How to Get a Notification Light on Any Android Phone (2026)

Phones used to have a tiny LED that blinked green for WhatsApp and blue for Facebook. Almost none do now, which is why so many people search for a way to get it back. There are three ways to do it on a modern Android phone, two of them free and built in. Here is how each works, and which one fits how you use your phone.

Why did my phone stop having a notification light?

The LED went away as screens grew to fill the whole front of the phone. Phone makers decided the Always-On Display (AOD) would do the same job: a dim clock and a row of small app icons that stay visible while the screen is off.

AOD helps, but it is not the same thing. The icons are tiny, they do not tell you which app matters at a glance, and on some phones AOD turns off after a few seconds unless you tap the screen. If you want the old "is anything waiting for me?" glance from across the desk, you need something brighter and more colorful. Our guide to seeing notifications on Always On Display explains what AOD can and cannot do in detail.

How do I turn on the free flash notification on Android?

Android 14 and newer phones include Flash notifications, an accessibility feature that blinks the camera flash or tints the screen when a notification arrives. It costs nothing and needs no app.

1. Open Settings > Notifications > Flash notifications. On some phones it lives under Settings > Accessibility > Flash notifications instead.
2. Turn on Camera flash, Screen flash, or both.
3. Tap Screen flash to pick a color, then Preview to test it.

Google says calls flash until you answer, alarms flash until you dismiss them, and ordinary notifications flash a few times. It also follows Do Not Disturb. Samsung phones have a similar setting under Accessibility, and the wording differs by One UI version, so look for "Flash notification" in the Settings search bar.

The limit is in that phrase "a few times". Once the flashing stops, nothing on the phone says you missed something. If your phone was face down or in another room, the alert is gone. The camera flash is also bright enough to bother people in a dark room.

How do I get a notification light that stays on until I read it?

This is what most people actually miss about the LED: it kept glowing until you dealt with the notification. AuraDisplay brings that behavior back using the screen itself.

• Ring mode draws a glowing ring around your punch hole camera, pill cutout or notch, so the camera itself becomes the LED.
• Edge mode runs a soft glow along the screen border and works on every Android phone, with or without a cutout.
• Each app gets its own look and its color is taken from the app's icon, so WhatsApp glows green and Gmail glows red without any setup.
• The light shows on the lock screen and on Always-On Display, and it stays until you open or clear the notification.

Setup takes a couple of minutes:

1. Install AuraDisplay and grant notification access, so it knows which app sent a notification.
2. Turn on its accessibility service. This is the only way Android lets an app draw over the lock screen and AOD. AuraDisplay reads the app name and icon color only, never your messages.
3. Watch the test notification light up, adjust the ring if it is not centred on your camera, and pick your apps.

The free version covers the camera ring, the edge light, icon-matched colors, the Pulse animation, calibration and AOD support. Pro is a one-time purchase that adds per-contact colors (BETA), custom colors, more animation styles, several apps at once, quiet hours, an auto-dismiss timer and a charging indicator.

Which notification light method should I use?

If you only want to know the moment something arrives, and you usually have your phone in view, Flash notifications are enough. If you want to walk back to your desk and know at a glance that your partner messaged, you want a persistent light. Samsung owners have extra built-in options, covered in our Samsung notification light guide and in a direct AuraDisplay vs Samsung Edge Lighting comparison.

What about phones without a punch hole camera?

Older phones with a notch, phones with a pop-up camera, and tablets can all use edge mode. The glow runs around the whole screen border, so you can see it from any angle. Our guide to edge lighting on any Android phone walks through the options, including what Samsung, OnePlus and others build in.

If you have a Pixel 11 Pro, Pro XL or Pro Fold, there is also a real LED ring on the back called HiLight. Google only uses it for favourite callers and Gemini, but AuraGlow can light it for any app. See using the Pixel 11 Pro HiLight ring for notifications.

Will the light keep working in the background?

This is the part most guides leave out. Android phone makers ship battery managers that close apps they think are idle. When that happens to a notification light app, the light simply stops, and you may not notice for a day.

A force-stop, whether from a cleaner app, a "deep sleep" setting or the phone's own battery manager, also switches off the app's accessibility service. The app cannot turn it back on by itself. AuraDisplay sends you a notification when this happens so you can switch it back on with one tap, and it has an optional Keep AuraDisplay Running setting that makes it harder to close.

To stop it happening in the first place:

1. Set the app's battery usage to Unrestricted in its App info page. The wording differs by phone, look for "Battery" or "Battery optimization".
2. Allow it in your phone maker's own background or auto-start settings.
3. On Samsung, keep it off the sleeping apps list.

Our hub on why Android kills background apps explains what is happening, and there are step-by-step guides to stop Samsung killing apps and to stop Xiaomi killing apps.

What can a screen-based light not do?

Be realistic about two things. First, a light drawn on the screen needs the screen to be able to show it. With the screen fully off it relies on AOD, so you need an AMOLED panel with AOD switched on. Second, an AOD screen refreshes about once a second, so the light holds a steady glow there instead of animating, and a new notification can take up to about a second to appear. Animations play again as soon as you wake the phone.

Sources

• Learn about Android Flash notifications (Google Accessibility Help)
• What is Edge Lighting and how do I use it? (Samsung UK)
• Don't kill my app!