on your smartphone is to simply install and launch the application, turn it on using the switch at the top of the screen and select the Start at boot option. After this, an application icon will appear in the status bar, which will change color depending on the situation: blue - the screen will not turn off, gray - the screen will turn off in a minute, yellow - scanning is in progress.

The application wakes up every few seconds (half of the system lock timeout) and takes a photo. If the result of the image analysis is positive (eyes are open), the screen shutdown timeout will be extended; if the result is negative, the application will fall asleep for a few more seconds and turn off the screen after the second unsuccessful scanning attempt. You can choose the number of attempts yourself, from 1 to 5, but the default value of 2 is completely justified here. Even in the evening, Smart Stay Ex always correctly determines the condition of the eyes, so usually only one attempt is enough.

The verdict: definitely a must have, precise operation and minimal, almost imperceptible, load on the battery. There is one downside: it often crashes at night.

Quick Settings

Another famous feature of Samsung firmware is the so-called quick settings panel, a small plate with buttons for turning on/off Wi-Fi, sound, GPS and other things, which is located in the upper part of the “curtain”. Initially, the idea, of course, was invented and implemented not by Samsung, but by the developers of CyanogenMod, and after that it was stolen by all and sundry (for example, AOKP, ParanoidAndroid, MIUI). In CyanogenMod itself, it is available starting from the ancient cm7, but if you prefer to use bare Android or the proprietary firmware of the device manufacturer, then you can get the necessary functionality by installing Settings Extended.

In fact, all this application does is create those very buttons in the curtain. But there are also many flexible settings with which you can determine the number and set of buttons displayed, add a second row of buttons, and also determine their appearance and color. The last two settings, however, are only available in the paid version of the application, but it costs only one dollar. The paid version also includes additional buttons and the ability to launch other applications.

There are no problems associated with the operation of buttons and their behavior that are typical for other similar applications in Settings Extended. The row of buttons is always displayed at the top of the panel and does not slide down or disappear when the curtain is cleaned. The buttons respond immediately when pressed and do not open any windows. Everything works exactly as it should, but you have to pay for it in that the application is only available for Android 4.0 and higher (it was in the fourth version that all the necessary functions appeared that allow you to implement interactive notifications).

In general, it’s just an excellent alternative implementation of the original functionality.

Multi-window mode

In the firmware of LG and Samsung there are two functions that are different in implementation, but identical in purpose: LG QSlide and Samsung Pop-Up Play. This is nothing more than a set of applications (browser, video player, calculator, etc.) that can work in a separate floating window, just like in Windows, for example. It is not entirely clear what, other than advertising, guided both companies by including such functions in firmware for smartphones, but in a tablet something similar can be very, very convenient.

There are quite a lot of similar applications on Google Play. Moreover, as it turned out, the functionality that allows you to implement such a mode is in the Android API, so they do not require root rights or any hacks like Xposed. Among the most notable are the Floating Stickies notes, the OverSkreen web browser, the video player Stick It!, the long-titled YouTube player Floating YouTube Popup Video, the A.I.type keyboard tablet, as well as Tiny Apps - a set of five applications that includes:

• notes with the ability to insert, copy and save;
• simple voice recorder;
• canvas for drawing with the ability to save and cancel;
• simple music player;
• calculator with support for complex mathematical operations.

I am sure that most of these applications will not take root on your device, and only the video player and keyboard will remain. The keyboard, by the way, has three operating modes: normal, floating and floating with separate keys for right and left hands. In the latter mode, it will consist of two different blocks of keys located on different sides of the screen, which greatly simplifies text entry, and also does not take up space from the currently running application.

As for the idea itself, in my opinion, it is largely useless. Gadget screens are not so large that multi-windows are justified.

LG Vu Talk

The firmware of the Optimus Vu II series smartphones supports an interesting technology called LG Vu Talk. This is a local Paint that allows you to draw and take notes during a call, which the interlocutor will immediately see. This functionality is very useful in some situations: you can quickly sketch out a diagram or discuss a general idea (synchronization goes in both directions). The only problem is that the interlocutor must also have LG Optimus Vu, and the likelihood of this is quite low.

Luckily, Google has an app with the ambitious name SyncSpace Shared Whiteboard. Essentially the same shared Paint, except that to establish a connection between devices, one call will not be enough and you will also have to send a link. But everything works everywhere, including the same Optimus Vu.

