Quick Launcher for Windows Phone 8.1 gives you quick access to your cellular settings

By Sam Sabri
last updated

Windows Phone 8.1 introduced a handful of new features that we’re using every day. Notification center is probably the most used out of all those features. It’s a great tool to quickly see all the notifications from your apps and to quickly toggle a select settings on and off. Unfortunately, not all settings can be accessed with in the Action center. Thankfully a new app called Quick Launcher might solve a few of your problems. Details below on how you can quickly access your cellular settings in the Notification center.

Quick Launcher is a new Windows Phone 8.1 app that allows you to get quick access to cellular settings. In addition, you can also jump quickly to popular apps like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and others.

Quick Launcher doesn’t add a true cellular toggle to the Action center. Instead it creates notifications that persist and stay in the Notification center. You can then tap them to quickly get to the cellular setting or popular apps. Right now the following apps are supported in Quick Launcher: Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, WeChat. More apps will come to the application in a future update, be sure to let the dev know which apps you want!

Quick Launcher is currently in a public beta. It’s free to download and use the app. Give it a try if you’re waiting for Microsoft to add a cellular toggle to the Action center.

Download Quick Launcher from the Windows Phone Store.

Thanks for the tip Mirko!

QR: Quick Launcher

Sam Sabri
Sam Sabri
116 Comments
  • lol
  • It's no laughing matter that MS has finally given developers the capabilities to make really useful apps..... And, I hope they open the OS even more..
  • Exactly! I wish there was a dedicated swipe for this. Maybe a swipe from the left of the screen to access favorite apps! That would be amazing!
  • Yes, and this is why WP8.1 is becoming seriously customizable... I swear, WP8.1 is better than iOS now, and is pretty much becoming a direct replacement for Android...
  • How about a swipe againt the face of iOS and a kick in it's backside and send it home to it's momma! Android will require something more drastic I'm afraid.
  • Well, MS has to take the easy wins first this time around... We can't really worry about Android right now.. But, WP8.1 can overtake iOS quite easily from what has been demonstrated, planned, set in motion, and promised.. I seriously believe if MS stays on course, and doubles the amount of current OEM's to around 30, then iOS will fall to a close third place.. That alone is going to add credibility to the platform... From that point on the developers will do the rest, and we will then begin to see Androids market share drop to around 60%... I see this as imminent....
    .......................
    Nevertheless, I believe the only way this will work fast for WP is for MS to kiss more OEM ass.. That's the only way... Either that or wait till 2019 for 11% market share... But, the real challenge is for MS to somehow convince these same OEM's that they are in competition with to make somewhat midrange/low quality devices after years of making low/pitiful quality Android devices for years... Although I could be wrong because WP will probably run great on very low quality devices... Lol!!
  • "Exactly! I wish there was a dedicated swipe for this. Maybe a swipe from the left of the screen to access favorite apps! That would be amazing!" Eeeh, isn't the point of the Start Screen exactly that, to pin your favourite apps??
  • Great idea, but the SDK doesn't allow me to do thing like that! ;)
  • Ehm I'm sorry but you don't even know why I'm laughing :/ I had posted this in the forums about ten minutes before the article popped up
  • Lol.. I'm not getting on you for laughing, Mr. explainy pants... Lol❕...
    I was just being slightly facetious.. You see????? See what I was doing now?.. :-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-)
  • Lol my bad bro, my bad :P
  • Lol!... It's all good.......
    Anyways, I'm telling you guys that WP8.1 is a real game changer.. I didn't say that with 7.0, 7.5, or even 8.0, but 8.1 is it.. It's the real deal... I've always thought of WP as way good enough for the average user, but now I can admit that even power users can enjoy the platform.. I'm really excited... Can you tell????
  • Nah, think you sounds like you use to, Rodney...
  • :-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-(
  • Since M$ "ate" Nokia the OS is improving with a new life and speed. Casualness? No it isn't.
  • Opened OS? Hm... I don't want to have another Android!
  • Not as open in that sense, and its funny because I new someone would say somthing to that.. Lol.. But, just more open as far as API's are concerned... For example, right now developers aren't able to make an app that can trigger the volume drop down menu, or adjust volume controls... They can't tap into quick actions.. Simple things like that would make to OS more customizable, and enjoyable for power users, which is important for WP's growth......
    .....................
    Lets not confuse what I'm saying as open enough for Carriers to brand, alter, and bloat, WP software... That's a whole other story..
  • Seems funnier (and faster)
  • Seems funnier... I like that..
  • Instead, I suggest the follow app to creat a tile: http://www.windowsphone.com/s?appid=45911817-186f-49c9-9e31-e0db714bcfa6
  • Seems quicker!
  • That's old now.. You're the only one left doing it... Lol!.. Please?..
  • LOL true that! Its my first time though.. I'm feeling exposed :P Hey BTW are you the same person who used to be quite active on Windows Blogs at some point in past? Another frequent member was SubaDog. It used to be a nice place to share ideas and stuff, sadly very less audience left there..
