With the final stable release of Android Oreo came a ton of new features and optimizations, all made to enhance the overall Android user experience. That being said, if you had previously installed the Developer Beta on your device, you would have noticed that a lot of features that were previously introduced have now been removed from the final build. One such feature was the ability to change the lock screen shortcuts. Well, if you were a fan of this feature, and would love to have it back on your Android Oreo 8.0 device, read on, as we show you how to set custom lock screen shortcuts in Android Oreo without root access:
Set Custom Lock Screen Shortcuts in Android Oreo
Note: The following method requires Minimal ADB and Fastboot drivers to be installed on your PC. If not, you can download and install them from here. Also, I tried the method on my Nexus 5X and Google Pixel running Android 8.0 Oreo and it worked perfectly.
- To start off, head over to Settings -> System -> Developer Options and enable the toggle next to “USB Debugging”.
- Before proceeding with customizing your lock screen shortcuts, you first need to find the package name of the app that you wish to use. Download and install Package Names Viewer 2.0 (Free) from here to your device.
- Now, open up Package Names Viewer. The app will show you the list of various applications installed on your device, along with their package and activity names. Note down the package name and the activity name of the app that you wish to set as a shortcut on your lock screen. For this demonstration, I’ll be using the Google Maps app, which has:
Package Name - com.google.android.apps.maps Activity Name - com.google.android.maps.MapsActivity
- Now, connect your device to your PC and launch the ADB shell. Once in there, type in the following commands:
To change the left-side shortcut:
adb shell settings put secure sysui_keyguard_left "PACKAGE NAME/ACTIVITY NAME"To change the right-side shortcut:
settings put secure sysui_keyguard_right "PACKAGE NAME/ACTIVITY NAME"For example, I’ll be replacing the right side shortcut with the Maps app. Hence, my command will look like –
adb shell settings put secure sysui_keyguard_right "com.google.android.apps.maps/com.google.android.maps.MapsActivity"
Now as you can see, the right side shortcut on my lockscreen has been changed to Google Maps.
- Finally, if you’d like to revert your lock screen shortcuts in Android Oreo back to stock settings, simply execute the following commands:
For resetting the left-side shortcut:
adb shell settings delete secure sysui_keyguard_left
For resetting the right-side shortcut:
adb shell settings delete secure sysui_keyguard_right
And that’s it. Your lockscreen should now be restored to stock shortcuts, where the left shortcut is for voice assistant and the right shortcut is for the camera.
SEE ALSO: 12 Cool Android 8.0 Oreo Tricks You Should Know
Change Your Lock Screen Shortcuts Easily on Android Oreo
Changing your lock screen shortcuts can be a very handy feature as it gives you quicker access to your most used app(s). While the feature was present in the second Developer Beta for the Android Oreo, it was apparently removed from the final build. Thankfully, the above method works well for Android Oreo running devices and doesn’t even require root access. Well, I’ve set my shortcuts to Maps and WhatsApp, but what about you? What are you going to set your lock screen shortcuts to? Let us know in the comments section below.
This tutorial was first posted on XDA Developers. We tried it out and it works without any problems.
Abubakar Mohammed
