How-To

How to Stop Android Notifications from Turning On the Screen

By Brian Burgess

Published August 11, 2023

Sick of notifications lighting up your Android screen? You can prevent this in your app settings. This guide explains how.

App and system notifications are an essential part of your mobile experience. However, they can be distracting if you’re busy, so you might want to stop Android notifications from turning on your screen.

Usually, a notification will buzz on your phone or beep at you while displaying on the screen to be noticed. However, this behavior can drain your battery faster and become annoying in general to deal with. You can turn off an app’s notification behavior in your device’s settings.

There isn’t a universal setting to prevent all apps from waking the lock screen, so you’ll need to manage them individually. Here’s how.

How to Disable App Wake Screen Settings on Android

Unless you enable Airplane Mode or turn on your device’s Do Not Disturb option, apps will continue to wake your screen by default. So, you need to manage each app you want to stop notifications from tediously.

To stop notifications from turning on the screen on Android:

1. Swipe down from the top of the screen and tap Settings (gear icon) in the top-right corner.
2. Select the Notifications option from the Settings menu.
3. Tap the App notifications option to view your complete list of installed apps.
4. Select the app that you don’t want to wake your screen.
5. Tap the Silent option under the Alerts section.
6. You can also disable all app notifications by toggling off the Allow notifications switch. You won’t have access to the notification settings for all apps when you turn this off, however.
7. It’s also important to note that some apps will allow you to manage specific notifications by selecting the Notification categories option and toggling individual notification types on or off.

How to Use In-App Settings to Stop Apps Waking Your Android Screen

Depending on the app, you may be able to stop app notifications from turning on the screen from within the app itself. For example, in the Snapchat app’s settings menu, you can turn off the Wake Screen option for notifications that’s enabled by default.

Each app varies, so this option may or may not be available in a particular app you’re looking to mute. You’ll need to go through each app’s settings to find the option, and if not available, use the first set of steps to stop notifications from turning on the screen.

Managing Your Notifications on Android

If you’re tired of endless notifications waking up your screen and wasting battery power, use the above steps to prevent apps from turning on the screen on your Android device in the future.

There are other ways you can manage your settings on your Android device. For example, check out how to disable automatic updates on your device or learn to disable screen rotation on Android.

If you don’t have all day to wait for your phone to charge, you can enable fast charging on Android. You might also be interested in how to keep the screen on during a call. And if you’re switching from Android to iOS, you can transfer photos from Android to iPhone.