Notification Bar is dim, hard to read

[DavidJ726]

I just came over from the HTC EVO, and one of the 1st things I've noticed on the GS3 is that the notification bar is a lot dimmer and harder to read than what I'm used to. The grey (gray?) icon for wifi is nearly impossible to read, and the envelop notification for e-mail is not much better. I also have a battery widget from elvision to display the percentage remaining, and it to is difficult to read. Is there a setting somewhere to brighten the notification bar? What's really annoying is that I can pull down the shade to review all notifications, and the top area gets extremely bright, so i know it's not a hardware issue.

Auto brightness is off, and the level is turned up to about 90%.

Android V 4.1.1
Build L710VPBLJ7

Thanks,
David

 

[crester]

It's just something you'll get used to... there's nothing wrong with the notification bar.

 

[GSDer]

Can you post a screenshot? I keep my brightness turned all the way down (inside anyway) and have no problem seeing the Status bar and the icons on it.

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk 2

 

[crester]

I think what he's talking about is the notification bar on the HTC EVO looks brighter because HTC uses white for text on their bar... while Samsung chose to use a light shade of grey. As I said... it's just something he'll get used to. People need to realize that if they buy a new phone... it's gonna be different from their old phone.

 

[DavidJ726]

Sorry for the delay in responding.... but crester is correct, the screenshot shows exactly what I'm used to, and the Samsung notification is grey on black which is more difficult to read. Maybe if I was in my 30's or 40's again it wouldn't be such a big deal, but these old eyes are getting tired!

 

[crester]

Actually now that I think about it... you may be able to get around this problem by changing your LAUNCHER.

 

[Lanhoj]

I'd recommend checking out "StatusBar+"--> https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...com.tombarrasso.android.wp7bar&token=5Ke7_i1f
It lets you customize the colors of your Notification Bar & it's icons.

 

[meyerweb#CB]

Give it some time, and I think you'll get used to it. I went from an HTC phone to the GS3 and thought the same thing as the OP, but now I really don't notice any problem with the notification bar.

 

[DavidJ726]

Awright, I'll be patient.... other than that I have no problem with the notification bar, so I'll stay away from Statusbar+ for now.

Thanks

 

[bassmig]

Do you have power saving mode on? It did affect the brightness on a few apps mainly the e-mail app but I think it may affect a few other things including the notification bar.

 

[DavidJ726]

Thanks, but no, I have it turned off. That's one of the 1st things I did.

 

[MaggieH]

I found a work-around for the same problem, though it's a little crude. I emailed the wallpaper picture I use to my laptop, opened it in MS Paint, and put a small black rectangle at the top of it. The grey font shows up much clearer! If you don't want to do that, try using a wallpaper that's just all-around darker - that might work, too. I've attached "before and after" screenshots of what I did on my phone.





People with poor eyesight (like me) have a hard enough time reading some things on a phone screen because it's so small, so to have the status bar fade away into your wallpaper and make the bottom part of the font so faint is a significant usability challenge. I can find accessibility settings for font size for things like my apps, but nothing that really helps with the fact that the status bar bleeds into the color of the background. I hope they consider changing that during their next round of usability tests.

 

[Joseph Querengesser]

I found a work-around for the same problem, though it's a little crude. I emailed the wallpaper picture I use to my laptop, opened it in MS Paint, and put a small black rectangle at the top of it. The grey font shows up much clearer! If you don't want to do that, try using a wallpaper that's just all-around darker - that might work, too. I've attached "before and after" screenshots of what I did on my phone.

View attachment 129549

View attachment 129550

People with poor eyesight (like me) have a hard enough time reading some things on a phone screen because it's so small, so to have the status bar fade away into your wallpaper and make the bottom part of the font so faint is a significant usability challenge. I can find accessibility settings for font size for things like my apps, but nothing that really helps with the fact that the status bar bleeds into the color of the background. I hope they consider changing that during their next round of usability tests.

Great idea! Thanks for sharing! This has been driving me nuts for years, and I also found an even simpler workaround. Cover your camera with your hand, take a picture, and then set that black picture as your home screen and lock screen.