In Android 6.0 Marshmallow, you can configure the Quick Settings tiles exactly how you like it and today I want to show you how.
Yesterday I showed you how to enable a new, hidden feature that is built into Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The feature is called System UI Tuner and it let’s you tweak and customize all sorts of UI elements for Android. I also recently showed you how to hide a dynamic Quick Settings tile if you are running Android 5.1 Lollipop. It seems like this small feature was a stopgap on the way to what we currently have in Marshmallow.
This was useful for its time but the new feature that Google added to Android in Marshmallow makes that one unnecessary.
So today I’m going to continue this tip series and talk about that new feature that Google introduced into Marshmallow. The feature lies within the System UI Tuner section that I showed you how to enable yesterday. As you can see in the image at the top of this article, it’s just a subsection from within the System UI Tuner page that is called Quick Settings. So you’ll have to follow the instructions on the previous tutorial in order to enable the System UI Tuner and then you can dive into this specific Quick Settings section.
How to Move Quick Settings Tiles in Marshmallow
- Enable the System UI Tuner
- Go into the Settings App
- Tap on the System UI Tuner Option
- Tap on the Quick Settings Option
- Tap and Hold on Any Quick Settings Tile
- Drag the Tile to the Spot You Want it in
- Then Tap the Back Arrow at the Top Left to Save
How to Add a Quick Settings Tile in Marshmallow
- Enable the System UI Tuner
- Go into the Settings App
- Tap on the System UI Tuner Option
- Tap on the Quick Settings Option
- Tap on the Add Tile Option at the Bottom
- Tap on the Quick Settings Tile You Want to Add
- Then Tap the Back Arrow at the Top Left to Save
How to Remove a Quick Settings Tile in Marshmallow
- Enable the System UI Tuner
- Go into the Settings App
- Tap on the System UI Tuner Option
- Tap on the Quick Settings Option
- Tap and Hold the Quick Settings Tile You Want to Remove
- Drag This Quick Settings Tile Down to the Delete Trashcan
- Then Tap on the Back Arrow at the Top Left to Save
Explanation
So there we have it. Once you enable the System UI Tuner, you’ll see this Quick Settings option at the top of the page. Tapping on this option will take you to the Quick Settings editor and this is where you can add, move or remove any tiles as you see fit. If you use a smartphone as just an internet connected device(without a SIM card), then you can completely remove things like Airplane Mode and the Data Signal tiles. If you don’t ever need the Screen Orientation tile, then you can get rid of it too. Or, if you want to have a Cast button in your Quick Settings panel then you can add it all from this same menu screen.
I really love how Google has implemented this and I hope it doesn’t go anywhere. When you first enable the System UI Tuner and go into the menus, you’ll get a warning. This warning says the feature is experimental and that they might not be there forever. I don’t see Google removing these without an update to the Android OS, but they could choose to remove them with the next big version of Android. Google I/O is coming up soon, so it’s time for Google to show off a new version of their mobile platform. Let’s just hope that Google sees how useful this feature is and that they will choose to keep it in the OS in some way or another.