  • Yeah, that's me.... We got a lot of things accomplished back in the day because it was MS's own site. But they promised us an official WP blog app and we never got it.. So, along came WPC, and the rest was history....
    Nevertheless, believe it or not, a few of the WP team members are active WPC members as well... So, they get a lot of feedback that way.. WPC is a good place to voice your opinion about WP..
    .......................
    I don't think that Michael Stroh is leading the blog anymore.. He used to always promise to relay or opinions back to the appropriate engineer... I loved that part... I'm still waiting for that app BTW... Lol❕
    Oh yeah, Scubadog is on here too..
  • Yeah Michael Stroh is a no-show.. and Ben The PC Guy.. I guess they got folded somewhere under Microsoft's new regime and vision of one-ness! You are right, we acheived alot back in the good old days! Especially your POVs on Zune/Xbox music.. Had they taken your advices, we could have been enjoying an OOTB decent music app !!! (-8
  • Lol!.. Yeah, but instead we have digressed in Audio/Video on WP... But, the fact that MS has opened a dedicated users voice page for XBM means that it is,, now,, top priority for WP. I have extremely high hopes❕❕
  • Do you have a job?
  • Yep!!! 2 jobs... Why do you ask?
  • I guess he's hiring.. :P
  • Well, I ain't talkin my clothes off.. I hope he understands that..
  • What the Notification Center needs is the Battery Saver option.
  • Also would like turn off data, including WiFi and 3g. Used for going to bed to stop notifications, as no quiet hours without Cortana.
  • The airplane mode does just that
  • Switch to fight mode. It's the must Common used of my quick access slots.
  • Yeah, I wanna nock it out when go to bed!
  • THIS! and a flashlight!
  • Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm
  • Lollypop?
  • I don't turn it off but anyway nice to have maybe.
  • that should be default for quick settings. it makes no sense. i have to open all settings and go to cellular to enable/disable. it´s not simple.
    i hope they allow us to choose more options in the final release of wp8.1
  • Given that the final release was about a month ago, that's unlikely.   They may however make it in a GDR :P
  • WP 8.1 is locked for features, only bug fixes in the consumer release.
  • Is there a way you can put flashlight shortcut on lock screen or notification center? Posted via Windows Phone Central App
  • I'm working on it! ;)
  • A cellular toggle in the Action Center or on the Lockscreen?
  • SDK allow me to add only text to the action center.. No rich content at the moment! So no toggle I'm sorry
  • I'd pay for the ability to have a flashlight in the action center. It was one of my favorite features with webOS.
  • I'm working on it! ;)
  • Nokia firmware should enable a flashlight gesture. Like drawing a lollipop and kaboom there is light!
  • Then nobody will figure out how to use it.
  • Nice idea. Love the workaround thinking that went into this app. I don't have a use but its cool to see what devs think up.
  • No use. It gets removed when I clean all notifications
  • Fix in the next version coming tomorrow. If you clear notification then 1 minute later will be restored!
  • How about battery usage? Something must use battery to bring it back all the time. I probably use the clean all 10 times a day.
  • The code is basically the same of Clock Hub app.. Fela(clock hub developer) helped me today with the background task! This task is composed by a few line of code so I don't think that is going to affect the battery life.. However I'll do some test in these days, remember that the app is still in beta! ;)
  • I am also looking into a one minute background task, but it seems over complicated, for what is needed. Care to share your task logic in email or forum inbox?
  • And i hope the notification icon won't show up when it comes back because it might confuse users with the real notifications.. And by the way, please add xbox music..lol
  • Nav apps should be in notification area like this if GPS running in background
  • Nice tip, thanks!
  • Downloaded it. It took me about two seconds to realize I didn't want it simply because I will always think I have a real notification.
  • It's a clever little workaround until such time as the real 8.1 comes out and presumably brings more flexibility to quick launch.
  • Nice!! Good to see devs trying to clean up MS's mess. Why did Microsoft do a half a** job with this?? If you're finally putting in a quick access bar, why not allow swipe-for-more? Or at least more options to choose from. I love MS and don't expect them to become the open-source wh**e that android is, but small things like these are more frustrating than anything!  হালা আবাল !!  
  • Totally agree, I can understand a slow transition, but over 3 os versions is too slow. A bit of careful thinking and it wouldn't be a problem.
  • What Action Center needs is the ability to add more actions to the existing setup then simply side scroll through all your pinned settings.
  • 2 rows of quick launch mini tiles will do.
  • Thanks for sharing
  • We need a quick launcher for the flashlight
  • +820
  • Working on it! ;)
  • I prefer my tile off/on cellular data.
  • Same here! I switch off my data connection when I'm done browsing from the tile on start screen only.. No need to swipe down n do the same thing(until we get the direct access) :-)
  • Neat app, Would like to see an option for it to be at the bottom of the list after the notifications
  • As soon as flashlight access is added count me in.
  • Just speak to your phone. Say "open flashlight" or any application for that matter.
