How To Check and Recover Android Notification History

Android arguably has the best way of handling notifications among all the mobile operating systems we know of. Its notification drawer is also feature packed with expandable, actionable notifications but there’s a very simple problem which sometimes mars the experience. Have you ever accidentally dismissed a bunch of notifications without seeing them? You must have then thought if you missed something important. Well, once you swipe a notification or accidentally dismiss it, there’s no straightforward way to see them. Though, there’s no straightforward way but there is a very simple trick by which you can see your Android notification history. Here’s how you can recover your dismissed notifications and get your full notification log on Android:

Steps to recover dismissed notifications on Android

NoteThis method of checking the Android notification history works only on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and above versions. We tested the method on stock Android 5.1 Lollipop and it works fine.

1. Press hold on an empty space on the homescreen until the options come up.

2. Tap on “Widgets“.

3. Scroll down and find the “Settings” widget.

Note: You might not find the ‘Settings widget’ among all the widgets on smartphones running custom Android skins.  For instance, on HTC smartphones running Sense UI, the Settings widget is buried in the “Shortcuts” tab. When you press hold on the homescreen and tap “Add apps and widgets”, you will be taken to the widgets page, where you can move to “Shortcuts” through the drop down menu on the top left.

Android Settings Widget

4. Add the “Settings” widget to the homescreen.

5. Once you add the widget, it will give you the option to add various settings as a shortcut widget on the homescreen.

6. Scroll below and find “Notification log“.

Android Notification log Widget

7. After you are done, you will find a shortcut to Notification Log, where you will have all the Android notifications history. It shows the active notifications in white while dismissed notifications are greyed out. If you tap on a notification, you will be taken to the app’s info page.

Android Notification History

The steps are pretty easy and you must be wondering how could you miss such a simple feature. You might also consider having the notifications log always on the homescreen because we tend to swipe away all the notifications when there are a lot of them. Having your Android notification history just a tap away should make sure you don’t miss out on any important notifications.

SEE ALSO: How To Recover Deleted Files on Android

Don’t miss important notifications anymore!

Do you always dismiss important notifications? Give this simple trick a try and you won’t miss out on notifications, we assure.

comment Comments 3
  • sv says:

    hi,
    There is no notification log in my mobile

  • Ed says:

    Fixed the problem by powering the phone down, then up.

  • Ed says:

    Rupesh:
    I get a notification sound every 10 or so minutes, and cannot find what is causing it. I tried ‘notif log’ and it does not appear there. Is there an app or other way to identify what causes a notification sound.

    It is the same sound I get when a text message is receive, but there is no indication of what causes it.

    Thanks

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