Customize OnePlus 5 Notification Bar Menu

To customize the notification bar menu on a OnePlus 5, you need to edit the Quick Settings tiles and the notification shade’s appearance in the Settings app. You can add, remove, or rearrange toggle buttons, change which icons appear in the status bar, and adjust notification behavior for individual apps.

Quick Settings Tiles: Add, Remove, Rearrange

The Quick Settings menu (the panel you pull down from the top of the screen) shows a grid of toggle buttons for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, flashlight, and other functions. To customize these tiles on OxygenOS (the OnePlus 5’s operating system):

1. Pull down the notification bar twice (or once with two fingers) to fully expand the Quick Settings panel.
2. Tap the pencil icon (or the three-dot menu, depending on your OxygenOS version) in the bottom-right corner of the panel.
3. You’ll see two sections: Available Tiles and Selected Tiles. Drag tiles from the available list into the selected list to add them, and drag them out to remove them.
4. To rearrange, long-press a tile in the selected list and drag it to your preferred position.
5. Tap the back arrow or the checkmark to save your layout.

If your OnePlus 5 runs an older version of OxygenOS (Android 7/8), the edit mode might open directly when you tap the pencil icon. The process is the same: drag to add, remove, or reorder.

Status Bar Icon Control

The status bar at the very top shows icons for network, battery, notifications, and more. To control which icons appear:

• Go to Settings → Status Bar (or Display → Status Bar on some versions).
• Here you can toggle the Battery percentage display (inside or beside the battery icon).
• You can also hide or show specific icons like Bluetooth, alarm, volume, and more. The exact list varies by OxygenOS version.
• On newer OxygenOS versions (Android 9/10), look for Settings → Display → Status Bar and then tap on Icon Manager to individually show/hide icons.

Notification Shade Appearance

Beyond the Quick Settings tiles, you can change how the notification shade looks and behaves:

• Notification style: In Settings → Display → Notification style, you can choose between “Default” (OxygenOS) and “Android” (stock-like) styles. This changes the look of the notification cards and the shade background.
• Notification light: If your OnePlus 5 has the LED notification light, you can set its color per app under Settings → Notifications & Status Bar → Notification Light.
• Do Not Disturb: You can schedule or manually enable Do Not Disturb from Quick Settings, and customize which notifications are allowed through under Settings → Sound & Vibration → Do Not Disturb.

Per-App Notification Settings

To control which apps can send notifications and how they appear:

1. Go to Settings → Apps & notifications (or App management on older versions).
2. Select an app, then tap Notifications.
3. You can toggle notifications on/off entirely, or choose the importance level (e.g., “Urgent”, “High”, “Medium”, “Low”). This affects whether the notification appears as a pop-up, in the status bar, or only in the shade.
4. On OxygenOS, you can also enable Notification preview to show content on the lock screen, or hide it.

Common Problems and Fixes

If you run into issues while customizing your notification bar, here are common problems and solutions:

• Can’t find the pencil icon: If your Quick Settings panel doesn’t show an edit icon, try pulling down twice to fully expand the shade. On some OxygenOS versions, the edit button only appears when the panel is fully expanded.
• Changes not saving: After rearranging tiles, make sure to tap the back arrow or the checkmark to save. If you just swipe down, changes might revert.
• Status bar icons missing: Some icons (like Bluetooth) might be hidden by default. Go to the Status Bar settings and re-enable them.
• Notifications not showing: If an app’s notifications don’t appear, check both the app’s notification settings and the system’s Do Not Disturb mode. Also ensure the app isn’t force-stopped or battery-optimized aggressively.

Comparison: OnePlus 5 vs. Stock Android

The OnePlus 5 runs OxygenOS, which is based on Android but adds its own customization layer. Compared to stock Android (like on Pixel devices), OxygenOS offers more built-in options for the notification bar:

• Quick Settings editing: Stock Android also allows tile editing, but OxygenOS provides a more visual drag-and-drop interface.
• Status bar icon manager: Stock Android hides some icons automatically; OxygenOS lets you manually show/hide each icon.
• Notification style: OxygenOS lets you switch between its default style and a more stock-like Android style, which stock Android doesn’t offer.
• Extra toggles: OxygenOS includes additional Quick Settings tiles like “Reading Mode” and “OnePlus Switch” that aren’t on stock Android.

Safety and Precautions

Customizing the notification bar is safe and doesn’t require root access. However, be careful when using third-party apps that claim to customize the status bar or notification shade—they might require accessibility permissions or could conflict with OxygenOS. Always download apps from the Google Play Store and review the permissions they request. If you ever want to revert to the default layout, you can reset the Quick Settings by going to Settings → System → Reset options → Reset app preferences (this resets all app defaults but also restores default notification settings).

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I add a screenshot tile to the Quick Settings?

On the OnePlus 5, the screenshot function is usually triggered by a three-finger swipe or by pressing Power + Volume Down. There isn’t a dedicated screenshot tile in the Quick Settings on most OxygenOS versions. You can use the “Long screenshot” feature in the recent apps screen, but for a tile, you might need a third-party app.

Why is my notification bar not showing the time?

The time is always displayed in the status bar unless you’re in a fullscreen app or have enabled “Hide time” in the Status Bar settings. Check Settings → Status Bar and ensure the clock toggle is on. Some apps might hide the status bar entirely; that’s an app-specific setting.

Can I change the color of the notification shade?

OxygenOS does not offer a built-in option to change the background color of the notification shade. However, you can apply a custom theme from the OnePlus Theme Store (if available) or use a third-party launcher that overlays a custom shade. On Android 9 and later, you can also enable “Dark mode” which makes the shade dark.

How do I stop notifications from showing content on the lock screen?

Go to Settings → Security & lock screen → Lock screen preferences (or Notifications on some versions). Choose “Hide sensitive notification content” or “Don’t show notifications at all” depending on your preference.

Why are some Quick Settings tiles greyed out?

Greyed-out tiles usually mean the corresponding feature is off or unavailable. For example, the “Hotspot” tile might be greyed out if Wi-Fi is off. Turn on the relevant feature first, or check if the tile is disabled in the edit mode—sometimes tiles appear greyed out if they are not selected.

Is there a way to reset the notification bar to default?

Yes. Go to Settings → System → Reset options → Reset app preferences. This will reset all app defaults, including notification settings, but won’t delete any data. For Quick Settings layout, you can manually remove all added tiles and re-add the default ones.

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