How to Disable the Navigation Bar of the OnePlus 5T

Previous OnePlus smartphone owners are used to hardware navigation buttons but the OnePlus 5T has switched to a software solution. If, like me, you aren’t a fan of this then follow the steps of this tutorial and I will show you how to disable the OnePlus 5T navbar.

Over the years, I have become rather picky about how certain features of Android are implemented. I partially blame this on myself but I wouldn’t know any better if it weren’t for all of the work that the developer community has done. Thanks to AOSPA, I have always preferred pie controls over the traditional software navigation bar at the bottom of the screen.

This allows my applications to use the entire screen and that creates a more immersive experience for me.

There have been ways to hide that software navigation bar (like immersive mode) but this ends up forcing the navigation bar to be displayed when they keyboard is up. I have become rather fold of OnePlus’ hardware buttons because they keep this stuff off the screen and are very customizable too. However, the OnePlus 5T has ditched that and opted for a software navigation bar. Previously, we could disable this with a simple build.prop edit but that doesn’t work with the OnePlus 5T on OxygenOS.

So after a lot of testing, I have finally figured out a way to disable the software navigation bar buttons of the OnePlus 5T. The application used will work with root access or by executing an ADB command to gran it the proper permissions. I haven’t tested the ADB method as of yet but I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work. You can always follow my guide on how to gain root access to the OnePlus 5T if you haven’t rooted already, but let me know if the ADB method works out for you.

Disable OnePlus 5T Navigation Bar

1. Download and install the jOnePlus Tools application
2. Launch the jOnePlus Tools application
3. Grant root access or execute ADB command
4. Expand the Quick Settings panel
5. Edit the Quick Settings panel tiles
6. Drag the Navigation Buttons tile to the top section
7. Save the Quick Settings changes
8. Tap the Navigation Buttons tile to disable or enable the navigation bar
9. Install a navigation bar alternative like Pie Control (optional)

Explanation

I really dislike how OnePlus has implemented the software navigation bar in the OnePlus 5T. I mean, I understand that they needed to and I’m all for it since it reduces the bottom bezel. However, I don’t like how they have hardcoded the navigation bar the way they did. A simple build.prop edit should be all that is needed to remove the OnePlus 5T navigation bar but that simply isn’t possible. It’s been speculated that it was done this way so they could put the buttons closer together.

Never fear though, the developer community always finds a way and thankfully it’s possible thanks to a popular OnePlus customization application. The jOnePlus Tools application is available for free in the Play Store but it does come with in-app purchases. Using it to disable and enable the software navigation bar of the OnePlus 5t is completely free, but you should definitely tap the heart icon at the top of the application and donate to the developer.

Once the application has been downloaded and installed from the Play Store, go ahead and open it up. You will then be told that using this application requires that you execute an ADB command or to grant root access so that it can enable the proper permissions itself. I personally haven’t tested this without root access but it should work exactly the same. Once you grant root access or execute the listed ADB command, you can then press the Home button to leave the app.

The feature we’re looking for here is a Quick Settings tile so you can simply expand the Quick Settings panel to look at the available tiles. From here, tap the Edit icon and you’ll see a list of tile options at the bottom. Scroll to the right and you’ll see a couple of files for the jOnePlus Tools application. One is called Navigation Buttons and you’ll want to drag that tile up to the top half (adding it to the Quick Settings panel). Tap the back button to save the changes and we’re almost done.

Now, when you expand the Quick Settings panel you will see this Navigation Buttons Quick Settings tile. Tapping it will toggle the feature on and that will make the OnePlus 5T navigation bar buttons disappear. This doesn’t just hide them and you can watch the video above to see how they aren’t there even if you swipe up from the bottom of the screen. They will be completely disabled when this feature is toggled on. So from here you can install your favorite navigation bar alternative and use that instead.