How to Enable On-Screen Navigation Buttons on the OnePlus One

Since the OnePlus One comes from the factory with CyanogenMod, think custom Android with more settings, there are a wealth of customizations that can be performed on it.

In this article, we’re going to talk about hardware buttons vs the Android System Bar. Historically, Android phones had physical hardware buttons that were located just below the screen.  These included things like the home button, a back button, and a menu button.

Hardware buttons were, in theory, meant to be replaced in Android 4.0 with a dynamic System Bar that presented more context specific options to a user.  For example, the Back Button becomes a down arrow and removes the keyboard from the screen if it’s being displayed.  Many phone makers decided, however, to keep the hardware buttons, which is true of the OnePlus One.  On the OnePlus One, having the hardware buttons enabled actually turns off the software System Bar and vice versa.

Due to CyanogenMod’s focus on customization, you can determine which way you want to use your phone and, as such, we’ll walk you through how to adjust this setting.

1. Pull down the notification shade and tap the box icon in the upper right corner of your screen.

2. Click the Settings icon

3. Scroll down and tap Buttons

4. Check Enable on-screen nav bar

 

5. Home buttons will appear

 

One thing you should pay attention to is that the back and menu button locations are switched between the hardware and software buttons.   To re-enable the Hardware buttons perform the steps above but in Step Four uncheck “Enable on-screen nav bar”.

That’s all there is to it.  Give it a try and comment below to let us know if you prefer using hardware or software buttons on your Android phone!

For more tips and tricks, head to our OnePlus One how to’s section.