diff --git a/doc/index.md b/doc/index.md
index 9955857..d22662c 100644
--- a/doc/index.md
+++ b/doc/index.md
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ Preferences
 
         <preference name="StatusBarOverlaysWebView" value="true" />
 
-- __StatusBarBackgroundColor__ (color hex string, defaults to #000000). On iOS 7, set the background color of the statusbar by a hex string (#RRGGBB) at startup.
+- __StatusBarBackgroundColor__ (color hex string, defaults to #000000). On iOS 7 and Android 5, set the background color of the statusbar by a hex string (#RRGGBB) at startup.
 
         <preference name="StatusBarBackgroundColor" value="#000000" />
 
@@ -45,6 +45,14 @@ Preferences
 
         <preference name="StatusBarStyle" value="lightcontent" />
 
+### Android Quirks
+The Android 5+ guidelines specify using a different color for the statusbar than your main app color (unlike the uniform statusbar color of many iOS 7+ apps), so you may want to set the statusbar color at runtime instead via `StatusBar.backgroundColorByHexString` or `StatusBar.backgroundColorByName`. One way to do that would be:
+```js
+if (cordova.platformId == 'android') {
+    StatusBar.backgroundColorByHexString("#333");
+}
+```
+
 Hiding at startup
 -----------
 
@@ -199,6 +207,7 @@ Supported Platforms
 -------------------
 
 - iOS
+- Android 5+
 - Windows Phone 7
 - Windows Phone 8
 - Windows Phone 8.1
@@ -223,6 +232,7 @@ Supported Platforms
 -------------------
 
 - iOS
+- Android 5+
 - Windows Phone 7
 - Windows Phone 8
 - Windows Phone 8.1
diff --git a/src/android/StatusBar.java b/src/android/StatusBar.java
index e4f748f..4d3b85b 100644
--- a/src/android/StatusBar.java
+++ b/src/android/StatusBar.java
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@
 package org.apache.cordova.statusbar;
 
 import android.app.Activity;
+import android.graphics.Color;
+import android.os.Build;
 import android.util.Log;
 import android.view.Window;
 import android.view.WindowManager;
@@ -54,6 +56,9 @@ public class StatusBar extends CordovaPlugin {
                 // by the Cordova.
                 Window window = cordova.getActivity().getWindow();
                 window.clearFlags(WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_FORCE_NOT_FULLSCREEN);
+
+                // Read 'StatusBarBackgroundColor' from config.xml, default is #000000.
+                setStatusBarBackgroundColor(preferences.getString("StatusBarBackgroundColor", "#000000"));
             }
         });
     }
@@ -67,7 +72,7 @@ public class StatusBar extends CordovaPlugin {
      * @return                  True if the action was valid, false otherwise.
      */
     @Override
-    public boolean execute(String action, CordovaArgs args, final CallbackContext callbackContext) throws JSONException {
+    public boolean execute(final String action, final CordovaArgs args, final CallbackContext callbackContext) throws JSONException {
         Log.v(TAG, "Executing action: " + action);
         final Activity activity = this.cordova.getActivity();
         final Window window = activity.getWindow();
@@ -96,6 +101,40 @@ public class StatusBar extends CordovaPlugin {
             return true;
         }
 
+        if ("backgroundColorByHexString".equals(action)) {
+            this.cordova.getActivity().runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
+                @Override
+                public void run() {
+                    try {
+                        setStatusBarBackgroundColor(args.getString(0));
+                    } catch (JSONException ignore) {
+                        Log.e(TAG, "Invalid hexString argument, use f.i. '#777777'");
+                    }
+                }
+            });
+            return true;
+        }
+
         return false;
     }
+
+    private void setStatusBarBackgroundColor(final String colorPref) {
+        if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= 21) {
+            if (colorPref != null && !colorPref.isEmpty()) {
+                final Window window = cordova.getActivity().getWindow();
+                // Method and constants not available on all SDKs but we want to be able to compile this code with any SDK
+                window.clearFlags(0x04000000); // SDK 19: WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_TRANSLUCENT_STATUS);
+                window.addFlags(0x80000000); // SDK 21: WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_DRAWS_SYSTEM_BAR_BACKGROUNDS);
+                try {
+                    // Using reflection makes sure any 5.0+ device will work without having to compile with SDK level 21
+                    window.getClass().getDeclaredMethod("setStatusBarColor", int.class).invoke(window, Color.parseColor(colorPref));
+                } catch (IllegalArgumentException ignore) {
+                    Log.e(TAG, "Invalid hexString argument, use f.i. '#999999'");
+                } catch (Exception ignore) {
+                    // this should not happen, only in case Android removes this method in a version > 21
+                    Log.w(TAG, "Method window.setStatusBarColor not found for SDK level " + Build.VERSION.SDK_INT);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
 }