If you have accidentally deleted a notification category on your Android device, don’t panic – it is possible to recover it. Notification categories allow you to set different behaviors for different types of notifications, like sounds, vibrations, lights etc. While deleting a notification category doesn’t delete the notifications themselves, it does revert them to the default settings, which can be annoying if you had customized them to your liking.
Understanding notification categories
On Android, every notification belongs to a category, which controls how that notification is presented. For example, there may be separate categories for incoming calls, text messages, emails, and other apps. The default categories include:
- Call – For incoming call notifications
- Message – For SMS, MMS and chat app notifications
- Event – For calendar notifications
- Alarm – For alarm clock notifications
- Music – For media playback notifications
- Navigation – For navigation app notifications
When you customize notifications in the Settings app, you are actually modifying notification categories. For instance, if you set a specific sound for incoming text messages, you are changing the notification behavior for the “Message” category.
Android allows creating custom notification categories beyond the system defaults. Many apps utilize this to configure notification channels with distinct behaviors. For example, a chat app may create separate categories for incoming messages, group mentions, friend requests and so on.
How notification categories get deleted
Since notification categories control the presentation and behavior of notifications, they are an important part of the Android system and should not be deleted lightly. The main ways in which notification categories may be accidentally deleted include:
- Messing around in a root file explorer app and deleting parts of the system you shouldn’t have.
- Using adb or other advanced command line tools to uninstall or modify system applications or components.
- Installing buggy apps or tweaks that make unauthorized changes to the software.
- Accepting dubious permission requests from apps without understanding what they do.
- Letting shady people have physical access to your device who then modify the OS.
In most cases, the only people who actually need to delete notification categories are Android developers debugging issues with notification channels. Casual users should never have to touch this part of the system.
How to recover deleted notification categories
If you notice one or more of your apps no longer obeying customized notification settings, a deleted category may be the culprit. Here are some ways to potentially restore the missing categories:
Method 1: Factory reset your device
The nuclear option is to do a full factory reset of your device, which will wipe it clean and restore the default notification categories. However, this also removes all your apps and settings, so it’s an extreme measure when all else fails.
Method 2: Use adb to recreate the category
If you’re familiar with adb and developer options, you can recreate deleted notification categories. You need to know the original category name, such as “incoming_message”, and recreate it with the notification add-mins-category command.
Method 3: Install a category restoring app
Some apps on the Play Store claim to be able to scan your device and restore missing notification categories. Examples include Notification History Log and Notification Log. However, be wary as such apps ask for lots of system permissions.
Method 4: Find app backups that store categories
Some apps and games backup your notification categories and channels. If you reinstall the app from scratch, the categories may be restored. So dig into old app backups and see if any still have the category data.
Method 5: Pester the app developer for help
For custom notification categories belonging to a particular app, try contacting the app developer and explain your situation. They may be able to push out an app update that recreates the missing categories.
Preventing category deletions
To avoid this notification category nightmare in the future, here are some tips:
- Be very careful when installing system tweaks and granting root access.
- Back up your device regularly in case you need to restore.
- Don’t let random people physically access your device.
- Contact the app developer if you have issues with notifications.
- Maintain reputable security apps to monitor for malware.
Notification category FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about dealing with deleted notification categories:
Why can’t I customize notifications anymore?
If your custom notification settings are suddenly ignored, it likely means the associated category has been deleted, so the notifications are reverting to default behaviors.
Will factory reset bring back deleted categories?
Yes, a factory reset will clear out any tampering and restore all the default notification categories.
Can I recreate the category manually?
Developers can recreate notification categories through adb commands, but this requires knowing the internal category names used by the app.
What happens if I delete the “Other” category?
The “Other” category applies to notifications from apps that don’t define their own category. Deleting it could break notifications until you restore it.
Do notification channels get deleted too?
No, channels belong to the app and are not system-level categories. But losing the categories means losing any custom channel settings.
Conclusion
Accidentally deleting notification categories can have annoying consequences across various apps on your device. Thankfully, there are ways to restore the categories through system resets, adb commands, or third-party apps. Be very careful when installing mods and granting root access to avoid tampering with things like notification categories.