One UI 9 Finally Brings the Network Speed Meter to Galaxy Phones

Samsung’s One UI 9 finally puts a network speed meter in the status bar on Galaxy phones. It is a feature Galaxy owners have asked Samsung to ship for years, and one several Chinese Android brands already offer out of the box. The option lives in an unexpected place.

The new toggle sits inside Good Lock’s QuickStar module, a customisation app most Galaxy owners have to install separately. The One UI 9 version of QuickStar adds a real-time indicator that sits next to the existing Wi-Fi or mobile data icons and shows live download and upload speeds, the first report on the One UI 9 network speed meter first reported, with an independent confirmation that the feature works from Android Authority following.

The One UI 9 Network Speed Meter, in Plain Terms

The new indicator works much like the same option that has shipped on Chinese Android phones for years. Once you turn it on through QuickStar, the real-time indicator shows your live download and upload speeds in K/s or M/s, sitting to the right of the existing Wi-Fi or mobile data icons. The readout changes units on its own, switching to GB/s on the rare occasions traffic is heavy enough to need it.

The indicator works on both Wi-Fi and mobile data, so you see your throughput whichever way your Galaxy phone is connected. It does not replace the existing Wi-Fi or cellular signal-strength icons, which keep showing how strong the connection is. SamMobile, which tested the feature on a Galaxy S26 running the One UI 9 beta, calls the readout ‘fairly accurate.’ The outlet’s caveat is the limit of what the meter covers, which is throughput alone, leaving latency, server speed, and app health to other tools, a point echoed in Android Headlines’ write-up of the new indicator.

The piece of context that matters most is that this is a status bar meter only. The new indicator surfaces transfer speed and nothing else, so a slow download could still be the app, the server, or the Wi-Fi network on the other end of the connection. With the meter on, you can see whether your phone’s connection is the bottleneck, or whether the app or the server is at fault.

• One UI 9: Android 17-based beta, in testing since early June 2026
• QuickStar build: 11.0.03.15, the first version to expose the new toggle
• Stable release: expected in late July 2026, per SammyGuru
• Wider rollout to other Galaxy devices: roughly two months after stable
• Beta markets for Galaxy S26: U.S., U.K., Germany, India, Poland, South Korea

Why the Feature Is Buried in Good Lock

The new indicator is, strictly speaking, not a built-in One UI 9 feature. The toggle lives inside QuickStar, a module of Samsung’s Good Lock app, and is part of a customisation suite Galaxy owners install separately from the Galaxy Store or the Play Store. Gadget Hacks documents how the network speed indicator arrived via the QuickStar module, framing the addition as a customisation-layer release rather than a system-level feature.

SamMobile frames the arrangement bluntly in its how-to guide, noting that the new toggle is not a true native One UI 9 option because it lives inside the customisation app. The same guide calls the meter the closest thing Galaxy owners have had to a real status bar speed indicator from Samsung. The walkthrough runs users through the manual install needed to enable the toggle on a Galaxy S26 today.

That is the trade-off Galaxy owners are weighing. For users who never open Good Lock, the feature does not exist on the phone in front of them, even if they own a Galaxy S26. The same goes for users who tried Good Lock years ago, decided it was not for them, and removed it from their device. The result is a feature that exists for power users while staying out of the way of users who never open the customisation app, a frustration users have aired on Samsung’s own community forums for years.

The arrangement also reflects where QuickStar has drifted over the years. The module began as a way to fine-tune which icons appear in the status bar, and it has since picked up the Now Bar toggle, live-activity controls, and other features Samsung keeps at arm’s length from the main settings app. The network speed meter is the latest and most visible of those features.

• Status bar readout: live download and upload speed; units auto-switch between K/s, M/s, and GB/s
• Status bar readout does not cover: signal strength, latency, or per-app data use
• Where the toggle lives: QuickStar, a module inside Samsung’s Good Lock app
• One UI 9’s standard settings menu: no option for the network speed meter

How to Turn It On a Galaxy S26 Today

Getting the indicator on a Galaxy S26 right now takes more than tapping a switch in One UI. The version of QuickStar that includes the new toggle is not yet listed in the Galaxy Store as of mid-June 2026, so Galaxy owners who want the feature today have to sideload the module manually. Galaxy S26 owners on the Samsung EU community have been flagging QuickStar compatibility issues with One UI 9, which is why the relevant build is not showing up for most users. Users who do not want to sideload an APK can wait for the official rollout, with the wait likely to last until the stable One UI 9 release in late July 2026 or shortly after.

The sequence, as SamMobile walks through it, is the same workaround Galaxy owners have used for years to test new Good Lock features before they reach the store. The new toggle sits in the ‘Visibility of indicator icons’ menu inside QuickStar. The full path runs through five short steps, none of them intuitive. Users who do not want to use a file manager can wait for the Galaxy Store to pick up the build. The wait, based on prior Good Lock release patterns, may run a few weeks past the stable One UI 9 launch. A companion enablement guide from SammyGuru walks through the same sideload route.

