[FEATURE] Change notifications bar color

[MisterMalik]

When the wallpaper is white the notification bar is still white so I can't see the time or battery or notification icons. Can you add a way to change it.

[maocide]

Hi @MisterMalik,

This happens because Android determines the status bar color (white/black icons). For images, the system analyzes the colors automatically. However, for something like a Live Wallpaper, Android often defaults to white icons because constantly analyzing the video frames to decide the contrast would drain too much battery.

The app currently doesn't force a specific color scheme to the system.

Potential Solution:
I can't add "automatic" detection without hurting battery life, but I could add a manual toggle in the app settings (something like "Force Dark Status Bar") for users who use bright wallpapers.

I will mark this as a Feature Request. For now, I think you might be able to force this in your specific Launcher settings if it supports it.

[maocide]

I have implemented a manual toggle (Auto / White Icons / Black Icons) in the feature/statusbar-color branch. I am currently testing it on my phone to ensure everything is working. It will be included in the next release (v1.1.1) very soon!

[maocide]

Implemented and released v1.1.1

[MisterMalik]

Thank you for the update! I tried it out but it doesn't seem to be working on my phone. I am using the Galaxy s23+ with the latest updates. And I am trying to get this video to play as my wallpaper. Even when I change the option to black and apply the wallpaper it still stays white.

Field-negate-HueY.mp4

[maocide]

Hi @MisterMalik, thanks for the feedback and the video!

This seems to be something specific of Samsung's One UI, cause on my phone is changing.

Technically, Android apps cannot "force" the status bar color directly; we can only send a "Hint" to the system. Standard Android obey this hint immediately, but Samsung devices often override it based on their own theming engine.

I looked around and can be something with different launchers on Android...
Could you try these two checks on your S23+?

Check "Dim Wallpaper":
Go to Settings > Wallpaper and style. Look for an option called "Apply Dark mode to Wallpaper" (or "Dim wallpaper when Dark mode is on").
* If this is ON, Samsung artificially darkens the wallpaper and forces White icons, ignoring my app's request. Try turning this OFF.

System Dark Mode:
Does the issue persist if you switch your phone's system theme to Light Mode temporarily?

If disabling the "Dim" setting fixes it, that's the culprit. If it still refuses to change even in Light Mode, let me know, and I can try to make the color hint more "aggressive" in a future patch to try and trick One UI into listening.

Thanks for getting back to me with this!

[MisterMalik]

Hi, thank for helping me so much! I do have my phone on light mode and made sure that the dim wallpaper is off but it doesn't seem to help. The icons stay white regardless.

[maocide]

Thanks for testing that! Just the fact you tried gave me more info.

Samsung's One UI (the software on Galaxy phones) handles wallpaper colors differently than standard Android. It seems to be ignoring the standard "Hint" (HINT_SUPPORTS_DARK_TEXT) that I used in v1.1.1.

Unfortunately Android is very fragmented. While the code works perfectly on my Pixel and standard Android devices, manufacturers like Samsung often add their own "Theming Engines" that override standard system signals. Since I don't own an S23, it is difficult to reproduce these specific ROM behaviors locally.

The Plan:
Instead of using the modern "Hint" system, I will force the app to report "Pure White" or "Pure Black" to the system directly. This should mathematically force Samsung's engine to switch icon colors to maintain contrast, bypassing the ignored hint.

Since I just released v1.1.1 today, I can't push another update immediately (to avoid spamming users with updates). However, I will implement this aggressive fix in the development branch now and include it in v1.1.2, which I hope to release soon.

I am reopening this issue to track the "Samsung Compatibility Fix." Thanks again for your help debugging this!

[maocide]

Quick update: v1.1.2 has just been released and is currently propagating on the Play Store.

I managed to test this specifically on a Samsung Galaxy S23+ (via Samsung's Remote Test Lab) and confirmed that the new color override logic successfully forces the status bar icons to change contrast now.

It should resolve the issue on your end once the update arrives. I really hope it works for you!