How-To

Enable Or Disable Haptic Feedback On Android

By Brian Burgess

Updated March 26, 2024

Most modern Android phones and tablets include haptic feedback. The haptic feedback experience is when you touch something on your phone, and it responds by vibrating the screen. A good example of this is when you type on the keyboard. Each time you tap a key, you feel the haptics, which can aid with your accuracy.

However, there may come a time when you want to turn it off for certain instances or reenable the feature later.

For example, when I long-press an icon on the home screen of a Samsung Galaxy, the haptic feedback can be overbearing. So, if you prefer to not have it or make sure it’s on, we’ll show you how to enable or disable haptic feedback on your Android device.

What is Haptic Feedback on Android?

Haptic Feedback, or “haptics” for short, is the physical action of using a touchscreen interface. The feedback part is the physical response you feel based on your screen interaction. It’s the vibration you feel while typing, long-pressing an icon, or other user interactions. This is used to alert the user that the touch screen button was, in fact, pressed and remove doubt otherwise.

Of course, other modern phones and tablets include the haptics feature. For instance, you can manage haptic feedback on an iPhone.

Note: For this article, we’re using a Google Pixel and a Samsung Galaxy. The steps on your device may vary slightly, but this will give you a good idea of what to look for.

How to Enable or Disable Haptic Feedback on Android

Step 1

Swipe down from the top of your screen once or twice and tap Settings (gear icon).

Step 2

Scroll down the Settings menu and tap Sound & vibration.

Step 3

Swipe down and tap the Vibration & haptics option from the menu. On this screen, you can also adjust the vibration strength for notifications, touch, and alarms.

Step 4

It’s also worth mentioning that your phone may come with Adaptive alert vibration which reduces vibration while your phone isn’t in use and the screen is facing up. Once you turn on this feature, you can adjust touch haptics by moving the slider.

Turn Haptic Feedback On or Off on Samsung Galaxy

If you have a Samsung device, you know all too well how the company uses its proprietary One UI on top of Android. However, you can enable or disable haptic feedback on your Galaxy, but you won’t find “haptic” in Settings; it’s just called “vibration.” Here’s how to turn it on or off.

Step 1

Swipe down from the top of your phone and open Settings.

Step 2

Tap the Sound and vibration option from the Settings menu.

Step 3

On the following screen, tap System vibration.

Step 4

Now, toggle the features you want haptics, er, vibration enabled or disabled. For example, here, you might want to disable it for the keyboard only.

Step 5

It’s also worth noting you can move the slider at the top of the screen to adjust the System vibration intesity to the level you want. It is worth noting, however, that on my older Samsung Galaxy, there isn’t an option to adjust vibration intensity individually for each action.

Using Haptic Feedback on Android

Modern Android devices have haptic feedback (vibration) enabled by default, but sometimes, you might not want it on or need to reenable it for one reason or another. For instance, the vibration can be noisy if you type on your phone while it’s sitting on a hard surface. But whatever the reason, it’s straightforward to enable or disable using the above steps.

Again, the exact steps for haptic feedback management may vary on your Android device. But now you know what to look for and adjust it to your liking.