How do I make my Android screen stay on?

Android phones are designed to turn off the screen after a certain period of inactivity to conserve battery life. The default timeout length is usually around 30 seconds. However, there are many situations where you may want to keep the screen on for longer periods without having to constantly tap or interact with your phone.

For example, you may be reading a long article, following a recipe in the kitchen, using your phone as a reference while working, or playing music and wanting to see the screen. Having your screen constantly turn off can be frustrating and disruptive in these cases.

Luckily, Android provides several ways to customize and extend your screen timeout length or even keep the screen on indefinitely. In this guide, we’ll go over the different options available for preventing your Android’s screen from turning off.

Why You Might Want to Keep the Screen On

There are several reasons why you may want to keep your Android screen on rather than having it turn off after a short period of inactivity:

Watching Videos: When streaming long videos or movies, it can be annoying to have the screen turn off every few minutes. Keeping it on allows you to watch uninterrupted.

Reading Articles or Books: If you are reading long articles, ebooks, or other content on your device, keeping the screen on means you won’t lose your place every time the screen shuts off.

Monitoring Apps: You may want to keep an eye on changing data in an app like a fitness tracker, stocks app, or maps/navigation. Keeping the screen on makes this easier.

Accessibility Needs: Some users with disabilities may need the screen to remain on at all times in order to properly utilize accessibility services.

In general, keeping the screen on is useful any time you need to actively watch or interact with your device for an extended period of time. It prevents the inconvenience and disruption of having the screen turn off repeatedly.

Adjust the System-Wide Timeout Setting

The most straightforward way to keep your Android screen turned on is to adjust the system-wide timeout setting. You can find this in your device’s Settings menu:

1. Open the Settings app on your Android device.

2. Scroll down and tap on Display.

3. In the Display settings menu, tap on Screen Timeout.

4. Select the desired timeout duration. Choosing “Never” will keep the display on indefinitely.

This will make your chosen timeout duration apply system-wide – your screen will now stay on for that length of time no matter what app you are in. Be aware that having your screen constantly on can drain your battery more quickly.

Use Apps to Keep Screen On

One of the easiest ways to keep your Android screen on is by using apps specifically designed for this purpose. Many apps allow you to keep the screen awake indefinitely or customize the timeout delay. Some popular options include:

Caffeine – This free app lets you keep the screen on constantly or set a custom screen timeout up to one hour. You can toggle Caffeine on and off from a quick settings tile.

Keep Screen On – With this app you can set a custom screen timeout delay from 15 seconds up to 1 hour. Keep Screen On runs in the background with minimal battery impact.

Stay Alive – Stay Alive provides multiple options for keeping your screen awake, including constantly, indefinitely, for a set time period, or while charging. The app also allows you to keep the screen on only for certain apps.

The advantage of using an app is that it avoids modifying system settings. You simply enable the app when you need to keep the screen active. The app icon in the status bar provides a handy toggle for turning the functionality on and off.

Enable Developer Options

Developer options allow you to access advanced settings and tools for Android developers. Enabling developer options is necessary to use the ‘Stay awake’ setting which keeps your screen on.

To enable developer options on your Android device:

Open the Settings app and go to About Phone or About Device.
Locate and tap on ‘Build number’ 7 times until you see a message saying ‘You are now a developer!’. This enables the developer options menu.

Return to the main Settings menu, you should now see ‘Developer options’ listed there.

Once developer options are enabled, you can access the ‘Stay awake’ setting which prevents your screen from sleeping or dimming when the screen timeout is reached. This is useful if you want to keep the screen on for long periods of time without having to constantly tap it.

Sources:

Use Developer Setting to Keep Screen On

The developer options provide a setting called “Stay awake” that can prevent your Android screen from turning off automatically. To enable this:

Go to Settings > System > Developer options.
Toggle on “Stay awake.”

With this setting enabled, your Android screen will stay on continuously, without dimming or locking. This keeps the screen active indefinitely, until you manually turn it off or toggle the setting back off. According to the Android developer documentation, turning on “Stay awake” uses a PowerManager WakeLock to keep the screen on.

The “Stay awake” developer setting is useful if you need to keep the screen continually active for an extended period of time. However, leaving it on indefinitely will drain your battery faster. It’s best used temporarily as needed. Remember to turn it back off when you no longer need the screen to stay on.

Use Accessibility Services

One way to keep your Android screen on is by enabling accessibility services for apps that include a keep screen on feature. Accessibility services allow apps to receive events and perform actions even when other apps are running or the screen is off.

To use this method, you’ll need to download an app like Keep Screen On from the Play Store. This type of app can request accessibility permissions that will allow it to keep the screen awake in the background.

To enable accessibility permissions for the app:

Go to Settings > Accessibility on your Android device.

Tap the accessibility services option.
Locate the keep screen on app and turn on the accessibility permission toggle.

This will allow the app to prevent the screen from sleeping, even when your device is idle. Just make sure to disable the accessibility permission when you no longer need the screen to stay on constantly.

Toggle ‘Screen Pinning’

Another option to keep the screen on is to use Android’s built-in screen pinning feature. This allows you to pin a particular app so that it stays on screen until you unpin it. To use screen pinning to keep the screen on:

Open the app you want to pin and swipe up from the bottom to bring up the app switcher.
In the app preview, tap the pin icon in the top right corner. This will pin that app and keep the screen on.

To unpin the app, press and hold the Back and Recent Apps buttons together for about 3 seconds until you get a popup confirming the screen is unpinned.

Screen pinning is useful for things like watching videos, playing games, or handing your phone to someone else while keeping just that app accessible. Just remember to unpin when you’re done to regain access to your full device. Some devices may require enabling screen pinning in Settings first.

Sources:

https://support.google.com/android/answer/9455138?hl=en

https://www.manageengine.com/mobile-device-management/mdm-screen-pinning-android-devices.html

Automate with Macrodroid

One way to keep your Android screen on for certain apps is by using the automation app Macrodroid. Macrodroid allows you to create macros that can perform various actions when certain conditions are met.

To keep your screen on for specific apps, you can create a macro in Macrodroid with the following steps:

Add a trigger for “Application opened”
Select the apps you want to keep the screen on for

Add an action for “Keep device awake”
Enable the “Keep awake” option
Add another action for “Keep device awake” when the app closes

Disable the “Keep awake” option for when the app closes

This macro will keep your device’s screen turned on only when the selected apps are open. When you close the app, the normal screen timeout will resume.

Macrodroid provides an automated way to keep your screen on for specific use cases without having to constantly adjust your timeout settings.

Considerations

There are a few factors to consider before keeping your Android screen on indefinitely:

Battery drainage – Always keeping the screen on will drain your battery faster, as the display uses a significant amount of power. According to Dxomark, always-on display can reduce battery life by 15-20%. However, many modern phones use OLED displays which only light up individual pixels, reducing the impact.

Security – Having your screen always on makes the contents more visible to others if you leave your phone unattended. You may want to be cautious in public places. Using a lock screen with notifications hidden can help.

Accessibility – For some users, having the screen stay on provides greater accessibility, as they don’t need to continuously wake the phone. This is especially relevant for those with motor impairments.

Overall, while keeping the screen on does have tradeoffs, for many the battery life impact is modest. Using options like screen pinning or developer settings can allow it temporarily as needed. Evaluating your priorities for security, accessibility and battery can help decide if it’s worthwhile.