In case your app needs that your user make some changes in the Settings menu i.e to set a default app to open a specific type of files etc, you may like to make this task easier for your user by starting the Settings menu of Android dinamically from your app.
Show system settings
To display the Settings page programmatically, you can use the startActivityForResult method with an Intent object and a constant of the Settings, the following example should open the general settings menu of Android:
startActivityForResult(new Intent(android.provider.Settings.ACTION_SETTINGS), 0);The usage of the ACTION_SETTINGS constant with startActivityForResult will show system settings. The Settings provider contains global system-level device preferences.
Access specific settings areas
The following list contains all the constants that provide access to different areas of the settings menu:
Note: not all the constants are available on every Android version. In case you need more information visit the official documentation here.
Constants of android.provider.Settings |
|
|---|---|
String |
ACTION_ACCESSIBILITY_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings for accessibility modules. |
String |
ACTION_ADD_ACCOUNT
Activity Action: Show add account screen for creating a new account. |
String |
ACTION_AIRPLANE_MODE_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to allow entering/exiting airplane mode. |
String |
ACTION_APN_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to allow configuration of APNs. |
String |
ACTION_APPLICATION_DETAILS_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show screen of details about a particular application. |
String |
ACTION_APPLICATION_DEVELOPMENT_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to allow configuration of application development-related settings. |
String |
ACTION_APPLICATION_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to allow configuration of application-related settings. |
String |
ACTION_BATTERY_SAVER_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show battery saver settings. |
String |
ACTION_BLUETOOTH_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to allow configuration of Bluetooth. |
String |
ACTION_CAPTIONING_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings for video captioning. |
String |
ACTION_CAST_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to allow configuration of cast endpoints. |
String |
ACTION_DATA_ROAMING_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings for selection of 2G/3G. |
String |
ACTION_DATE_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to allow configuration of date and time. |
String |
ACTION_DEVICE_INFO_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show general device information settings (serial number, software version, phone number, etc.). |
String |
ACTION_DISPLAY_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to allow configuration of display. |
String |
ACTION_DREAM_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show Daydream settings. |
String |
ACTION_HARD_KEYBOARD_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to configure the hardware keyboard. |
String |
ACTION_HOME_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show Home selection settings. |
String |
ACTION_IGNORE_BACKGROUND_DATA_RESTRICTIONS_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show screen for controlling background data restrictions for a particular application. |
String |
ACTION_IGNORE_BATTERY_OPTIMIZATION_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show screen for controlling which apps can ignore battery optimizations. |
String |
ACTION_INPUT_METHOD_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to configure input methods, in particular allowing the user to enable input methods. |
String |
ACTION_INPUT_METHOD_SUBTYPE_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to enable/disable input method subtypes. |
String |
ACTION_INTERNAL_STORAGE_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings for internal storage. |
String |
ACTION_LOCALE_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to allow configuration of locale. |
String |
ACTION_LOCATION_SOURCE_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to allow configuration of current location sources. |
String |
ACTION_MANAGE_ALL_APPLICATIONS_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to manage all applications. |
String |
ACTION_MANAGE_APPLICATIONS_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to manage installed applications. |
String |
ACTION_MANAGE_DEFAULT_APPS_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show Default apps settings. |
String |
ACTION_MANAGE_OVERLAY_PERMISSION
Activity Action: Show screen for controlling which apps can draw on top of other apps. |
String |
ACTION_MANAGE_WRITE_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show screen for controlling which apps are allowed to write/modify system settings. |
String |
ACTION_MEMORY_CARD_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings for memory card storage. |
String |
ACTION_NETWORK_OPERATOR_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings for selecting the network operator. |
String |
ACTION_NFCSHARING_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show NFC Sharing settings. |
