Android 5.0 Lollipop brings with it quite a lot of new features and enhancements, but it has also regressed in certain areas compared to KitKat. One such area where Lollipop has severely regressed is Volume control.
The new notification system in Android 5.0 allows users to categorise their notifications into three segments: None, Priority and All. While this new system is better than the old one, there is one serious issue with it: the complete lack of a silent mode.
On KitKat and below, rapidly pressing the volume down key will automatically put the device into vibrate mode followed by silent mode. However, in Android 5.0 Lollipop, pressing the volume down button after the phone has gone into Vibration mode does nothing.
While it is possible to get silent mode by using Interruptions in ‘Priority’ mode, the whole process is time consuming and cumbersome at best.
Thankfully, quite a few methods exist to bring back silent mode in Android 5.0 Lollipop, which are pretty straightforward and hardly take any time. Below, we have highlighted two such methods: one for non-rooted users, and another one for rooted Android device users who have Xposed framework installed.
Method 1 (For non-root users):
Step 1: Download SoundHUD from the Google Play Store on your Android device running Lollipop. Start the app, and when prompted provide it with ‘Accessibility’ service access.
Step 2: SoundHUD will now replace the stock volume bar on your Lollipop running device. Now, when you press the Volume down button, the SoundHUD volume panel will show up.
Just like on KitKat and before, repeatedly press the Volume down button to put the device into silent mode now.
SoundHUD is a bit buggy and the volume panel might not show the correct volume level when you tap the volume button the first time. Make sure to cross check your volume level after changing it once.
Method 2 (For rooted/Xposed framework users):
If you are running Xposed framework on your Android device running Lollipop, you can install the ‘True Silent mode for Lollipop’ Xposed module to restore silent mode functionality. Unlike SoundHUD, the module is less buggy and works without any issues across all devices.
It does not, however, provide any notification when the device enters silent mode. The only visual cue for silent mode being activated is that the Volume bar becomes inactive as shown in the screenshot above.
Download: True Silent mode for Lollipop
If you don’t know about Xposed framework, you can read more about it here, and find the steps to install it under Android 5.0 Lollipop here.
