When it comes to receiving notifications or alerts for incoming calls or SMS messages on the Galaxy S5, there are a few different options available. Vibration is as inconspicuous as many users would like, and setting a phone to silent mode can cause users to miss important calls.
However, there is another option that is silent but will definitely catch your attention so you never miss another call or text message. The following guide will explain how to use the Samsung Galaxy S5 camera flash as a dedicated notification and alert system.
Besides the flashing blue or white LED on the front of your new Galaxy S5, there is a third option for receiving notifications other than silent mode or vibration. Just like the Galaxy S4 (or the latest Galaxy devices), you can use the camera flash for notifications. This can be irritating to people around you, so it will be disabled out of the box, but you’ll get camera flashes for push notifications with a few taps. Read on to find out how.
Essentially what we’re going to do in the extremely simple and few instructions below is to go into the settings and let your phone use the Galaxy S5’s camera LED flash for a notification and alert system. It is extremely bright and ensures that you never miss another call or message.
Using the camera flash for notifications is popular with iPhone users, but you may want to disable such a feature as it can be annoying when going to the movies or in a situation with a lot of people. That said, here’s how to quickly enable this feature on the Galaxy S5.
Instructions
Those of you who want to enable the camera flash for notifications and alerts on the Galaxy S5, you can do it in about 30 seconds if you follow the extremely simple steps below. All you have to do is tap the settings a few times and you’re done.
You will start by going into the settings. This can be done by swiping down the notification pop-up bar and tapping the gear-shaped icon at the top right, or by finding the same gear-shaped settings icon in the app tray. Once you do, you will advance to the green hand icon labeled “Accessibility” in the settings menu as shown below.
Tap Accessibility, then you will see what is shown to the left of the screenshot above. Strangely enough, it’s not in the vision settings and will instead be in “hearing” as highlighted above.
From here, simply tick to enable the top option in the hearings menu, which we just navigated above. You will find “Flash notification” is the best option, tap the checkbox then hit OK to confirm you understand. This lets you know that a few gesture controls will be activated, such as turning the phone to disable the flash. This is helpful so you don’t blind people or disturb others.
That’s it and now you’re done. Users will now see the dedicated camera flash light up and draw a lot of attention with incoming calls, texts or notifications. For the average smartphone user this should be enough, but there is also a wide selection of apps in the Google Play Store with additional customization if you wish. Not to mention that apps like LightFlow will customize the colored LED on the front of your phone.
Alternatively, if you want to disable camera flash notifications before going to a movie, or if that’s too much for you, simply repeat the steps above. Just go to settings and uncheck to disable the feature.
As a reminder, Samsung devices have a set of “gesture controls” mentioned by Samsung in the screenshot and popup. This alerts the user that you can use gestures (like turning the phone on a desk) to instantly silence a notification or phone call. This same system works to turn off the flashing notification. Simply turn your Galaxy S5 over and the flashing will stop.
That’s all for this extremely useful and easy to activate feature on the Samsung Galaxy S5. This is one of the most powerful Android smartphones around, and users can find a number of features if they just look at the settings. However, feel free to check out our 50 Galaxy S5 Tips, Tricks, and Hidden Features for even more helpful tips.
Have Galaxy S5 questions? Leave us a comment below.
