How to Turn On and Customise Flash Notifications on Android

If you frequently keep your smartphone on silent mode or work in noisy environments where ringtones and vibration alerts go unnoticed, missing critical calls or text messages is all too easy. While earlier versions of Android required third-party apps or specific manufacturer skins to provide visual alerts, modern Android includes a robust, native Flash notifications feature built directly into its system accessibility settings.

Android allows you to flash your rear camera LED, pulse your display screen in customised colours, or combine both methods whenever notifications or alarms arrive. In this guide, we cover how to enable and configure Camera Flash and Screen Flash notifications on your Android device.

Camera Flash vs Screen Flash Notifications

Android provides two distinct visual notification mechanisms that can be enabled individually or simultaneously:

• Camera Flash: Pulses the camera’s rear LED light twice whenever an incoming message, phone call, or alert arrives. This is especially practical if you habitually place your phone face down on your desk.
• Screen Flash: Illuminates your entire smartphone display with a brief, high-visibility solid tint colour. This is ideal if your phone rests face up or if you want subtle visual alerts during quiet meetings without blinding bystanders with a strobe flash.

How to Turn On Flash Notifications in Android Settings

On devices running stock Android (such as Google Pixel, Motorola, and modern Android One hardware):

1. Open the Settings app on your Android phone.
2. Scroll down and tap Accessibility.
3. Under the Audio and on-screen text section, tap Flash notifications.
4. You will see two independent toggles:
   • Camera flash: Toggle this switch to On to pulse the camera LED for notifications and alarms.
   • Screen flash: Toggle this switch to On to flash your screen in a selected tint colour.
5. Tap the Preview button located at the bottom of the screen to test your visual alerts in real time.

Customising Screen Flash Colours and Previewing Alerts

If you enable Screen Flash, you can choose from twelve distinct tint colours to match your visual comfort and aesthetic preferences:

1. Within the Flash notifications settings menu, tap directly on the words Screen flash (or tap the small colour swatch next to the toggle).
2. A colour selection palette will open displaying shades such as Yellow, Mint Green, Cyan, Orange, Pink, and Lavender.
3. Select your preferred accent colour. Soft pastel shades such as mint or peach are gentle on the eyes in dark rooms, whereas vivid yellow offers maximum daytime visibility.
4. Tap Preview at the bottom of the menu to verify how the colour pulses across your screen.
5. Tap Done or the back arrow to save your configuration.

Configuring Flash Alerts on Samsung Galaxy Devices

If you are using a Samsung Galaxy phone running One UI, the navigation path is slightly different, though the underlying feature operates identically:

1. Open Settings and tap Accessibility.
2. Tap Advanced settings.
3. Select Flash notification.
4. Toggle on Camera flash notification or Screen flash notification.
5. On Samsung devices, tapping on Screen flash notification allows you to restrict the flash to All apps or select Selected apps (allowing you to flash only for WhatsApp or phone calls while ignoring low-priority promotional notifications).
6. Tap Preview to test your setup.

Battery Impact and Environmental Considerations

While visual flash notifications are a lifesaver for accessibility and silent environments, keep the following considerations in mind:

• Battery Consumption: LED camera flashes draw significantly more power than standard notification audio chimes or short vibration motors. If you receive hundreds of group chat messages an hour, Camera Flash can noticeably diminish battery life. Screen Flash uses comparatively minimal power, particularly on modern OLED panels.
• Social Courtesy: High-intensity camera LED strobing in cinemas, dark meeting rooms, or bedrooms can be disruptive to others. Screen Flash provides a polite, unobtrusive middle ground.
• Do Not Disturb Integration: Most Android builds automatically silence Camera Flash when your device enters Do Not Disturb or Bedtime mode, preventing accidental light pulses while you sleep.

Frequently Asked Questions and Troubleshooting

• Why is Camera Flash not triggering? Ensure that your device battery is not below 5% or 10%; Android battery savers automatically disable the camera LED to preserve remaining charge. Additionally, if the Camera app is actively running or holding a hardware lock on the torch, notification flash pulses will be skipped.
• Can I set different colours for different apps? In stock Android 14 and 15, Screen Flash uses a single global colour for all incoming notifications. On Samsung One UI, you can select which apps trigger the screen flash, but the colour remains uniform.
• Does this work for incoming phone calls? Yes. During an incoming call, both the camera LED and screen will continue flashing rhythmically until the call is answered or rejected.