diff --git a/apps/app/ui-tests-app/page/page-status-bar-css.xml b/apps/app/ui-tests-app/page/page-status-bar-css.xml
index 7552c3b9c..e79655855 100644
--- a/apps/app/ui-tests-app/page/page-status-bar-css.xml
+++ b/apps/app/ui-tests-app/page/page-status-bar-css.xml
@@ -4,35 +4,42 @@
 		<ActionBar title="Sample title" />
 	</Page.actionBar>
 
-    <WrapLayout>
-        <!-- status-bar-style -->  
-        <Button text="11" tap="applyTap" tag="status-bar-style: light;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40" automationText="light;" />
-        <Button text="12" tap="applyTap" tag="status-bar-style: dark;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40" automationText="dark;" />
+    <StackLayout padding="10">
+        <Label text="IOS and Android" fontSize="14"/>
+        <WrapLayout>
+            <!-- status-bar-style -->  
+            <Button text="11" tap="applyTap" tag="status-bar-style: light;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40" automationText="light;" />
+            <Button text="12" tap="applyTap" tag="status-bar-style: dark;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40" automationText="dark;" />
 
-        <!-- status-bar-style - action-bar - background -->
-        <Button text="21" tap="applyTapOnStyledActionBar" tag="status-bar-style: light;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40" automationText="light-abb-ruby" />
-        <Button text="22" tap="applyTapOnStyledActionBar" tag="status-bar-style: dark;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="dark-abb-ruby" />
-        
-        <!-- status-bar-style - action-bar - hidden -->
-        <Button text="31" tap="applyTapWithHiddenActionBar" tag="status-bar-style: light;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="light-ab-hidden" />
-        <Button text="32" tap="applyTapWithHiddenActionBar" tag="status-bar-style: dark;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="ark-ab-hidden" />
-        
-        <!-- android-status-bar-background -->  
-        <Button text="41" tap="applyTap" tag="android-status-bar-background: #E0115F;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="asbb-blue" />
+            <!-- status-bar-style - action-bar - background -->
+            <Button text="21" tap="applyTapOnStyledActionBar" tag="status-bar-style: light;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40" automationText="light-abb-ruby" />
+            <Button text="22" tap="applyTapOnStyledActionBar" tag="status-bar-style: dark;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="dark-abb-ruby" />
 
-        <!-- status-bar-style - page - background -->
-        <Button text="51" tap="applyTap" tag="status-bar-style: light;background-color: #E0115F;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="light-bckg-ruby" />
-        <Button text="52" tap="applyTap" tag="status-bar-style: dark; background-color: #E0115F;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="dark-bckg-ruby" />
+            <!-- status-bar-style - page - background -->
+            <Button text="51" tap="applyTap" tag="status-bar-style: light;background-color: #E0115F;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="light-bckg-ruby" />
+            <Button text="52" tap="applyTap" tag="status-bar-style: dark; background-color: #E0115F;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="dark-bckg-ruby" />
 
-        <!-- status-bar-style - page - and - action-bar - background -->
-        <Button text="61" tap="applyTapOnStyledActionBar" tag="status-bar-style: light;background-color: #E0115F;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="light-bckg-yellow-abbckg-ruby" />
-        <Button text="62" tap="applyTapOnStyledActionBar" tag="status-bar-style: dark; ;background-color: #E0115F;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="dark-bckg-yellow-abbckg-ruby" />
+            <!-- status-bar-style - page - and - action-bar - background -->
+            <Button text="61" tap="applyTapOnStyledActionBar" tag="status-bar-style: light;background-color: #E0115F;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="light-bckg-yellow-abbckg-ruby" />
+            <Button text="62" tap="applyTapOnStyledActionBar" tag="status-bar-style: dark; ;background-color: #E0115F;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="dark-bckg-yellow-abbckg-ruby" />
 
