CM12: How to Remove the # Symbol in the Status Bar

Not everyone likes the pound / hashtag / # symbol present in the CyanogenMod 12 status bar all the time. So today I have found a way to remove this symbol and I wanted to share it with you.

If you have installed CyanogenMod 12 onto one of your smartphones or tablets, and have a root application, then you might have noticed the addition of a # symbol in your status bar. This is a new feature and it serves as a way to show you that an application has root access on your device.

The intended use of this change is to keep you aware of what is going on with your smartphone or tablet but there are some people who have expressed their displeasure in this change.

CM12 # Symbol

Some people like to see their status bar as ‘clean’ as possible. They won’t let notifications fill up and will sometimes refuse to use an application if it adds something into the status bar of their smartphone. So I have seen this question come up a lot and now that I have learned how to get rid of it, I wanted to put together a tutorial about it.

There’s actually two different ways to get around this. One of them requires flashing a zip file from within the recovery mode(flashing SuperSU) and the other requires that you have the Xposed Framework installed so you can install an Xposed Module. I will leave it up to you to pick which tutorial you want to choose.

SuperSU Method

1. Download the SuperSU Zip File
2. Boot Your Smartphone into Recovery Mode
3. Tap/Choose Install
4. Browse to and Select the SuperSU Zip File(downloaded in step 1)
5. Reboot After it is Installed

Xposed Method

1. Download the Disable SU Indicator Module
2. Install/Enable the Module in the Xposed Framework
3. Reboot After it is Installed

Explanation

The first method I will talk about is the SuperSU method. It seems that Chainfire(the developer of SuperSU) has made it so that # symbol is no longer in the status bar of CM12 as long as you are on the latest version. I have tested this with SuperSU version 2.46. So, as long as you are on version 2.46 or later, it should remove the # symbol from the status bar while an application has root access.

Now, some people have decided to stay away from SuperSU for various reasons and more power to them. I generally recommend SuperSU because it is the best tool for the job(most of the time). However, it isn’t open source and some prefer to only use open source software. There’s nothing wrong with that. So, to get around the # symbol without SuperSU, you’ll have to install the Xposed Framework module linked in the second tutorial above. Then, all you have to do is install and enable the module and the # symbol should be gone.

I have a couple of tutorials for how to get Xposed for Lollipop installed onto your device. You are welcome to look over those and try to get it installed onto your smartphone or tablet if you do not want to install SuperSU. However, Xposed for Lollipop(which CM12 is based on) is only working on ARMv7 chips. So, if you don’t have a smartphone that is released in the past year or two, then you’re better off going with the SuperSU route. Rovo89, the developer of the Xposed Framework, should eventually release an update to Xposed for Lollipop that should expand how many devices it can be installed on. For right now though, it is in a limited release.