Home > Articles

Using the Lollipop Notifications Screen on the Galaxy Tab 4

After you upgrade the Android operating system on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 to Android 5.1.1 (Lollipop), you’ll see several important changes to the Notifications screen. This article shows you how to get the most from the Lollipop Notifications screen.
Like this article? We recommend

Like this article? We recommend

One good reason to upgrade your Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 to version 5.1.1 of the Android operating system, better known as Lollipop, is the updated Notifications screen. You can still open the Notifications screen as you did with Android 4.4 (KitKat), but you’ll notice the screen includes some new features and changes.

This article takes you on a grand tour of the Notifications screen so you can use it to get quick access to settings and find important information quickly. Note that if you want to learn more about all the updates and changes that come with Lollipop, read the “Upgrading the Galaxy Tab 4 to Lollipop and Touring the New Lollipop Features” article on the Que Publishing website (http://www.quepublishing.com).

Open the Notifications screen by tapping and holding on the top edge of the screen and then swiping down. You can see parts of the screen you were on, which in this example is the main Home screen, darkened so you can focus on the Notifications screen features shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Figure 1. The darkened main home screen appears on the left and right sides of the Notifications screen.

The Notifications screen is divided into two sections:

  • The light blue Notification panel at the top of the screen contains the current date and time, setting icons, quick settings button row, and a screen brightness slider bar.
  • A list of notifications appears underneath the Notification panel. Each notification is contained within a white tile. Notifications are listed from the most recent notification at the top of the list to the oldest notification at the bottom.

View and Change Settings

Three setting icons appear in the upper-right corner of the Notification window, from left to right: Change User, Settings, and Change View.

Change User

Change the user of the Tab 4 by tapping the Change User icon, which looks like a silhouette of a smiling person’s head. The Change User window appears on the screen (see Figure 2) so you can select the user account that you want using the Tab 4. The defaults are your current user name and Guest.

After you select the user account, the Tab 4 applies the settings, permissions, and restrictions associated with that account and displays the Lock screen so you can log into the Tab 4 using your account.

Figure 2

Figure 2. The blue Change User window appears at the top of the screen.

Tap Settings to open the Users settings list in the Settings screen and then either select a new account from the list or add a new user. If you decide against changing the user, return to the Notifications screen by tapping Done.

View and Change Settings

If you need to change settings and you don’t want to close the Notifications screen to tap the Settings icon in the Apps screen, just tap the Settings icon in the Notifications screen. (The icon looks like a cog you saw in Figure 1.) Note that after you open the Settings app, the Notification screen closes. You can open the Notifications screen while you’re in the Settings screen by tapping and holding on the top edge of the screen and then swiping down.

If you want to close the Settings screen, you can do so as you would if you opened the Settings app from the Apps screen. That is, tap the Recent touch button, tap and hold on the Settings app tile, and then swipe to the left or right.

Change View

By default, the quick setting button row you saw in Figure 1 contains 10 buttons for features you can turn on an off, such as Bluetooth. However, the Notifications screen only shows six of those buttons. You can view the remaining four buttons by swiping from left to right within the feature button row.

You can view just the setting icons and all the quick setting buttons by tapping the Change View icon. This icon looks like a tile with three squares and a bi-directional arrow in it. After you tap the icon, the list of all quick setting buttons appears as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3

Figure 3. The Change View window appears at the top of the screen and displays 12 quick settings you can turn on or off.

The bottom of the Notification Panel settings list on the right side of the screen shows the Active Buttons and Available Buttons boxes as shown in Figure 4. Swipe down in the Notification Panel settings list to view the Available Buttons box in its entirety.

Figure 4

Figure 4. The Active Buttons box appears above the Available Buttons box.

The Active Buttons box is completely filled with 10 quick settings buttons shown in Figure 4. If you want to remove an active button from the list so you can add another button from the Available Buttons list, tap and hold on the button tile within the Active Buttons list and then drag the tile to the gray area within the Available Buttons box.

You’ll see the space available for a button as a gray area within the Active Buttons box. Move a button from the Available Buttons box to the Active Buttons box by tapping and holding on the button tile in the Available Buttons box and then dragging the tile to the gray area within the Active Buttons box.

When you’re finished moving buttons, return to the Change View window by tapping the Back touch button. View the entire Notifications screen by tapping the List icon in the upper right corner of the window that you saw in Figure 3.

