Notification bar, home and recents not working, how to fix them?

[AC Question]

Hi,

I bought a Nexus 5 in September 2015, I've been quite happy with it since then but it started driving me crazy recently. The notification bar isn't working anymore: I can't see what my notifications (quite annoying because when my phone vibrates, I don't know what for), and I can't pull down the bar. Also, the home and recents bottom buttons stopped working (they glow I touch them but nothing happens). These 3 things occurred after rebooting my phone after it was turned off because it ran out of battery.

As a new member, I cannot post a link to the video that shows my problem (in case I haven't phrased it properly). However you can find it on YouTube, if you search for "Can't pull down notification bar, home and recents button not working on Nexus 5" (keep the quotation marks). First I try to pull down the notification bar but only the date appears; then I enter the settings and can't use home and recents buttons

I have tried:
-rebooting the phone
-clearing app cache
-clearing system cache

Is there something I can do?

Thank you.

 

[nahoku]

Try starting your phone in]Safe Mode to see if it's an app you installed causing your problems. Safe mode will only load system apps and none that you installed. If your phone works in safe mode, then you'll need to uninstall one app at a time until you find the culprit. The vid is for an LG Nexus 5... hopefully your phone works the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aqTYyscmeU

 

[ttehir]

Hi nahoku, thank you for answering. I successfully started into safe mode but the problem remained the same, the status bar can't be pulled down, the notifications aren't displaying and the home and recents buttons still don't work. Do you have any other suggestions?

 

[nahoku]

Did you buy the phone "new" from a carrier, online, or retail shop? The phone was released in 2013, but warranty starts on the day it was purchased. Since you bought it in 2015, it should be under warranty providing you bought it at an authorized dealer. You might want to attempt getting a replacement from where ever you bought it.

Other than that, the only other thing I can think of is you factory reset the phone. You'll need to back up all your data as the factory reset will wipe the phone to how you pulled it out of the box. If the phone still doesn't work, then its something else which might require you taking it to a repair shop.

 

[Javier P]

There is a strange bug affecting a few devices after Marshmallow. Try this and tell us if it makes a difference. Go to settings - users - switch to "guest" - switch back to "owner".

 

[ttehir]

Javier P
Thank you so much, it almost resolved the issue ! This is so strange. On a guest session, everything works just fine. After switching back to owner, the home button doesn't work but the status bar and recents are back to normal ! This is still an issue but it's already so much better than before !

nahoku
I bought it online and have a warranty but I'm not sure if my citizenship grants me the right to that warranty (I didn't think that'd be an issue when I bought the phone)

 

[Javier P]

Yeah, that's the bug I was thinking of. It seems related to the setup wizard after the latest system update. Some people managed to fix it through adb commands, but it didn't work for everyone and I'm not sure how comfortable you feel using this kind of tools.

A factory reset worked for everyone that tried it. In some cases this option wasn't available in settings - backup & reset and it had to be done from recovery. Check this in your settings.

 

[ttehir]

I'm not familiar with adb commands, I could dig into it but I didn't think I'd have to go that far for a bug that just popped up all of a sudden. Is this bug documented anywhere?

PS: my life is so much better with my status bar and recents buttons back

 

[Javier P]

Yeah, there are some threads about this same issue. Take a look here, it includes a couple more links to follow. Unfortunately the fix is using the adb commands (not 100% of success) or factory reset from recovery.

 

[CyberDj]

Hi, I have the same issue on my new Galasy S7 Edge. I just cannot find how to switch to guest mode. Could you please help to try your solution? Thanks!

 

[Javier P]

Hi, I have the same issue on my new Galasy S7 Edge. I just cannot find how to switch to guest mode. Could you please help to try your solution? Thanks!

Hello CyberDj, welcome to the forums! This problem shouldn't happen in a brand new phone as yours. I'm not sure of the right steps on the S7 since I don't have one, sorry. In other phones you can switch between users in settings - users.

I recommend you to create a thread on the S7 Edge forum where you'll get more feedback from other owners.

 

[nahoku]

I posted this in an active S7 thread... seems lots of folks are seeing similar problems.

HERE'S a Google search. There's a bug being reported on Marshmallow for many phones on many forums for Nexus, Samsung, LG, etc. With all the bugs when Lollipop was first introduced, is anyone surprised???

I think Javier P was right on with attributing your problem to a bug in MM.

 

[ttehir]

Very informative search, thanks. I couldn't find anyone with the same problem but now I see that I'm not alone!

 

[roids4U]

I experienced this issue for the first time yesterday (home and recent apps buttons inoperative, no notifications or settings accessible via top shade). I have a 2.25yr old Nexus 5 with Android 6.0.1, no other issues before.

What I did notice before everything turned to custard was that the two Google Play Music album covers that were on my second screen (Simon & Garfunkel and Van Morrison if you must know) disappeared and were replaced with some 'problem' message on a grey background for a little while. I didn't pay much attention to it at the time because I was in the middle of some business, but the home and recents buttons stopped working soon afterwards. The space where my recent music albums used to be is now just blank. So I wondered if this glitch has something to do with a recent Google Play update. Maybe not if people have reported similar issues for the past six months.

The safe mode and guest user ideas failed for me too (in fact, it wouldn't even switch to guest). I may have to use the nuclear option to restore functionality. Luckily not a big deal now since I was going to fire up my new Nexus 5X today anyway, though just a bit nervous it too might fall prey to this bug...

 

[Uber Rox]

Well, my Droid Turbo does it, too. Today I am trying to do recovery mode .

 

[exapplerep]

I have experienced the "this is where your recent screens appear" issue. In another thread it was suggested that turning off the "OK Google" trigger for voice recognition would provide a work-around. (Using the microphone icon to initiate voice commands allegedly does not cause the "recent screens" issue to happen.)

I followed the advice and rebooted yesterday. Haven't had the problem recur. No way to positively point to this as the problem/solution except as a negative ("it hasn't happened yet") but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Running Nexus 5 with build # MOB30Y (the latest as of this date).

Edit: Today's now the 12th and the problem has not recurred since I disabled the "OK Google" trigger. By the way, update MOB30Y did seem to fix the "low volume during phone call" issue. *whew*

 

[JamesPeterJackson]

Hey man I have the same problem home recent notification bar doesn't work and I have no user option in settings I can't change my user to guest more over I can't even factor rest the phone the button is disabled my phone keeps rebooting by itself so i have it turned on in safe mode can you suggest something and link me to the adb method I have moto g turbo thanks

 

[Javier P]

Hey man I have the same problem home recent notification bar doesn't work and I have no user option in settings I can't change my user to guest more over I can't even factor rest the phone the button is disabled my phone keeps rebooting by itself so i have it turned on in safe mode can you suggest something and link me to the adb method I have moto g turbo thanks

Welcome to the forums. You can try the solutions included in this thread.

http://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?t=673227
Problems with Marshmallow on Moto E2, any help?

 

[Rico222]

There is a strange bug affecting a few devices after Marshmallow. Try this and tell us if it makes a difference. Go to settings - users - switch to "guest" - switch back to "owner".

Worked instantly swapping back and forth

 

[Gits29]

There is a strange bug affecting a few devices after Marshmallow. Try this and tell us if it makes a difference. Go to settings - users - switch to "guest" - switch back to "owner".

Thanks Javier. This fixed the problem for me... It's really a very strange bug! Don't know what caused it. Although I was running low on storage space... Less than 10%. Problem started when I restarted phone after charging from dead.
Phone: 1yr + OnePlus One.