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The Galaxy S25’s Now Bar is a Lock screen strip for selected ongoing activities—such as navigation, timers, music playback, or a workout—not a feed of every notification. To set it up, go to Settings → Lock screen and AOD → Now bar → View more, enable the supported activities you want, then return and turn on Media player or Current mode if useful. A secure screen lock is required.
The Galaxy S25 launched with One UI 7, but labels and supported options can change with software updates. The steps below reflect Samsung’s US guidance; available activities depend on your device, software, region, and app support.
What the Now Bar does
The Now Bar is a compact, pill-shaped Lock screen interface for checking and returning to supported live activities. Depending on what is running and what your software supports, it can show items such as Maps navigation, sports updates, voice recordings, timers, Samsung Health activities, media playback, and Modes and Routines. Some live information may also appear in the status bar or at the top of the Notification panel. Samsung’s Now Bar guide describes the feature and its controls.
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| Feature | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Now Bar | Glanceable status and access to supported ongoing activities and controls. |
| Now Brief | Personalized periodic information and suggestions, such as contextual updates. It is related to the Now Bar but serves a different purpose. |
| Notifications | Alerts and a chronological place to review what apps have reported. |
Samsung explains the relationship between Now Brief and Now Bar in its setup guide. If you want a complete alert history, use the Notification panel; if you want ongoing information such as a timer or navigation, the Now Bar is the more relevant surface.
Before you turn it on
- Use a Galaxy S25-series phone: This guide is for the US Galaxy S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra. Support can vary across other models and regional builds.
- Set a secure screen lock: Samsung says a screen lock is required. Set a PIN, password, or pattern under your phone’s Lock screen settings; biometrics are used with a secure lock.
- Allow relevant notifications: If an app’s notifications or Lock screen notifications are blocked, its activity may not appear.
- Allow required access: Navigation, weather, sports, and connected services may need location, internet, or other permissions to update.
- Keep software current: The S25 launched with Android 15 and One UI 7. Later updates may change labels or add or alter options.
Turn on and configure the Now Bar
- Open Settings.
- Tap Lock screen and AOD. On some software builds this may be labeled Lock screen.
- Tap Now bar.
- Tap View more to see supported Live notification apps or categories.
- Switch on the activities or apps you want. The available list varies; enabling an option only permits eligible activity to appear.
- Go back to the Now Bar settings page. Turn on Media player for playback controls and Current mode for Modes and Routines information, if you want them.
- Lock the phone, then wake the display with the Power button or a double-tap.
Samsung documents the View more switches and separate media and mode options in its Galaxy notification settings guide and Now Bar instructions. If you cannot find the path, search Settings for Now bar and check for a software update at Settings → Software update → Download and install.
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Use it from the Lock screen
- Wake the screen by pressing Power or double-tapping the display.
- Look near the bottom of the Lock screen for the Now Bar.
- Swipe upward on the bar to move among active items.
- Tap an item to expand it or interact with the controls it offers.
- Touch and hold the bar for additional options, such as removing categories or changing settings.
What you can do without unlocking depends on the activity. The bar may show status or offer a limited control, but a sensitive action can still require unlocking or opening the app. That is expected, not necessarily a fault.
Choose activities that earn a place on the Lock screen
Keep the bar useful by enabling activities you benefit from seeing at a glance. For example:
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| If you… | Consider enabling… |
|---|---|
| Navigate or commute | Maps or other supported navigation activity. |
| Listen to music or podcasts | Media player; playback controls appear when a compatible player is active. |
| Exercise or track a walk | Samsung Health activity, when available and active. |
| Use timers, a stopwatch, or voice recording | The relevant supported activity while it is running. |
| Follow a game | Sports Live notifications, if offered on your software build. |
| Automate work, sleep, driving, or home routines | Current mode. |
| Prefer a less revealing Lock screen | Only low-sensitivity items, or none; review Lock screen notification visibility too. |
More enabled categories can mean a busier Lock screen. A Now Bar may also expose destinations, workout status, recording status, sports interests, or media details before you unlock, so choose based on your privacy preferences.
Customize or remove items
- Turn off an app or Live notification category: Go to Settings → Lock screen and AOD → Now bar → View more and switch off the item.
- Hide playback or mode information: Return to the Now Bar page and turn off Media player or Current mode.
- Use the bar’s options: Touch and hold the Now Bar and use the displayed settings or removal options.
- Control ordinary Lock screen alerts separately: Review Lock screen notification settings if you want to hide notification contents or suppress alerts. The exact labels can vary by One UI version.
Show Now Bar information on Always On Display
On compatible Galaxy devices running One UI 7.0, Samsung documents an option to show Now Bar or Now Brief information on the Always On Display (AOD). The appearance and available controls can differ from the awake Lock screen.
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- Open Settings → Lock screen and AOD → Always On Display.
- Enable AOD if it is off.
- Look for Show Now bar or the corresponding Now Bar display option and enable it.
- If the option is missing, check your software version and install available updates.
Do not assume that every Now Bar control remains interactive while the display is off. Samsung’s Always On Display guide covers supported display behavior.
Troubleshoot a missing or empty Now Bar
“Now bar” is missing from Settings
- Search Settings for Now bar; the surrounding menu label may differ between builds.
- Confirm that a secure screen lock is configured.
- Install available updates at Settings → Software update → Download and install, then restart the phone.
- Check Settings → Lock screen and AOD (or Lock screen) again.
If it is still absent, the feature may not be available on that device or software build. Samsung notes that feature availability can depend on compatibility and software version; see its feature availability guidance.
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The bar appears, but nothing is in it
First, start a real supported activity: begin navigation, play media, start a timer or recording, or start a workout. An enabled category does not display an item while nothing eligible is happening. Then check that the relevant switch under Now bar → View more is on, the app’s notifications and Lock screen notifications are allowed, and any required network or location access is available. Update the app if needed. If an activity still fails to refresh, check whether battery restrictions are limiting its background activity.
A particular app never appears
Ordinary notification support is not the same as Now Bar support. The app must provide an activity Samsung’s software recognizes, and Samsung’s supported list can vary by model, region, and version. Samsung’s supported activity information is a better guide than assuming every notification app will work. One UI updates may change support, but do not assume a specific third-party app is compatible unless it appears in the available settings or its developer confirms it.
A visible control does not work while the phone is locked
Some actions are intentionally restricted until you unlock the phone or open the app. Try unlocking and repeating the action; the Now Bar is a quick-access surface, not a promise of full app control from the Lock screen.
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Limits to keep in mind
- The Now Bar is not a universal notification feed and does not turn every app alert into a live activity.
- What appears depends on supported services and apps, an activity actually running, permissions, region, model, and software version.
- Some actions require unlocking, even when the activity itself is visible.
- Lock screen and AOD content can disclose information. Disable sensitive categories and adjust Lock screen notification visibility if that matters to you.
For information that does not qualify as an ongoing activity—such as a calendar overview, weather snapshot, or task list—a Home screen widget may be a better fit. Use ordinary notifications for alerts you want to review later.
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