Turn Quick Settings On and Off

You can turn quick settings on and off in Lollipop just as you did in KitKat. Quick settings that are currently turned on have buttons with green icons in them. If a setting is not on, the button icon has a light blue color. Turn on a quick setting by tapping the appropriate button; the button icon color turns green. Turn off a quick setting by tapping a button with a green icon; the button icon color turns light blue.

View Recommended Apps

By default, the Tab 4 will show recommended apps in the Notifications screen that you may want to use after you perform a certain action. For example, when you connect earphones you’ll see music-related app suggestions in the notifications list.

If you want to turn this option off, tap the Change View icon to open the Change View window and then tap the Edit icon as you learned to do earlier in this article. Next, slide the Recommended Apps slider button from right (on) to left (off) as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5

Figure 5. The Recommended Apps setting appears below the Brightness Adjustment setting on the right side of the Settings screen.

You can turn this feature on again by sliding the slider button from left (off) to right (on). Return to the Change View window by tapping the Back touch button.

Change Screen Brightness

You can change the brightness level of the screen by tapping and holding on the Brightness slider button and then swiping your finger left and right to darken and brighten the screen, respectively. As you move the slider button, the Notifications screen disappears with the exception of the slider bar (see Figure 6). The screen darkens and brightens as you swipe the slider button to the left and right, respectively.

Figure 6

Figure 6. The brightness slider appears in a blue box near the top of the screen.

When you release your finger, the Notifications screen reappears. If you want to change the brightness to the automatic level, tap the Auto check box. The brightness on the screen automatically changes to reflect the Auto brightness level.

If you don’t want to adjust the brightness level in the Notification level, you can do this from the Settings screen. Start by tapping the Change View icon to open the Change View window and then tap the Edit icon as you learned to do earlier in this article. In the Settings window, tap the check box within the Brightness Adjustment setting as you saw in Figure 5.

The check box is cleared and the next time you view the Notifications screen, you won’t see the Brightness slider. You can turn on the Brightness slider in the Notification screen again by opening the Change View window, tapping the Edit icon in the window, and then tapping the check box to the right of the Brightness Adjustment setting. The check box turns green and contains a white check mark as you saw in Figure 5.

Manage Notifications

Each notification tile contains the most important information in the header (it’s in large, bold text) and supplemental information appears underneath the header. For example, one of the notifications in Figure 7 tells you how many apps have been updated in the header and several names of installed apps appears underneath the header.

Figure 7

Figure 7. The 12 Updated Applications notification tile appears at the bottom of the list, and the Clear option appears below and to the right of the tile.

If there are too many notifications to fit on the screen, swipe up and down within the notifications list to view the notification tiles at the bottom of the list. You can delete all the notifications from the list by tapping the CLEAR option that appears below and to the right of the bottom tile in the list.

You can tap on the notification to open the app associated with the notification. For example, if the Google Play Store has installed a new app, the Play Store app opens so you can see the apps you have installed on the Tab 4.

Some notifications disappear when the process associated with the notification is completed. For example, a notification appears while the Tab 4 installs an app. Once the app has installed, the notification tile disappears automatically.

Other notifications that are important enough to view every time you view the Notifications screen appear at the top of the Notifications list. These persistent notifications don’t disappear when you clear the notifications list. In Figure 7, the “Connected as a media device” notification appears at the top of the list and doesn’t disappear after you tap CLEAR. This notification appears because I have the Tab 4 connected to my computer with the USB cable supplied with the Tab 4.

What’s more, the next time you open the Notifications screen, the CLEAR option doesn’t appear below the persistent notification. As with any other notification, you can tap the persistent notification tile to open the app associated with the notification.

The only way you can remove a persistent notification from the list is to remove the condition that caused the notification to appear. In the case of the “Connected as a media device” notification, I need to disconnect the USB cable from the Tab 4 to the computer. Once the Tab 4 recognizes the USB cable is not connected, the notification disappears from the list. If there are no other notifications in the list after the persistent notification disappears, the Notifications window closes automatically.

Now that you have a complete understanding of how to use the Notifications screen in Lollipop, enjoy using the screen every day to get up to date information and gain access to important features and settings quickly on your Tab 4.

InformIT Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from InformIT and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Overview


Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information


To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites, develop new products and services, conduct educational research and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email information@informit.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information


Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security


Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children


This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information


If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out


Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by InformIT. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.informit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information


Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links


This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact


Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020