Flashing zip file activates hidden tweak tool navigation bar in Android 7.0

Google has been working on a way to customize the navigation bar in Android 7.0 but has hidden the feature before release. It is possible to reactivate the function on various Nexus devices.

The feature, called Navbar Tuner, can be activated by flashing a zip file on a Nexus running Android 7.0 Nougat that activates the feature. There are files for the Nexus 6P, 5X and 6. The file is a modified version of SystemUI.

Google was working on the feature around January, Android Police discovered from commits seen on GitHub. In February, a Google employee made a commit to hide “some tuner stuff” that wasn’t ready. After that, nothing more was heard of development work on the function.

The Navbar Tuner allows users to determine the size and position of the onscreen buttons of the navigation bar. It is also possible to add buttons, although there are not many options that work. The function is reminiscent of the way LG introduced the option to adjust the navigation bar on devices from a few years ago and Huawei also has such an option in Emui.

It is unknown if and when Google will activate this feature. The option is located under SystemUI Tuner in the Settings, which only appears by long-pressing the Settings icon in the notification bar, after which the additional option appears in the settings menu.