The application is easy to use, but its interface is not obvious. You need to do the following: install the software, launch it, open the menu, select “Syncing...”, and then click “Start Syncing”. After this, you need to open the menu again, select “Syncing...” again, and then click either “Email Sync Link...” or “Copy Sync Link” - and that’s it. On the other side, just open the link, and the application will open automatically.

Intelligent volume control

Many firmwares, including custom ones, have two functions that users love. This automatically turns on silent mode when you turn the device screen down and the ability to set quiet time intervals when the smartphone does not make sounds. This is definitely a useful functionality that is somehow missing from regular Android. Fortunately, the situation is easy to fix using third-party applications.

The best of the best among apps for completing tasks like these and everything related to Android automation is Tasker. This is a tool that allows you to assign certain actions in response to an event that has occurred (time, place, turning on Wi-Fi, whatever), but since Tasker is quite difficult to use and you can’t figure it out quickly, I’ll send you to read a large article about this tool, which has already been published in our magazine, but instead I’ll tell you about easy-to-use applications that do exactly what we need.

The first application is Flip4Silence. This is a simple service that responds to changes in position sensor readings and turns off the sound when you turn the smartphone screen down. As an addition, the application can also mute the ringing sound when the phone is picked up. This is also a very convenient and useful functionality.

The second application is Auto Vibrate. An application with dual functionality. Allows you to turn off the sound not only at certain hours, but also in a certain place. That is, you can, for example, configure the application so that it turns off the sound at work or in the cinema. But this is only in theory; in practice, GPS indoors may simply not work, so you should not rely entirely on the application.

INFO

In CyanogenMod, muting the sound by time can be configured in the “Sound -> Quiet Hours” menu.

Conclusion

Of course, these are not all proprietary functions that can be found in the firmware of certain smartphone manufacturers. Left behind the scenes are a combine camera with a huge number of useless functions from Samsung, notes on top of the screen from LG, a video zoom function in the player from Samsung and LG, Smart Actions from Motorola and many others. You will never need most of these functions, but the ones included in the article will be very useful.

By installing each application, the smartphone owner agrees with requests for access to certain data and device capabilities, including a notification system. Thanks to this, you can be sure that you do not miss really important messages and reminders, but some mobile software abuses this by distributing advertising or frequent irrelevant alerts.

There are two ways to get rid of annoying notifications - either using the Android system or through the settings inside the application itself. The first case is only suitable for smartphones based on version 4.1 and higher, while the second does not depend on the OS modification.

System disable notifications

The ability to configure notifications has begun to be introduced from devices based on Android Jelly Bean; on such devices, you can either completely disable notifications for each individual application, or enable them all. In Android 6, finer settings have appeared that allow you to adjust the frequency, sound and other parameters.

Users of the latest versions just need to press and hold on the annoying pop-up notification until the opportunity to manage it appears.

In just two steps, you can switch all notifications from the application to silent mode or block them altogether. If this is not enough, you should go to “Other Settings”.

By turning off automatic mode by pressing the letter “A”, you can adjust the level of importance by moving the slider. Depending on its position it changes:

• Sound and vibration mode;
• Priority of notification relative to others;
• Permission to show messages on the lock screen.

Additional options are available below that allow you to determine what information will be available on the locked screen - this way you can allow the display of all data, with the exception of personal data (for example, the contents of messages) or block notifications of this nature and not show them without unlocking the device.

Also, notifications from this application can be moved to the “Important” category, and in this case they will make themselves known even in “Do not disturb” mode. By setting a frequency limit, you will not hear more than one alert within a specified period of time (from 10 seconds to 30 minutes).

How to go to the notifications section?

There is another way to go to the same menu to set up notifications for each application.

Go to your phone settings. The gear icon is located in the general menu or on the right side of the curtain.

Under the “Device” heading, click on “Applications.” Having selected the appropriate utility from the list, click on the “Notifications” section.

In versions earlier than Android 6, there is no such section; you can check or uncheck the “Enable notifications” item in the settings of the selected application.

If this option is not available on your phone, you should update the shell or go to the settings of the application itself.

Disable notifications in applications

Most popular applications allow you to configure all incoming notifications using your own means - first of all, you should use them, and only if they do not solve the problem, go to the system settings.

Google

One of the main system applications often notifies you about the current weather, traffic jams and much more. To turn off notifications from Google:

• Launch the application;

• Open the menu by swiping from left to right;
• Select “Settings”;

• Open the “Notifications” section;

• Select “Feed”;

In the window that opens, you can set the ringtone and vibration signal for important notifications, select the data of interest for notification, or disable everything.

