Android · Personalization
Show time and notifications on a dimmed screen
Always-on Display (AOD) keeps a low-power version of the clock, notification icons, and optional 'At a Glance' info visible on the lock screen even when the phone is idle.
How to open Always-on Display Customization
- Open Settings → Display
- Tap 'Lock screen'
- Select 'Always Show Time and Info'
- Choose Always on, Tap to show, or a custom schedule
What you should know
- Choose between always showing, showing on tap, or scheduled time windows
- Customize which clock style and notification icons appear
- Can be limited to specific hours to save battery overnight
- Works with adaptive brightness to dim automatically in low light
Keeping Always-on Display active continuously will noticeably reduce battery life, especially on OLED screens with static elements.
Why it matters
Always-on Display lets users glance at the time, battery, and pending notifications without fully waking the phone, which reduces unnecessary unlocks and screen-on time. It is especially useful for checking notifications discreetly in meetings or at night. However, because OLED panels consume power to light even a portion of the screen, this feature is one of the more common battery-drain culprits users overlook, making its customization options important for balancing convenience and battery life.
Best practices
- Use 'Tap to show' instead of always-on if battery life is a priority
- Schedule AOD to turn off during sleeping hours
- Disable it entirely when traveling without charging access
- Pick a minimal clock style to reduce the lit screen area
Common problems and fixes
- Always-on Display drains battery faster than expected
- Switch to a scheduled or tap-to-show mode instead of continuous always-on.
- AOD doesn't turn on at all
- Confirm it's enabled in Display settings and that battery saver isn't disabling it automatically.
- Notification icons don't appear on AOD
- Check that the app's notifications are allowed to show on the lock screen in notification settings.
Tips and tricks
- Use the scheduled option to align AOD with your typical waking hours
- Combine with Battery Saver's automatic AOD-disable behavior for long trips
Frequently asked questions
Does Always-on Display work on all Android phones?
It requires an OLED/AMOLED screen; most budget LCD devices don't support it.
Can I show album art or custom images on AOD?
Some devices support custom AOD clock faces or images through display personalization menus.
Does AOD count as screen-on time for battery stats?
Yes, it contributes to overall screen-on power draw, though at a much lower rate than full brightness.
Related settings
- Lock Screen & Always-on DisplayLock screen settings control the clock style, shortcuts, and what information (like notifications and weather) appears before you unlock your phone. Always-on display, on supported devices, keeps a dimmed version of the clock and key notifications visible even while the screen is otherwise off.
- BatteryBattery settings show a breakdown of what's draining your charge, offer a Battery Saver mode to stretch remaining power, and let you restrict background activity for specific apps. A built-in health estimate also indicates how much capacity your battery has lost over time.
- Screen Saver (Daydream)Screen saver, also called Daydream, displays a rotating photo gallery, clock, or colors on screen while the phone is docked, charging, or idle, instead of turning the display off.
More Personalization guides for Android
- Home Screen & LauncherHome screen settings control which apps, shortcuts, and widgets appear on your Home screens, how many screens you have, and the overall grid layout. If you've installed a third-party launcher, this is also where you switch your default Home app.
- Wallpaper & StyleWallpaper & Style settings let you set separate images for your Home and lock screens, and on many devices, generate a matching system-wide color palette, icon shapes, and fonts based on your wallpaper's colors. Theme packs can bundle wallpapers, icons, and sounds together for a coordinated look.
- Themed Icons & Material You ColorsThemed icons use Material You to extract a color palette from your current wallpaper and apply matching tints to supported app icons, widgets, and system menus.
- App Icon Shape & Grid SizeControls the outline shape used for app icons (circle, squircle, square, teardrop) and the number of rows and columns shown on the home screen grid.
- Quick Settings Tile CustomizationLets you add, remove, and reorder the toggle tiles shown in the Quick Settings panel accessed by swiping down from the top of the screen.
- Notification Dot StyleNotification dots place a small colored badge on an app icon when it has an unread notification; this setting controls whether dots appear and how they're styled.