How to Disable or Hide the Android Bottom Bar on Samsung Galaxy Tablets

No lockdown of an Android device is complete without disabling or hiding the Bottom bar. The bottom bar of the device screen gives the user easy access to recent applications and sometimes to device settings, hence allowing the end-user to tamper with the system settings.

With SureLock, effective disabling or hiding of the bottom bar on Samsung devices running on Android OS Jelly Bean or above can be achieved.

Purpose

The purpose of this knowledge article is to provide a guide on how to disable or hide the bottom bar on Samsung Galaxy Tablets.

Steps

Case 1: Disable the bottom bar

Prerequisite

• Disable Bottom Bar features work on Android devices with Samsung KNOX permissions and signed and unsigned devices running on OS Kitkat and below. 
• This feature will hide or disable the Recent Apps key on the device.

Steps

To disable the bottom bar on the device, please follow the steps below:

1. Access SureLock Settings by tapping five times anywhere on the SureLock Home Screen within three seconds.
2. On the SureLock Admin Settings screen, tap SureLock Settings.
3. On the SureLock Settings screen, you will find the Disable Bottom Bar.
4. Tap Disable Bottom Bar, which will disable all the shortcuts in the bottom bar of the device.

• Tap Done to complete.

This will ensure that the Bottom Bar is disabled once the user goes back to SureLock Home Screen.

Case 2: Hide the Bottom Bar

The Hide Bottom Bar once enabled, will ask for reboot. Once the device is rebooted, it will completely hide the bottom bar on the device.

Prerequisite

• This feature works on devices with Samsung KNOX or Platform-Signed. 

Steps

In order to hide the bottom bar on the device, please follow the steps below.

1. Access SureLock Settings by tapping five times anywhere on the SureLock Home Screen within three seconds.
2. On the SureLock Admin Settings screen, tap SureLock Settings.
3. In the SureLock Settings screen, tap Hide Bottom Bar to completely hide the bottom bar.

Note: Ensure the Samsung KNOX Settings option is enabled under SureLock Admin Settings.

4. Tap Done to complete.

This will ensure that the bottom bar is hidden once the user goes back to the SureLock Home screen.

There are also options available to ensure end users do not have access to the bottom bar on Platform-Signed devices. The options are discussed below.

Case 3: Advance Hide Bottom Bar

Unlike Hide Bottom Bar, this feature, once enabled, will not ask for a reboot and will completely hide the bottom bar on the device when this option is checked.

Prerequisite

• This feature works on devices with Samsung KNOX or Platform-Signed devices. 

Steps

In order to use the Advance Hide Bottom Bar feature on the device, please follow the below steps.

1. Access SureLock Settings by tapping five times anywhere on the SureLock Home Screen within three seconds.
2. On the SureLock Admin Settings screen, tap SureLock Settings.
3. In the SureLock Settings screen, navigate to Miscellaneous Settings.
4. Check Use the Advance Hide Bottom Bar option to enable it.

Once done, the bottom bar on the device will be hidden.

Case 4: Disable Soft Navigation Keys

The Disable Soft Navigation Keys option helps admins disable soft keys on the device. This includes the home, back, and recent apps buttons. 

Prerequisite

• This feature works on devices with Platform-Signed devices only.

Steps

To disable soft navigation keys on the device, please follow the steps below.

1. Access SureLock Settings by tapping five times anywhere on the SureLock Home Screen within three seconds.
2. On the SureLock Admin Settings screen, tap SureLock Settings.
3. In the SureLock Settings screen, tap on Disable Soft Navigation Keys and select the soft navigation key (Home, Back, or Recent apps) to be disabled on the device.

Once done, navigate back to the SureLock home screen, and you will notice that the disabled navigation key is hidden.

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