How to Use the Galaxy S5 Camera Flash for Alerts and Notifications

When it comes to getting notifications or alerts for incoming calls or SMS messages on the Galaxy S5 there’s a few different options available. Vibrate isn’t as inconspicuous as many users would like, and setting a phone to silent mode can have users missing important calls.

However, there is another option that is silent but will surely capture your attention so you won’t ever miss another call or text message. The guide below will explain how to use the Samsung Galaxy S5 camera flash as a dedicated notification and alert system.

Read: How to Disable My Magazine on the Galaxy S5

Aside from the blinking blue or white LED on the front of your new Galaxy S5, there’s a third option other than silent mode or vibrate when it comes to getting notifications. Just like the Galaxy S4 (or most recent Galaxy devices) you can use the camera flash for notifications. This can be bothersome to people around you, so it’s disabled out of the box, but a few taps and you’ll be getting camera flashes for notifications in no time. Read on to find out how.

Essentially what we’ll be doing in the extremely simple and few instructions below is going into settings and letting your phone use the Galaxy S5’s camera LED flash for a notification and alert system. It’s extremely bright, and will ensure you never miss another call or text.

Using the camera flash for notifications is popular with iPhone users, but you might want to disable such a feature while headed to the movies or in a situation where you’re around a lot of people, as it can get bothersome. With that said, here’s how to quickly enable this feature on the Galaxy S5.

Instructions

Those looking to enable the camera flash for notifications and alerts on the Galaxy S5 you can do so in just about 30 seconds if you follow the extremely simple steps below. A quick few taps in settings is all that’s required, and you’re done.

You’ll start by heading into settings. This can be done by sliding down the notification pulldown bar and tapping the gear-shaped icon near the top right, or by finding the same gear-shaped settings icon in the application tray. Once you do this you’ll scroll down to the green hand icon labeled “Accessibility” in the settings menu, as shown below.

Tap Accessibility, and then you’ll see what’s shown on the left of the screenshot above. This isn’t in vision settings, oddly, and instead will be located in “hearing” as highlighted above.

Settings > Accessibility > Hearing > Check Enable Flash Notifications

From here you simply check to enable the very top option in the hearings menu we just navigated to above. You’ll see “Flash notification” is the top choice, tap the checkbox and then hit OK to confirm you understand. This simply lets you know a few motion controls will be enabled, like turning the phone over to disable the flash. This is helpful so you’re not blinding people or disrupting others.

That’s it and you’re now done. Users will now see the dedicated camera flash light up and draw plenty of attention with incoming calls, texts, or notifications. For average smartphone users this should be plenty, but there’s also a wide array of applications from the Google Play Store with additional customization should you choose. Not to mention apps like LightFlow will customize the color LED on the front of your phone.

Alternatively, if you’d like to disable the camera flash notifications before heading into a movie, or it’s too much for you, just redo the steps above. Simply navigate to the settings and uncheck it to disable the feature.

Read: How to Use the Samsung Galaxy S5 Camera Like A Pro

As a reminder, Samsung devices have an array of “motion controls” which was mentioned in the screenshot and popup by Samsung themselves. This simply is alerting the user that you can use motions (such as flipping over the phone on a table) to instantly silence a notification or phone call. This same system works to turn off the flashing notification. Simply flip your Galaxy S5 over and the flashing will stop.

That’s all there is to this extremely useful and easy to enable feature on the Samsung Galaxy S5. This is one of the most powerful Android smartphones around, and users can find an array of features if they simply look through settings. However, feel free to check out our 50 Galaxy S5 Tips, Tricks & Hidden Features for even more useful tips.

Have any Galaxy S5 questions? Drop us a comment below.