Samsung fans discover clever trick to revive much-missed phone feature
Users can reactivate it in Samsung's Good Lock app.
A beloved Samsung feature has been discontinued much to the frustration of many users.
In Samsung's latest One UI 6.1 release, and the launch of Samsung S24, users found themselves without the familiar navigation bar.
The gesture bar was a smoother alternative than the three buttons at the bottom of the Android screen.
Users could easily swipe in three different directions to navigate back, home or do a recent action.
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Responding to the feature's absence, one disappointed user wrote: 'With the new update Samsung release 6.1 One Ui. We lost a wonderful feature. The feature is the navigation bar. I loved how smooth it was before. And the only thing that we got to see was the three little small taps.
'Now I'm Stuck with the regular buttons and a confusing and disturbing gesture feature. Why did Samsung had to get rid of something so useful and amazing.'
Another Android user took to Reddit to raise the issue and seek support from others, posting: 'Received the S24 earlier today. Man do I miss the gesture navigation! It was extremely convenient, smooth and now it's habit.
'Really wishing the team brings it back. No reason to discontinue it entirely.'
Thankfully, users will be glad to know that with Samsung's Good Lock app, the beloved feature can be brought back to life, according to Sammobile.
The Good Lock app is the South Korean company's display customisation app where users can play around with the NavStar module to suit their preferences and habits.
If you're one who's also missing the feature, here's how you can get it back:
- Download the Good Lock app from the Galaxy Store
- Install NavStar in the Good Lock app under Make Up
- Open Good Lock and install NavStar from the app's Make Up tab
- Toggle 'NavStar' on at the top
- Toggle 'Enable extra gesture settings'
- Open your phone's Settings.
- Go to Display and open the Navigation Bar menu.
- Now you can tap the 'Swipe gestures' option, then select the 'More options' button below it.
- Finally, select the Swipe from the bottom option to switch back to Samsung's gesture navigation. You will also have the option to hide the gesture hints.
Thankful users have expressed their gratitute, saying: 'Thank you SO much! You can't "hide" it per se, but you can make it transparent so the screen estate is reclaimed. Also you can make that annoying white bar very small.'