Skip to main content
guides

Grant AuraLock Permissions on Your Phone: Exact Steps by Device

Every Android manufacturer hides permissions somewhere different. Here is the exact tap path to grant AuraLock Accessibility, Display over other apps, Usage access, Battery, Auto-start, Alarms, and Notifications on Xiaomi, Samsung, Oppo, realme, OnePlus, vivo, Huawei, Honor, Tecno, Infinix, and Pixel.

AuraLock needs a small set of Android permissions to hold your focus boundary. The trouble is that Android puts each of them in a different place on every phone — and a generic "Settings → Apps → Special access" instruction is wrong on most devices sold worldwide. This guide shows the exact path for your phone. Pick your device under each permission and follow the steps in order.

Why the path differs by phone

MIUI, One UI, ColorOS, Funtouch, EMUI, and HiOS are all built on Android, but each one renames, moves, and occasionally splits the same permission. The clearest example is Xiaomi: it keeps MIUI's own "Display pop-up windows while running in the background" in addition to Android's "Display over other apps". Allow only one and the Aura screen never appears.

AuraLock detects your phone and opens the right screen from Settings → Permissions inside the app. The steps below are the same paths, written out so you can follow them by hand or verify what the app opened.

Start with Accessibility

Accessibility is the one permission AuraLock cannot work without. Grant it first, then work down this page. After each change, return to AuraLock and tap Check again — the card turns green when the permission is live.

1 · Accessibility

Required. This is how AuraLock detects when you open an app outside your Aura and brings you back. It watches which app is in the foreground — it never reads your messages, passwords, or screen content.

Pick your phone

Accessibility Service

Required

In AuraLock: open Settings → Permissions and tap this permission — the button reads “Open Settings”. It opens this exact screen on your phone.

Xiaomi · MIUI / HyperOS

HyperOS (Android 14+) hides “Additional settings → Accessibility” inside Settings → Apps → AuraLock → Accessibility. Use the search bar in Settings if you cannot find it.

  1. 1 Open Settings → Additional settings → Accessibility
  2. 2 Tap “Downloaded apps” (MIUI lists installed services here, not under “Installed services”)
  3. 3 Tap AuraLock
  4. 4 Turn the switch on
  5. 5 Tap “Allow” to confirm
  6. 6 If the switch flips back off, long-press it, choose “Allow restricted settings”, then turn it on again

Also allow on this phone

  • Other permissions → “Display pop-up windows while running in the background” → Allow
  • Other permissions → “Show on lock screen” → Allow
  • Apps → Manage apps → AuraLock → Autostart → ON
  • Battery → App battery saver → AuraLock → No restrictions

Run Guardian afterwards — the Accessibility card turns green as soon as the service is on.

2 · Display over other apps

Lets the Aura screen appear on top when something tries to interrupt you. Recommended — without it, Accessibility still holds the boundary, but the visual prompt does not appear.

Pick your phone

Display Over Other Apps

Optional

In AuraLock: open Settings → Permissions and tap this permission — the button reads “Open Settings”. It opens this exact screen on your phone.

Xiaomi · MIUI / HyperOS

MIUI keeps TWO separate pop-up toggles — Android’s “Display over other apps” AND MIUI’s own. Missing the MIUI one is why the Aura screen never appears on Xiaomi phones.

  1. 1 Open Settings → Apps → Manage apps
  2. 2 Tap AuraLock → “Other permissions”
  3. 3 Turn on “Display pop-up windows while running in the background”
  4. 4 Also turn on “Display pop-up window” (the entry above it)

Also allow on this phone

  • Other permissions → “Show on lock screen” → Allow (otherwise the Aura never shows over the lock screen)
  • Other permissions → “Start in background” → Allow

3 · Usage access

A second pair of eyes that catches anything slipping past Accessibility, and the source of AuraLock's screen-time analytics. Read on your device only, never uploaded.

Pick your phone

Usage Access

Required

In AuraLock: open Settings → Permissions and tap this permission — the button reads “Open Settings”. It opens this exact screen on your phone.

Xiaomi · MIUI / HyperOS

HyperOS: Settings → Privacy → Special permissions → Usage access. Some MIUI builds also list it under Apps → Manage apps → AuraLock → Other permissions.