String |
ACTION_NFC_PAYMENT_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show NFC Tap & Pay settings This shows UI that allows the user to configure Tap&Pay settings. |
String |
ACTION_NFC_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show NFC settings. |
String |
ACTION_NOTIFICATION_LISTENER_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show Notification listener settings. |
String |
ACTION_NOTIFICATION_POLICY_ACCESS_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show Do Not Disturb access settings. |
String |
ACTION_PRINT_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show the top level print settings. |
String |
ACTION_PRIVACY_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to allow configuration of privacy options. |
String |
ACTION_QUICK_LAUNCH_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to allow configuration of quick launch shortcuts. |
String |
ACTION_REQUEST_IGNORE_BATTERY_OPTIMIZATIONS
Activity Action: Ask the user to allow an app to ignore battery optimizations (that is, put them on the whitelist of apps shown by |
String |
ACTION_SEARCH_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings for global search. |
String |
ACTION_SECURITY_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to allow configuration of security and location privacy. |
String |
ACTION_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show system settings. |
String |
ACTION_SHOW_REGULATORY_INFO
Activity Action: Show the regulatory information screen for the device. |
String |
ACTION_SOUND_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to allow configuration of sound and volume. |
String |
ACTION_SYNC_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to allow configuration of sync settings. |
String |
ACTION_USAGE_ACCESS_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to control access to usage information. |
String |
ACTION_USER_DICTIONARY_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to manage the user input dictionary. |
String |
ACTION_VOICE_CONTROL_AIRPLANE_MODE
Activity Action: Modify Airplane mode settings using a voice command. |
String |
ACTION_VOICE_CONTROL_BATTERY_SAVER_MODE
Activity Action: Modify Battery Saver mode setting using a voice command. |
String |
ACTION_VOICE_CONTROL_DO_NOT_DISTURB_MODE
Activity Action: Modify do not disturb mode settings. |
String |
ACTION_VOICE_INPUT_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to configure input methods, in particular allowing the user to enable input methods. |
String |
ACTION_VPN_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to allow configuration of VPN. |
String |
ACTION_VR_LISTENER_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show VR listener settings. |
String |
ACTION_WEBVIEW_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Allows user to select current webview implementation. |
String |
ACTION_WIFI_IP_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to allow configuration of a static IP address for Wi-Fi. |
String |
ACTION_WIFI_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to allow configuration of Wi-Fi. |
String |
ACTION_WIRELESS_SETTINGS
Activity Action: Show settings to allow configuration of wireless controls such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Mobile networks. |
String |
AUTHORITY
|
String |
EXTRA_ACCOUNT_TYPES
Activity Extra: Limit available options in launched activity based on the given account types. |
String |
EXTRA_AIRPLANE_MODE_ENABLED
Activity Extra: Enable or disable Airplane Mode. |
String |
EXTRA_AUTHORITIES
Activity Extra: Limit available options in launched activity based on the given authority. |
String |
EXTRA_BATTERY_SAVER_MODE_ENABLED
Activity Extra: Enable or disable Battery saver mode. |
String |
EXTRA_DO_NOT_DISTURB_MODE_ENABLED
Activity Extra: Enable or disable Do Not Disturb mode. |
String |
EXTRA_DO_NOT_DISTURB_MODE_MINUTES
Activity Extra: How many minutes to enable do not disturb mode for. |
String |
EXTRA_INPUT_METHOD_ID
|
String |
INTENT_CATEGORY_USAGE_ACCESS_CONFIG
Activity Category: Show application settings related to usage access. |
String |
METADATA_USAGE_ACCESS_REASON
Metadata key: Reason for needing usage access. |
For example, you can open directly the Language Settings of the device (to change language) executing:
startActivityForResult(new Intent(android.provider.Settings.ACTION_LOCALE_SETTINGS), 0);With the introduction of new Android APIs, there will be more settings available areas with different constants, read the official documentation of android provider settings here.
Add the permissions if required
For some special areas of the Android Settings, you will need permissions. For example, to open the bluetooth settings you'll need to add the following bluetooth permissions in your app manifest:
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.BLUETOOTH" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.BLUETOOTH_ADMIN" />And then you'll be able to open the bluetooth settings:
startActivityForResult(new Intent(android.provider.Settings.ACTION_BLUETOOTH_SETTINGS), 0);Otherwise you'll get the following exception:
java.lang.SecurityException: Permission Denial: starting Intent {} requires android.permission.BLUETOOTH_ADMIN
Happy coding !
