Get Android O Custom Navigation Bar on any Android Running Nougat [No Root].
In the next version of Android, i.e. Android O, you will be able to customize the navigation bar. Simply put, you can add additional soft buttons to the left and right of the traditional on-screen navigation buttons, such as the clipboard, keyboard switcher, volume control, and more.
And guess what, with a new app called Custom Navigation Bar, you can get the same functionality on most devices running Android 7 Nougat.
- You need a device running Android Nougat
- And it only works on near-stock Android devices like Nexus, Pixel and OnePlus, Sony Xperia, etc.
What will you need?
Do you need root?
You don’t need a root for this. However, you will have to connect your smartphone to your computer via USB cable and execute one ADB command from cmd.
Don’t worry, the steps are pretty simple. We tested it on Google Pixel and Moto G4 (both stock ROM and nougat) and managed to get it working in less than 10 minutes.
Follow the steps
1. Download and install Custom Navigation Bar from Google Play Store. If the app is not supported on your device, don’t download apk, it won’t work. But for those fortunate enough to install it, proceed to the next step.
2. Once you open the app, it will provide you with a list of instructions for an Android smartphone with and without ROOT.
If you have ROOT access –
2.1 Open terminal emulator
2.2 Enter “su” to enter superuser mode.
2.3 Enter the following command to grant permission pm grant xyz paphonb systemuituner android permission WRITE SECURE SETTINGS
However, for this tutorial, I am assuming you do not have ROOT access. So here’s what you need to do.
Install ADB on your computer. There are now two ways to do this, you can do it by installing the Android SDK (it will take a long time), or you can just install a small ADB install (it will only take a minute). I tried the second method
- Download ADB Installer v1.4.3 and install it on your computer. (Administrator rights required)
- Press Y / Yes to install ADB and Fastboot.
- Click Y / Yes to install the drivers.
- Everything will be ready in 15 seconds.
2.2 Connect your Android smartphone to your computer with a USB cable.
2.3 Then enable USB debugging in the developer option. (go to the “About phone” section and click on build # 7 times if you don’t see the “Developer” option)
2.4 Now open cmd on your Windows computer, type the following command and press Enter. shell adb
2.5 And then enter this command and press Enter. pm grant xyz paphonb systemuituner android permission WRITE SAFE SETTINGS
2.6 On the next screen, the application will run a compatibility test and everything goes well, you will see the option to customize the navigation bar.
2.7 Go to the navigation bar Settings scroll down until you see the option “Extra left button” and “Extra right button” and select the type of button you want to add.
Conclusion
While this isn’t a one-click method, if you’re an Android enthusiast, it’s definitely worth a try. The app is stable and also has Tasker integration. What I will explore in detail this weekend.
Anyway, let me know what you think of this in the comment section below.