A large number of Android devices don’t offer an option that allows incoming notifications to turn on the display. However, this feature can be really useful, as it lets you quickly take a peek at your phone’s screen and see what the notification is all about, without even touching the device.
Luckily, whenever a certain smartphone related need arises, there’s at least one developer (with probably more following), who comes up with a solution and this case makes no exception. Â Glimpse Notifications is a rather new app that when installed, allows notifications to wake up the display of your Android device and it only takes a couple of minutes to get it up and running.
1. Download and install Glimpse Notifications
Head over to Glimpse Notifications’ Play Store page and download and install it on your phone. Ad worry not, the app is absolutely free.
2. Enable Notification Access
This part is as straightforward as it sounds. Open the app and tap the ‘Enable’ button to turn on Notifications Access. Now the app will open the related settings panel where you can toggle on the ‘Glimpse Notifications Listener’.
3. Configure the app
Now that Glimpse Notifications is enabled you can further customize the app. Firstly, you can choose exactly which apps are allowed to wake up the display. Truth be told, you probably don’t need to see all app notifications, so this option can definitely save some battery and prevent some notification-heavy apps from lighting up the screen like a Christmas tree.
Secondly, the app offers other useful features, starting with the Pocket Mode, that should in theory (didn’t really work for me though) prevent the display from waking up in your pocket. There’s also the Quiet Time option, which I think is absolutely essential for this type of app. This lets you configure a time interval during which Glimpse Notifications is disabled, thus notifications won’t turn on your phone’s screen. Truth be told, I don’t see much use for this app during sleep.
4. Test it
Instead of waiting for a notification from another app, just to see if Glimpse Notifications works, you can try it out right away. The app offers a Test button and once you tap it, a test notification sent by Glimpse Notifications will appear on the locked screen, waking up your device automatically.
For the most part, Glimpse Notifications runs fine, I only had problems with the Pocket Mode option. However, many users report other issues, like their devices waking up for no reason, or notifications keeping the screen awake constantly. I suspect some bug fixes are already in the works, and since the app is free, it’s worth at least giving it a try.
If you do decide to test Glimpse Notifications, let us know if it works fine and if not, what issues you’ve been experiencing with the app.
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