Important notifications (for example, when logging into your account from a new device) cannot be completely disabled.

Social network

To stop receiving more messages from Facebook, open the application and click on the far right “Menu” icon. At the very bottom, in the “Help and Settings” section, open “Notification Settings”.

In the upper part, you choose what related notifications you want to receive, in the lower part - in what ways (among the available ones are push, email and SMS).

To turn off unwanted notifications, go to one of the categories and select "None". At the very bottom is the “Advanced Settings” item, where you can change the standard message sound, indicator color and other parameters.

Messengers

Setting up notifications in most instant messengers is usually the same. For example, in WhatsApp you need:

• Click on the “Menu” icon;
• Select “Settings”;
• Go to "Notifications".

To turn off all notifications, change the sound from Standard to Silent, set Light to None, and disable pop-ups.

The importance of notifications can hardly be overestimated. After all, if your smartphone or tablet stops receiving notifications, you may miss an important message from a friend or forget to attend a scheduled meeting.

Today, people rely heavily on their devices, particularly on timely notifications. Therefore, if something happens to this function and it stops working properly, it causes serious inconvenience to the owner of the device. However, unfortunately, sometimes this happens and then the question arises: what to do if notifications from applications do not arrive?

Notifications from applications are not received. How to fix?

It is worth noting that sometimes notifications may not work due to an error in the application development. Moreover, it is not uncommon for such an error to be associated with a specific version of the Android OS. But before you complain to the app developer about a bug, you should make sure that there is nothing on your device that can block them from appearing.

Of course, in order for notifications to arrive, this function must be activated in the application itself. Then you can step by step check the settings of your device according to the points listed below (the names of the points may differ depending on the brand of the device and the version of the operating system).

In the video below you can see the methods described in the article to fix this problem, as well as some others.

1) Set the correct time and time zone.

Incorrectly set time can negatively affect the operation of notifications. If you notice that the time on your device is different from the real one, this may be the reason for your inconvenience. To set the time you need:

1) go to "Settings" to section;

2) disable function "Auto time detection"(it may also be called "Network time zone");

3) install correct date And time, and also choose your Timezone;

4) after setting the time reboot your device.

2) Enable the “Show Contents” function and configure the display of notifications on the screen.

Please note whether the “Show Contents” feature is enabled on your device. For this:

1) go to "Settings" and go to the section "Lock screen and protection";

2) at point "On-Screen Notifications" find the section “Content. lock screen" and select "Show content";

3) then in the main settings menu, go to the section "Notifications" and check whether notifications are enabled for the application with which you are having problems. If notifications are turned off activate corresponding switch.

4) In the same item in additional settings you can set the priority for notifications "Mark as important"(this item may be called differently). This step may also help with this problem.

3) Disable “Background Data Restrictions”.

When you turn on Background Data Limits, some apps and services won't work when your device isn't connected to Wi-Fi. Even if the device is connected to the mobile Internet, notifications, for example, from Viber or WhatsApp instant messengers will not arrive until Wi-Fi is turned on. To disable this feature:

1) go to "Settings" and go to the section "Data usage";

2) click on "Options" and, if this feature is enabled, select "Disable background data restriction".

4) Disable energy saving mode.

As a rule, by default the power saving mode of the entire device is turned off (unless the battery is low). However, individual applications can be put into power saving mode without the user's knowledge. We advise you to disable power saving mode for applications from which you want to receive notifications. For this:

1) in settings go to section "Battery";

2) at point "Application Power Consumption" click the button "Details";

3) if the application you need is in the item, click on it and select "Disable".

This method often helps and notifications begin to arrive.

5) Removing applications that block the display of notifications.

Applications that block the display of notifications may include such well-known applications as, for example, Clean Master or DU Battery Saver and all such applications, it makes no sense to list all of them.

Battery saving apps can simply disable the apps you need, and a disabled app can't display a notification on your screen. Therefore, if one of them is installed on your device, disable notification blocking in the settings of these applications or delete such an application.

6) Including the application in the “white list”.

On some brands of devices, in order for the application to display notifications, it must be added to the so-called “white list”. To do this you need in the section "Safety" select "" and include the required application in it.

In most cases, these tips should help you with the display of notifications and the question: why notifications from applications are not received should no longer worry you. Unless this problem is related to an error in the development of the application or firmware of your device.