Access notification bar on any screen

KA1OTE

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Hey everyone! My Droid Turbo finally bit the bullet last Friday so I drove 2 hours to the nearest Best Buy and scored myself a new S8 on their $350 off promotion.

Now I have this awesome phone and, through my time spent personalizing and getting acquainted with this non Motorola phone, I have discovered a problem/issue/concern/what-have-you...

Question: How do you access the notification bar on any screen, in any full screen app?

I want to be able to swipe down and expand the notification bar no matter what is on the screen. Something that I was able to do no problem on my Droid Turbo. I was also able to do this on my new S8 for the first few days, but now I cannot. Leading me to believe that something I did, something I installed or some change that I made affected this ability and removed it.

Now, I cannot swipe down unless I am on one of the main home screens. If I want to see the notification bar and I am not on the home screen, I am forced to close whatever I am doing. This is quickly becoming quite the frustrating routine.. especially when I know that it can work on any screen or while any app is open and active.

Any help would be immensely appreciated!
 

KA1OTE

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Yes I changed the launcher. Nova was one of the apps transferred over. I've been using it since I walked out of Best Buy on Friday. Nova was my active launcher when I was able to swipe down for the notification bar while in my Gmail app. But now I can't do that anymore. Is there a setting in Nova that allows this action and I need to see if it got changed somehow?
 

mary beth hale

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Currently using Microsoft launcher but used Nova for years and didn't remember having that issue.
Flipped back to Nova to try it out and pull down notifications worked on every page, with and without Prime or any specific setting enabled. Makes me think Nova is not the problem. Hmm, wish I could help. Do you have a screen protector on that might be getting in the way?
 

KA1OTE

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I do have a screen protector on, but I doubt it is causing the problem as I am able to swipe down to access the notification bar on the home screen.

I just tried wiping the cache and the problem persists after reboot.

I did switch back to TouchWiz launcher and yet.. the problem still persists.

I am running out of ideas.. my patience is running thin lol. This problem really is frustrating. I appreciate your help though! If you think of anything else, please let me know. I am willing to try anything.
 

pduffer

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I do have a screen protector on, but I doubt it is causing the problem as I am able to swipe down to access the notification bar on the home screen.

I just tried wiping the cache and the problem persists after reboot.

I did switch back to TouchWiz launcher and yet.. the problem still persists.

I am running out of ideas.. my patience is running thin lol. This problem really is frustrating. I appreciate your help though! If you think of anything else, please let me know. I am willing to try anything.
You can set the fingerprint scanner on the back to open the notification panel or close it by simply sliding your finger up or down.
 

Gayle Lynn

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I suspect it has to with the transfer over from the other phone, even if if it worked at first and even if it seems to be the only issue.
 

mary beth hale

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I do have a screen protector on, but I doubt it is causing the problem as I am able to swipe down to access the notification bar on the home screen.

I just tried wiping the cache and the problem persists after reboot.

I did switch back to TouchWiz launcher and yet.. the problem still persists.

I am running out of ideas.. my patience is running thin lol. This problem really is frustrating. I appreciate your help though! If you think of anything else, please let me know. I am willing to try anything.

Hate to even suggest this but maybe hard reset without backup... Set up as new...???
Such a PITA but if you have the time maybe worth it?
 

Javier P

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I do have a screen protector on, but I doubt it is causing the problem as I am able to swipe down to access the notification bar on the home screen.

I just tried wiping the cache and the problem persists after reboot.

I did switch back to TouchWiz launcher and yet.. the problem still persists.

I am running out of ideas.. my patience is running thin lol. This problem really is frustrating. I appreciate your help though! If you think of anything else, please let me know. I am willing to try anything.
Have you already tried safe mode? This will help to known if there's a conflict with a third party app or some glitch in your system/settings.
 

KA1OTE

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Have you already tried safe mode? This will help to known if there's a conflict with a third party app or some glitch in your system/settings.

I will search for info on how to get into (and back out of) safe mode. Having never done that before on a cell phone, I am Leary since I'm unfamiliar with the process of returning to normal. But thanks for the suggestion.. I'll give it a go.
 

KA1OTE

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You can set the fingerprint scanner on the back to open the notification panel or close it by simply sliding your finger up or down.

But if I set up the fingerprint scanner, won't I be forced to use a lock screen password or scan a finger? I prefer to simply slide to unlock.. I need to access my phone while at work and simply cannot scan a finger or enter a password to unlock every time.

If it will let me use the scanner to only bring the notification bar down, then I'm all over that approach!
 

KA1OTE

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Hate to even suggest this but maybe hard reset without backup... Set up as new...???
Such a PITA but if you have the time maybe worth it?

A major PITA, for sure. But that is in the back of my mind as a last ditch effort if I cannot procure another answer to this, seemingly simple, predicament.
 

Gayle Lynn

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Using the finger print scanner for notifications has nothing to do with unlocking etc, just an off-label feature it has built in.
 

mary beth hale

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But if I set up the fingerprint scanner, won't I be forced to use a lock screen password or scan a finger? I prefer to simply slide to unlock.. I need to access my phone while at work and simply cannot scan a finger or enter a password to unlock every time.

If it will let me use the scanner to only bring the notification bar down, then I'm all over that approach!

Go to settings>Advanced Features and toggle on Finger sensor gestures.
I disabled my FPS to try this and it worked without FPS enabled.
 

Javier P

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A major PITA, for sure. But that is in the back of my mind as a last ditch effort if I cannot procure another answer to this, seemingly simple, predicament.
Just a thought. Are you on Sprint, by any chance? I remember reading about a similar issue and the culprit was an app called 'secure WiFi' (or something similar).
 

Gayle Lynn

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Any computer has had a means to boot in safe mode, a Mac or Windows via holding shift key down.

Google will list the button sequence.
 

mary beth hale

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Still wondering what made the pull-down notifications stop working in the first place. Hopefully Javier's suggestion will shed some light on that for you. It's ruining your experience on a great phone and that sucks.