  • Working on it! ;)
  • Not much to say except, thank you dev :) great idea, very much appreciated, I look forward to any updates in the future.
  • I'd rather just use "Cellular Data" by Microsoft.
  • I would love to have a cellular quick action. Maybe room for more quick actions (add battery sense and data sense as options). Also, I think new ways of interacting with quick actions would be great additions too! Tap to toggle Data, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth on and off and long press to access settings for the respective buttons.
  • I just want a 3G/2G mode toggle. And, where is the 3G locker placed? Oh please! Even old nokia phones can lock 3G signal
  • Really clever :D
  • But, when I turn on Wifi, will it automatically turn off my cellular?
  • Interesting app & I'm sure a lot of people will find it useful, but not for me ... Not a fan of the persisting notification concept, it brings bad memories from my android days .
  • im still not happy about the seriously terrible battery life on 8.1 they better bloody fix it.
  • Which phone do you have? My 1020 has superb battery life now...whereas our old 820 barely lasts a day (where it would once last 4 or even 5 days on battery saver standby!).
  • 620. On 8.0 after a full charge, battery drops about 4-5 percent on standby when i wake up in the morning, now its like 10-20%! It's just madness. However, weirdly i think the battery life when wifi is ON has improved!  I'm not sure if it is cortana, since location services have to be activated to use her. :/
  • Our 820 does not have Cortana...it also has absolutely everything set to off or battery save. The phone was also completely reset after it was updated to 8.1...
    Unfortunately, it would seem that 8.1 conflicts with some phones and not others. I just hope cyan firmware sorts out the problem on the 820 (if not, I'll be reverting it back to 8.0 permanently)
  • hail WP,,
  • Will wait for MS for an official update or an app. Windows 8.1 for life and respect for MS! We are going at a steady pace towards perfection of OS!
  • BATTERY SAVER!  I cannot understand why this isn't a quick toggle option?! I will turn battery saver on or off probably more than I would turn wifi on or off, so the fact it's not a quick toggle option (when something like project my screen is) is insane... Especially since the battery drains about 10% every 5 minutes with Windows Phone 8.1 now.....
  • Battery saver is going to be added into Quick Launcher in the next update coming tomorrow!
  • How do i get 5 links at the head of the notification center? I only can set 4 links.. :(
  • this option is available only for 1520, 1320 (and maybe the Icon)
  • IMO this app is useless and pointless since we can have such shortcuts pinned in the home page as from WP8.0... Imagine having Android writing an article for an app like this.
  • I decided to create this app because I don't want to pin only the cellular setting tile to the start screen! then I decided to add more apps (many of you asked me by email)! ;)
  • This is just so stupid.  Why not jus put EVERYTHING in a Quick Launcher and remove EVERYTHING from the Start screen, huh?  This makes me sick.  You all might as well go back to Android.
  • Not everything! Only some essential apps! ;)
  • Tried, no good at all.
  • there are many things I like about android, but their custom launches are a really good idea which MSFT should open up to (just like keyboards). I think the community would easily out-do the start screen launcher MSFT has basically kept unchanged save for a few minor touches for the past 3 years. Clearly, MSFT doesn't care to move things forward, then get out of the way and let developers create proper launcher replacements to the default one.
  • Stupid app..,
  • stupid!! don't the developer know that using a quick tile shortcut to cellular network is more easy than this ? RIP common sense !
  • I don't want to take only the cellular setting tile on my start screen so I decide to create an app like this, then I decided to add more apps and load it into the store! ;)
  • Good idea, but need some improvements. If you click on Clean in NC, all quick apps will erase too and you have to open the app again.
  • Check the update! ;)
  • Coming from Android and Cyanogenmod the WP action center is serverly lacking to say the least. MS should take a long hard look at what they've done and learn from it. That said, I can't say I'm missing the lagginess of Android.
  • How is this better than just pinning your favorite apps to the home screen? Isn't the home screen essentially a "quick launcher"?
  • You can save space on your start screen by moving them into quick launcher!
  • But why would I want to save space on my start screen?  It's not like the space there is limited.  I could understand maybe if you had a few hundred tiles on your start screen in which case going into the action centre may be marginally faster than scrolling all the way down, but nobody's got that many tiles on their start screen.  I just can't see this app being very useful.  It's trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist.
  • 520 ?
  • Quick Launcher run on every Windows Phone 8.1 device! 520 as well! ;)
  • okay i didn't find it in the store :/
  • Do you run Windows Phone 8.1 on your 520?
  • Yes. Does it have something with which country I am in?
  • Try to open this link with your 520! let me know
    http://www.windowsphone.com/s?appid=4d82c4fb-a4a5-4130-a4de-6d66a7e90427
  • It worked ^ ^, thank you ^^,
  • You're welcome!! :)
  • We have published similar app with simple UI. Please give it also a try at http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/notification-action/6a0840e6-fef6-4252-9be3-c0c5f15299f1