'MonoBar' Keeps the Double-Sized Status Bar Away

Published on 07-20-2012 03:37 PM

For those of you that hate when iOS makes the status bar double its original size in the middle of a phone call, FaceTime call, or when using the personal hotspot feature, iOS developer thekirbylover has a very simple and clean solution that will keep your application icons and application interfaces from being squished by the oversized status bar. The tweak is called MonoBar and as the name might suggest, it keeps your status bar from being any larger than one status bar.

As shown above, the tweak keeps the status bar from pushing your application icons down at a strange position. The same is true for applications such as games where the status bar just invades your screen unwantedly and uses up your limited pixels and even causes issues with some in-app buttons.

The tweak will let the status bar continue to illuminate and pulse its normal colors. This means you will be able to tell when you are in a phone call, or when you are using the personal hotspot feature because calling is always marked green and personal hotspot is always marked a light blue. For certain applications like Voice Memos and Shazam, the red status bar will also be resized to the size of the original status bar.

Since the tweak puts the status bar back to its original size, you won’t be able to tap on it as a shortcut to the application that the status bar is displaying for. For example, when you’re in a call and you start searching the Web, the green status bar will say, “touch to resume FaceTime.” Well with MonoBar, you can kiss that feature goodbye. You will need to open the multitasking App Switcher or find the application icon on your home screen to return to your phone application.

MonoBar is an open source jailbreak tweak and its source code can be viewed here. For those of you that don't like the over-sized status bar, this tweak will be a great solution for you. There are no options to configure for this tweak and it won't work on the iPad.

Name: MonoBar
Price: FREE
Version: 1.0-2
Requirements: iPhone or iPod touch
Repo: BigBoss
Developer: thekirbylover
Editor's Rating:  4/5

Sources: thekirbylover

_{This article was originally published in forum thread:
'MonoBar' Keeps the Double-Sized Status Bar Away
started by
Anthony Bouchard} _{View original post}

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10 Comments

hadzo - 07-20-2012, 04:12 PM

Very nice!... I personally don't mind the tap to go back feature not being there. Now your spring board and apps look normal while in call. Thumbs up to the dev.

PS could have made it paid app, I'd bite
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rkswat - 07-20-2012, 11:14 PM

Originally Posted by hadzo

Very nice!... I personally don't mind the tap to go back feature not being there. Now your spring board and apps look normal while in call. Thumbs up to the dev.

PS could have made it paid app, I'd bite

If you're on a call you can't see your apps and screen anyway.... of course unless you're on speaker phone but why does it matter? I usually don't say things like this but this is a dumb tweak. I can't do it so good for the developer but really?
- Reply

Anthony Bouchard - 07-20-2012, 11:16 PM

Originally Posted by rkswat

If you're on a call you can't see your apps and screen anyway.... of course unless you're on speaker phone but why does it matter? I usually don't say things like this but this is a dumb tweak. I can't do it so good for the developer but really?

When you press the home button in the middle of a call and put the call on speaker phone, you get the green call-bar at the top instead of the regular status bar. So in that sense, you do see all of your applications. I thought this was evident by the screenshots I posted. For GSM network users like AT&T, they can talk and surf the Web at the same time. FaceTime calls are like this no matter what carrier to have because they are currently Wi-Fi only and both GSM and CDMA phones are Wi-Fi capable and you can multitask while calling over Wi-Fi.

So why is the tweak useless? This is one of the better ones I've seen for free in a long time.
- Reply

geeked_squad - 07-21-2012, 12:07 AM

Originally Posted by rkswat

If you're on a call you can't see your apps and screen anyway.... of course unless you're on speaker phone but why does it matter? I usually don't say things like this but this is a dumb tweak. I can't do it so good for the developer but really?

It's good that you don't usually say things like that, because then you'd seem pretty uninformed. It works for phone calls, tethering, and recording apps. So there are a LOT of use cases.
- Reply

rkswat - 07-21-2012, 09:17 PM

Originally Posted by Anthony Bouchard

When you press the home button in the middle of a call and put the call on speaker phone, you get the green call-bar at the top instead of the regular status bar. So in that sense, you do see all of your applications. I thought this was evident by the screenshots I posted. For GSM network users like AT&T, they can talk and surf the Web at the same time. FaceTime calls are like this no matter what carrier to have because they are currently Wi-Fi only and both GSM and CDMA phones are Wi-Fi capable and you can multitask while calling over Wi-Fi.

So why is the tweak useless? This is one of the better ones I've seen for free in a long time.

Didn't say it was useless..... said it was dumb. As I also said I can't do it so good for the developer. The entire thing seems a bit over blown. "Over sized status bar" and " invades your screen unwantedly and uses up your limited pixels". Limited pixels, invades your screen? Its what, 2mm in size? Is that really a deal breaker with any application on the iPhone? I'm sure I'll be in the minority but if that 2mm of space is at a premium on your phone I suggest getting a life might be in order? Having the option to change it is cool for those that feel it's important to them but if it's that important then.........

One person's opinion, if you don't share that opinion cool.... good thing we live in a country where we can have and voice our different opinions.
- Reply

soidroidios - 07-22-2012, 09:59 AM

I agree, I see very little use with it. I mean, its barely there, and not even intrusive. Kudos for being able to do it, but really, is it that annoying? how many downloaded it.
- Reply

Anthony Bouchard - 07-22-2012, 10:56 AM

Originally Posted by soidroidios

I agree, I see very little use with it. I mean, its barely there, and not even intrusive. Kudos for being able to do it, but really, is it that annoying? how many downloaded it.

When you're in an application with a non-native interface like Words With Friends for example, the application is pushed down so far that it's extremely difficult to tap on interface buttons. This tweak works around that problem.
- Reply

soidroidios - 07-22-2012, 11:09 AM

Originally Posted by Anthony Bouchard

When you're in an application with a non-native interface like Words With Friends for example, the application is pushed down so far that it's extremely difficult to tap on interface buttons. This tweak works around that problem.

Ok, my hands are up. Well, sometimes you're right. sometimes you're wrong. I didn't know it interfered with other apps. but then why facetime when gaming?
- Reply

Anthony Bouchard - 07-22-2012, 05:57 PM

Originally Posted by soidroidios

Ok, my hands are up. Well, sometimes you're right. sometimes you're wrong. I didn't know it interfered with other apps. but then why facetime when gaming?

iPod touch or iPad owners might use FaceTime as a free method of calling their other iOS-using friends since it doesn't cost anything and can be done over Wi-Fi.

It also offers a sense of being able to multitask.

The tweak is also much more versatile than being limited to FaceTime – it also works with phone calls, personal hotspot, and recording apps, which all increase the size of the status bar.
- Reply

Christophxr - 08-06-2012, 01:54 AM

THANK YOU!!! FINALLY!!!!! I've been waiting for something like this for SO long!!
- Reply

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