Galaxy S20, S10, Note 10 and Co .: how to retrofit the notification LED

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March 9, 2020, 4:08 pm Reading time: Two minutes

Galaxy S20, Note 10 and Galaxy S10 no longer blink to indicate lost notifications. If you don't want to do this, you can retrofit the notification LED in just a few simple steps.

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Since the Galaxy S10, Samsung has been delivering its top smartphones without notification LEDs, and the Galaxy S20 is no exception. Instead, manufacturers rely entirely on so-called always-on displays (AOD). When the display is off, the individual pixels of the AMOLED display light up to show incoming notifications or times. Not all users like this way, fortunately, there are some tricks you can use to restore the old flashing flash.

Possibility 1: Use a third-party application to convert AOD

There are a number of applications on Google Play that can configure the always-on display to your liking. For example, the "LED Me Know" application generates a circular flashing light on the AOD-similar to the notification LED on the Samsung Galaxy S9.

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You can download the app for free, but you must activate some settings through in-app purchases. In addition, using this application can sometimes negatively impact battery life. In addition, you must grant the app extensive permissions, and many Android users are critical to this. Therefore, we will show you the following options to implement the notification LED via the in-vehicle device.

Case 2: Side lights

In settings you can activate the "Side Light" option. To do this, click on "Display" and select the menu item "Page Screen". Now activate the side lights here. If you click on this option, you can configure it more precisely, and you can also specify that it be activated only for certain applications. But in the end, the side light cannot completely replace the notification LED, because the side light goes out after a few seconds and does not flash permanently.

Option 3: Camera flash as notification LED

Samsung gives you the option to use the camera flash as a notification LED. The corresponding options can be found in the settings under the menu item "Accessibility". Select "Advanced Settings" here and then select the "Flash Notification" option. You can now choose whether the screen should light up to receive incoming notifications or whether the camera flash should flash.

The former did not work for us in testing, but the flashlight responded reliably to incoming notifications. However, the lights here are not permanently lit, but a few seconds after receiving the message.

Option 4: Buy a protective cover

If you don't like the options described here, you should consider buying a Samsung LED View Cover. The protective cover is another option for S20 and Co. to subsequently add status LEDs. In the linked article, you will learn all about the scope of functions and the cost of the lampshade.

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