1. Make sure your Galaxy S26 is running the One UI 9 beta.
2. Install Good Lock from the Galaxy Store or the Play Store if you do not already have it.
3. If QuickStar 11.0.03.15 is not yet visible inside the Good Lock app, download the APK and install it manually using a file manager such as My Files.
4. Open Good Lock, tap QuickStar from the Plugins section, and switch the toggle at the top of the screen on.
5. Tap ‘Visibility of indicator icons‘ and turn on the Network Speed option.

After you save the setting, the status bar should pick up the new readout immediately. You can switch the indicator off from the same menu at any point.

Which Galaxy Phones Will Get It Next

The One UI 9 beta is limited to the Galaxy S26 series in six markets. The six are the U.S., the U.K., Germany, India, Poland, and South Korea. Samsung is expected to push the stable version in late July 2026, with a wider rollout to other devices starting roughly two months after that.

The expansion is already in motion at the testing stage. Android Headlines reports Samsung is testing One UI 9 on three mid-range Galaxy A-series phones, the Galaxy A57, A34, and A17 5G, which would extend the platform to a different price band once the stable build is ready. The wider One UI 9 update is also set to land on other Samsung flagships over the rest of the year. Older flagships are next in the queue, though Samsung has not yet published a specific list of devices.

Samsung has not said whether the QuickStar toggle will be backported to older One UI versions, and the company has not committed to moving the option into the regular One UI settings menu. For now, the only confirmed route is installing Good Lock’s QuickStar module on a phone that runs One UI 9.

For Galaxy owners outside those six countries, the timeline for One UI 9 is unclear beyond Samsung’s late July 2026 stable target. The company has not dated the rollout to older flagships or mid-range devices beyond confirming the One UI 9 test programme covers them.

The Rest of What QuickStar Adds in One UI 9

The QuickStar update for One UI 9 also brings a toggle that disables Samsung’s ‘Ongoing Chip,’ the small expandable chip that surfaces live activity from timers, countdowns, voice recordings, and ongoing calls. The chip was added in an earlier One UI release, and this is the first time Galaxy owners can turn it off entirely. Android Authority’s Paul Jones describes the new toggle as a useful companion change.

The Ongoing Chip can crowd the status bar for users who do not rely on live activities, and the new QuickStar toggle is the only way to remove it. That keeps the pattern intact for quality-of-life options in the One UI status bar.

The wider One UI 9 release is set to bring other changes to the Galaxy S26 lineup, including a better call log in the Phone app, a more customisable quick panel, and enhancements to Samsung DeX, per Android Authority’s preview of the update. The network speed indicator and the Ongoing Chip toggle are the two One UI 9 features that route through Good Lock. None of those other additions require the separate app download. The new QuickStar build is rolling out alongside the rest of Good Lock’s modules, with most additions likely to reach the Galaxy Store in the weeks after the stable One UI 9 release.

Why QuickStar Carries More Every Year

A clear pattern sits beneath the launch. QuickStar has expanded from a niche customisation module into the standard home for status-bar features Samsung does not want to commit to at the system level. The network speed indicator is the highest-profile example so far, and the Ongoing Chip toggle is the second new toggle in the same One UI 9 update. QuickStar’s scope has been widening over the years, and the new meter is the most visible example of that pattern. For now, Samsung appears to be keeping new status-bar toggles inside Good Lock, a customisation app Galaxy owners can install or skip based on their own preferences.

Because it lives inside Good Lock rather than One UI’s settings, it isn’t a true native feature. Still, it’s the most official network speed indicator Galaxy users have had so far.

Abhijeet Mishra, Editor-in-chief at SamMobile, in the outlet’s June 11, 2026 tutorial.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the One UI 9 network speed indicator available on Galaxy phones other than the S26?

No, the One UI 9 beta is limited to the Galaxy S26 series in six markets, the U.S., the U.K., Germany, India, Poland, and South Korea. Wider availability will depend on Samsung’s stable release of One UI 9 and the rollout to older flagships, which the company has not yet dated.

Does the network speed meter work on both Wi-Fi and mobile data?

Yes. SamMobile tested the indicator on a Galaxy S26 running the One UI 9 beta and confirmed the readout appears for both Wi-Fi and cellular connections, with the unit changing as throughput rises.

Will Samsung add the network speed indicator to older One UI versions?

Samsung has not said whether the QuickStar toggle will reach older One UI versions, so the only confirmed route for now is to install Good Lock’s QuickStar module on a phone running One UI 9.

Do I need to install Good Lock to use the network speed meter?

Yes. The toggle is inside QuickStar, a module of Samsung’s Good Lock app, which Galaxy owners download from the Galaxy Store or the Play Store. The QuickStar build with the new option is 11.0.03.15, and as of mid-June 2026 it has to be sideloaded because the Galaxy Store has not yet picked it up. For a full walkthrough, see the step-by-step guide to enabling the new meter.

Does the network speed meter replace the Wi-Fi or signal strength icons?

No. The new indicator covers only data throughput and is added next to the existing Wi-Fi and mobile data icons, leaving Samsung’s signal-strength display untouched.