-        <!-- status-bar-style - action-bar - hidden - and - backgroundSpanUnderStatusBar -->
-        <Button text="71" tap="applyTapWithSpan" tag="status-bar-style: light;background-color: yellow" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="dark-bckg-yellow-bckgsusb-true" />
-        <Button text="72" tap="applyTapOnStyledActionBarAndSpan" tag="status-bar-style: light;background-color: yellow;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40" automationText="light-bckg-yellow-abbck-ruby-bckgsusb-true" />
+            <!-- status-bar-style - action-bar - hidden - and - backgroundSpanUnderStatusBar -->
+            <Button text="71" tap="applyTapWithSpan" tag="status-bar-style: light;background-color: yellow" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="dark-bckg-yellow-bckgsusb-true" />
+            <Button text="72" tap="applyTapOnStyledActionBarAndSpan" tag="status-bar-style: light;background-color: yellow;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40" automationText="light-bckg-yellow-abbck-ruby-bckgsusb-true" />
 
-        <Button text="73" tap="applyTapWithSpan" tag="status-bar-style: dark;background-color: yellow;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="light-ab-hidden-bckgsusb-true" />
-        <Button text="74" tap="applyTapWithActionBarHiddenAndSpan" tag="status-bar-style: dark;background-color: yellow;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="dark-ab-hidden-bckgsusb-true" />
-    </WrapLayout>
+            <Button text="73" tap="applyTapWithSpan" tag="status-bar-style: dark;background-color: yellow;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="light-ab-hidden-bckgsusb-true" />
+            <Button text="74" tap="applyTapWithActionBarHiddenAndSpan" tag="status-bar-style: dark;background-color: yellow;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="dark-ab-hidden-bckgsusb-true" />
+
+        </WrapLayout>
+
+        <Label text="Android" fontSize="14" marginTop="10"/>
+        <WrapLayout>
+            <!-- status-bar-style - action-bar - hidden -->
+            <Button text="31" tap="applyTapWithHiddenActionBar" tag="status-bar-style: light;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="light-ab-hidden" />
+            <Button text="32" tap="applyTapWithHiddenActionBar" tag="status-bar-style: dark;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="ark-ab-hidden" />
+
+            <!-- android-status-bar-background -->  
+            <Button text="41" tap="applyTap" tag="android-status-bar-background: #E0115F;" style.fontSize="8" width="40" height="40"  automationText="asbb-ruby" />
+        </WrapLayout>
+    </StackLayout>
 </Page>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tns-core-modules/ui/action-bar/action-bar.android.ts b/tns-core-modules/ui/action-bar/action-bar.android.ts
index fe5d63943..8edf161eb 100644
--- a/tns-core-modules/ui/action-bar/action-bar.android.ts
+++ b/tns-core-modules/ui/action-bar/action-bar.android.ts
@@ -427,10 +427,34 @@ export class ActionBarStyler implements style.Styler {
         (<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar>v._nativeView).setTitleTextColor(nativeValue);
     }
 
+    // background-color
+    private static getBackgroundColorProperty(view: view.View): any {
+        let toolbar = <android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar>view._nativeView;
+        return toolbar.getBackground();
+    }
+
+    private static setBackgroundColorProperty(v: view.View, newValue: any) {
+        var toolbar = (<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar>v._nativeView);
+        if (toolbar) {
+            toolbar.setBackgroundColor(newValue);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static resetBackgroundColorProperty(v: view.View, nativeValue: any) {
+        var toolbar = (<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar>v._nativeView);
+        if (toolbar) {
+            toolbar.setBackgroundColor(nativeValue);
+        }
+    }
+
     public static registerHandlers() {
         style.registerHandler(style.colorProperty, new style.StylePropertyChangedHandler(
             ActionBarStyler.setColorProperty,
             ActionBarStyler.resetColorProperty), "ActionBar");
+        style.registerHandler(style.backgroundColorProperty, new style.StylePropertyChangedHandler(
+            ActionBarStyler.setBackgroundColorProperty,
+            ActionBarStyler.resetBackgroundColorProperty, 
+            ActionBarStyler.getBackgroundColorProperty), "ActionBar");
     }
 }