  1. 1 Open Settings → Privacy protection → Special permissions
  2. 2 Tap “Usage access”
  3. 3 Tap AuraLock
  4. 4 Choose “Allow”

AuraLock only reads this data on your device. Nothing is collected or transmitted.

4 · Battery: no restrictions

Keeps AuraLock alive in the background so a long Aura is never cut short. On MIUI, ColorOS, Funtouch, EMUI, and HiOS this is the setting that decides whether scheduled sessions fire at all.

Pick your phone

Battery: No Restrictions

Optional

In AuraLock: open Settings → Permissions and tap this permission — the button reads “Open Settings”. It opens this exact screen on your phone.

Xiaomi · MIUI / HyperOS

  1. 1 Open Settings → Battery
  2. 2 Tap “App battery saver” (HyperOS: “Battery optimization”)
  3. 3 Tap AuraLock
  4. 4 Choose “No restrictions”

Also allow on this phone

  • Turn OFF “Battery saver” while you use long Auras

5 · Auto-start and background activity

The task killer on many phones closes apps minutes after you leave them. Auto-start makes sure AuraLock comes back after a reboot and stays alive during a session.

Pick your phone

Auto-start

Optional

In AuraLock: open Settings → Permissions and tap this permission — the button reads “Open Settings”. It opens this exact screen on your phone.

Xiaomi · MIUI / HyperOS

MIUI needs BOTH the App-info “Autostart” switch and the Security app’s Autostart list. HyperOS: Settings → Apps → AuraLock → Autostart.

  1. 1 Open Settings → Apps → Manage apps → AuraLock
  2. 2 Turn on “Autostart”
  3. 3 Open the Security app → Permissions → Autostart
  4. 4 Confirm AuraLock is switched on there too

6 · Alarms & reminders

Starts and ends your Auras and AuraWake alarms exactly on time, even when the app is closed. On Android 12 and newer this is a runtime permission, so Android may show a dialog instead of a settings screen.

Pick your phone

Alarms & Reminders

Optional

In AuraLock: open Settings → Permissions and tap this permission — the button reads “Allow”. It opens this exact screen on your phone.

Xiaomi · MIUI / HyperOS

Android 14 on MIUI shows a system dialog instead — AuraLock asks for it directly when you tap “Allow”.

  1. 1 Open Settings → Apps → Manage apps → AuraLock
  2. 2 Tap “Other permissions”
  3. 3 Turn on “Alarms & reminders” (some MIUI builds keep it under Apps → Special app access)

7 · Notifications

Tells you when an Aura ends, when your wake alarm is set, and your weekly recap. Optional, but it keeps the session one tap away in the notification shade.

Pick your phone

Notifications

Optional

In AuraLock: open Settings → Permissions and tap this permission — the button reads “Allow”. It opens this exact screen on your phone.

Xiaomi · MIUI / HyperOS

  1. 1 Open Settings → Notifications → “App notifications”
  2. 2 Tap AuraLock and turn it on
  3. 3 Tap AuraLock again → turn on “Show on lock screen” / “Floating notifications”

Also allow on this phone

  • If you use MIUI’s “Focus mode” or “Do not disturb”, allow AuraLock there too

After you grant everything

Finish the setup

0/5

0/5

Still not working?

If a permission will not stay on, you are almost certainly on an aggressive skin (MIUI, ColorOS, Funtouch, EMUI, or HiOS) and missing one of the Also allow on this phone toggles. See the device guides or troubleshooting.

Common questions

Do I need every permission on this page?
Accessibility and Usage access are required. Display over other apps makes the boundary screen appear. Battery, auto-start, alarms, and notifications keep long sessions and schedules reliable. Grant whatever your phone offers — AuraLock degrades gracefully rather than failing.
Why can't AuraLock grant these for me?
Android does not let one app toggle another app's special permissions. What AuraLock can do is open the exact settings screen for the permission on your phone, and then read the result when you come back — which is what the Check again button does.
My phone is not in this list.
Pick the closest family — most Android skins are variants of these seven. Or use the search bar at the top of the Settings app and type “accessibility”, “usage access”, “battery optimization”, or “autostart”.
Will granting these permissions let AuraLock read my data?
No. Accessibility and Usage access are read on your device only. AuraLock has no account and does not transmit your usage data. See the privacy policy for the detail.

Related

PreviousAura schedulesNextGuardian