The network speed indicator in the status bar is a feature that Galaxy fans have been asking Samsung for years. Chinese manufacturers have provided their phones for a long time, and its absence in Galaxy devices was always a bit conspicuous.
Until now, there were two ways to get a live network speed reading on a Galaxy phone. You can install a third-party app from the Google Play Store, or enable the hidden firmware flag if your device is rooted.
Samsung has added a real-time network speed indicator to the status bar with QuickStar, one of the modules in its Good Lock customization app. Because it resides within Good Lock rather than a single UI settings, it is not a true native feature. Still, it’s the most official network speed indicator Galaxy users have to date.
What is shown is the network speed indicator in the status bar
When you open it, the indicator sits on the right side of the status bar and shows your live download and upload speed as K/s (kilobytes per second) or M/s (megabytes per second). In our testing, it is also accurate. It works on both Wi-Fi and mobile data, so you’ll see your connection speed no matter how you’re connected.
Abhijeet Mishra / SamMobile
Network speed indicator in status bar – Source: Abhijeet Mishra / SamMobile
One thing to remember is that this only shows speed, not signal strength. But it doesn’t really need to. The mobile data and Wi-Fi icons in your status bar already tell you how strong your connection is. The speed indicator is useful in determining whether a static download or a stuttering video is the fault of your connection or the application itself.
What phones and versions of One UI support it?
At the time of writing (June 11, 2026), you will need One UI 9, which is based on Android 17. One UI 9 is currently in beta and is only available on the Galaxy S26 series in six markets (Germany, India, South Korea, Poland, UK, and US).
Eventually, it will be available on more Galaxy devices as Samsung rolls out One UI 9 to more devices. However, it is unclear whether Samsung will bring the network speed indicator to older versions of One UI, or whether it will become a native feature in One UI at some point.
How to enable network speed display
There’s one catch before you get started: the version of QuickStar that includes this option isn’t directly available from the Galaxy Store at the time of writing, so you’ll need to install it manually. That’s normal at this stage. Good Lock and its modules usually do not get full support for a new version of One UI until it is released or after a stable release.
- Make sure your Galaxy S26 is running One UI 9 beta.
- Install Good Lock from the Galaxy Store or Google Play Store if you don’t already have it.
- Depending on when you read this, QuickStar may not be available with the Good Lock app. If not, download QuickStar version 11.0.03.15 to your phone (another link) and install it manually using a file manager app like My Files.
- Open Good Lock and open QuickStar from the Plugins section.
- Turn the toggle on the top of the screen to ON so you can access QuickStar features, and tap Appearance of indicator icons.
- change to Network Speed option.
That’s all there is to it. The network speed indicator appears in the status bar immediately, and you can turn it off at any time in the same menu.
Abhijeet Mishra
Enables network speed index with QuickStar – Source: Abhijeet Mishra