Notification panel overlay for e-ink Android devices
By installing and using inkBell you accept full responsibility for how it affects your device.
This includes but is not limited to:
- Battery drain — inkBell runs a persistent foreground service that constantly monitors notifications
- Notification access — inkBell reads all your notifications from all apps, including messages, emails, and alerts. No data ever leaves your device
- Background restrictions — Some Android devices aggressively kill background apps to save battery. If inkBell stops working after a while, go to Settings → Apps → inkBell → Battery and set it to Unrestricted
- No affiliation — inkBell is an independent open-source project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or supported by Viwoods or any device manufacturer
inkBell contains no analytics, no tracking, no ads, and no network requests of any kind.
The author is not responsible for any unintended behavior, data loss, or device issues resulting from using this app.
If you are using a Viwoods AiPaper Reader, you must install the Notification Unlocker module before inkBell will work.
The Viwoods firmware ships with a hardcoded notification whitelist that silently blocks notifications from most apps at the system level — meaning they never reach inkBell in the first place. The Notification Unlocker removes that restriction.
What it does: Patches the Viwoods system to allow all apps to deliver notifications normally.
Requirements:
- Unlocked bootloader
- Magisk (root) installed
- Firmware-specific ZIP (use the release matching your firmware version exactly)
Install order for Viwoods AiPaper:
- Root your device with Magisk
- Install Viwoods Notification Unlocker via Magisk → Modules → Install from storage
- Reboot and verify notifications work (send yourself a WhatsApp message)
- Then install inkBell
This step is NOT required on other Android e-ink devices. It is specific to the Viwoods AiPaper firmware which blocks notifications by design.
| Device | Android | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Viwoods AiPaper | 16 (API 36) | ✅ Primary target |
| Any e-ink Android device | 14+ (API 34+) | ✅ Full features |
| Any Android device | 13 (API 33) |
Deep links — tapping a notification opens the specific email or conversation rather than just the app — require Android 14 or newer. On Android 13, tapping opens the app's home screen instead.
E-ink Android devices like the Viwoods AiPaper ship with custom launchers that replace or disable the standard Android notification shade. Swiping down shows device controls — not your notifications.
inkBell draws a transparent overlay on top of whatever is on screen, giving you a persistent notification panel accessible from anywhere — without replacing the launcher, without root, and without modifying any system files.
- 🔔 Floating bell icon — always visible, draggable to any edge, toggleable from settings
- ⚡ Instant open — no animations, no transitions (optimized for e-ink refresh behavior)
- 📦 Grouped by app — notifications from the same app are collapsed together
- 👆 Swipe to dismiss — swipe left or right on individual cards, or on the group header to dismiss all
- 🔗 Deep links (Android 14+) — tapping a notification opens the specific content, not just the app
- 🖼️ Real app icons — each group shows the originating app's icon
- 🔇 Silent section — alerting and silent notifications automatically separated
- ⏱️ Relative time — "Now", "5m", "2h", or actual time if older than 60 minutes
- 🔤 Font size slider — 7 steps from XS to Max, applies across all notification text
- 🛠️ Manage — opens Android's per-app notification settings directly
- ⚙️ Settings — show/hide floating icon, font size, repair permissions
- 🔁 Auto-start — starts automatically on device reboot
- 🚫 No duplicates — group summary notifications are filtered out automatically
Running on Viwoods AiPaper (Android 16, e-ink display)
Notification panel · Settings screen · inkBell icon in the Viwoods launcher
- Android 13 or newer (Android 14+ recommended for full features)
- No root required
- ~5 MB storage
- Download
inkbell-release.apkfrom Releases - Enable Install from unknown sources on your device
- Install the APK
- Open inkBell and follow the two-step permission setup
inkBell shows a setup screen on first open. Two permissions are required:
Step 1 — Draw over other apps
Tap Grant → find inkBell in the list → toggle ON → go back
Step 2 — Notification access
Tap Grant → find inkBell in the list → toggle ON → confirm → go back
Once both show ✓ Granted, tap Use inkBell. The bell icon appears on screen and inkBell starts automatically on every reboot from that point forward.
Access settings by tapping ⚙ Settings inside the notification panel.
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Show floating icon | On | Toggle the bell icon visibility |
| Text size | Normal | 7 steps: XS, Small, Normal, Large, XL, XXL, Max |
| Repair permissions | — | Re-runs setup if permissions are revoked |
- Android 13 deep links — tapping a notification opens the app home screen, not the specific content. Full deep links require Android 14+
- Background restrictions — Some devices aggressively kill background apps. If inkBell stops working, go to Settings → Apps → inkBell → Battery → Unrestricted
- Ongoing notifications — Persistent notifications (music players, navigation, health trackers) are shown by default. A toggle to hide them is planned
- OTA updates — A system update from your device manufacturer will not affect inkBell since it makes no system modifications. Simply continue using it after updating
Uninstall inkBell like any other Android app:
Settings → Apps → inkBell → Uninstall
No system files are modified. Uninstalling fully removes inkBell with no traces.
MIT — free to use, modify, and redistribute with attribution.
Built for the Viwoods AiPaper community. Inspired by the challenges of making a general-purpose Android device truly useful as a daily driver.
Special thanks to the contributors of Viwoods-Notification-Unlocker for the groundwork on understanding Viwoods' notification internals.