There is currently no way to achieve with AppCompat. I've opened a bug internally.

Found a PreferenceFragment implementation based on support-v4 Fragment:

https://github.com/kolavar/android-support-v4-preferencefragment

Edit: I just tested it and its working great!

Integrating PreferenceActivity with ABC is not possible, at least for me. I tried the two possibilities I could find but none worked:

Option 1:

ActionBarPreferenceActivity extends PreferenceActivity. When you do this you get restricted by ActionBarActivityDelegate.createDelegate(ActionBarActivity activity). Also you need to implement ActionBar.Callbacks which is not accessible

Option 2:

ActionBarPreferenceActivity extends ActionBarActivity. This approach requires rewriting a whole new PreferenceActivity, PreferenceManager and may be PreferenceFragment which means you need access to hidden classes like com.android.internal.util.XmlUtils The solution to this can only come from Google devs implementing an ActionBarWrapper that can be added to any activity.

If you really need a preference activity, my advice for now is ActionBarSherlock.

However, I managed to implement it here.

I was able to get android.app.Actionbar by using getActionBar(). It returned a null value at first... then I went to the manifest and changed the theme to:

android:theme="@style/Theme.AppCompat"

Then I was able to have the actionbar again. I'm assuming this will only work for certain build levels. So you might want to do a check for the build number or check if the value returned is null.

It'll be fine for me because the app I'm working on is for ICS/4.0+.

Problem Background:

The OP wants to know how can we put MenuItems in the ActionBar of PreferenceActivity for pre-Honeycomb because Android's support library has a bug which doesn't allow this to happen.

My Solution:

I've found a much cleaner way, than already proposed, to achieve the target (and found it in the Android Docs):

android:parentActivityName

The class name of the logical parent of the activity. The name here must match the class name given to the corresponding element's android:name attribute.

The system reads this attribute to determine which activity should be started when the use presses the Up button in the action bar. The system can also use this information to synthesize a back stack of activities with TaskStackBuilder.

To support API levels 4 - 16, you can also declare the parent activity with a element that specifies a value for "android.support.PARENT_ACTIVITY". For example:

<activity
android:name="com.example.app.ChildActivity"
android:label="@string/title_child_activity"
android:parentActivityName="com.example.myfirstapp.MainActivity" >
<!-- Parent activity meta-data to support API level 4+ -->
<meta-data
android:name="android.support.PARENT_ACTIVITY"
android:value="com.example.app.MainActivity" />
</activity>

Now do what you would normally do in your onOptionsItemSelected(). Since it's a part of Android Docs, it has no side-affects.

Happy coding. :)

Update:

This solution no longer works if you're targeting Lollipop. If you're using AppCompat, this answer is what you should be looking for.

EDIT: In appcompat-v7 22.1.0 Google added the AppCompatDelegate abstract class as a delegate you can use to extend AppCompat's support to any activity.

Use it like this:

...
import android.support.v7.app.ActionBar;
import android.support.v7.app.AppCompatDelegate;
import android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar;
...


public class SettingsActivity extends PreferenceActivity {


private AppCompatDelegate mDelegate;


@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
getDelegate().installViewFactory();
getDelegate().onCreate(savedInstanceState);
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
}


@Override
protected void onPostCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onPostCreate(savedInstanceState);
getDelegate().onPostCreate(savedInstanceState);
}


public ActionBar getSupportActionBar() {
return getDelegate().getSupportActionBar();
}


public void setSupportActionBar(@Nullable Toolbar toolbar) {
getDelegate().setSupportActionBar(toolbar);
}


@Override
public MenuInflater getMenuInflater() {
return getDelegate().getMenuInflater();
}


@Override
public void setContentView(@LayoutRes int layoutResID) {
getDelegate().setContentView(layoutResID);
}


@Override
public void setContentView(View view) {
getDelegate().setContentView(view);
}


@Override
public void setContentView(View view, ViewGroup.LayoutParams params) {
getDelegate().setContentView(view, params);
}


@Override
public void addContentView(View view, ViewGroup.LayoutParams params) {
getDelegate().addContentView(view, params);
}


@Override
protected void onPostResume() {
super.onPostResume();
getDelegate().onPostResume();
}


@Override
protected void onTitleChanged(CharSequence title, int color) {
super.onTitleChanged(title, color);
getDelegate().setTitle(title);
}


@Override
public void onConfigurationChanged(Configuration newConfig) {
super.onConfigurationChanged(newConfig);
getDelegate().onConfigurationChanged(newConfig);
}


@Override
protected void onStop() {
super.onStop();
getDelegate().onStop();
}


@Override
protected void onDestroy() {
super.onDestroy();
getDelegate().onDestroy();
}


public void invalidateOptionsMenu() {
getDelegate().invalidateOptionsMenu();
}


private AppCompatDelegate getDelegate() {
if (mDelegate == null) {
mDelegate = AppCompatDelegate.create(this, null);
}
return mDelegate;
}
}

No more hacking. Code taken from AppCompatPreferenceActivity.java.

I have managed to create a workaround similar to what the Google Play Store uses. Link to Original Answer

Please find the GitHub Repo: Here

Very Similar to your own code but added xml to allow for set title:

Continuing to use PreferenceActivity:

settings_toolbar.xml :

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
android:id="@+id/toolbar"
app:theme="@style/ThemeOverlay.AppCompat.Dark.ActionBar"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:minHeight="?attr/actionBarSize"
app:navigationContentDescription="@string/abc_action_bar_up_description"
android:background="?attr/colorPrimary"
app:navigationIcon="?attr/homeAsUpIndicator"
app:title="@string/action_settings"
/>

SettingsActivity.java :

public class SettingsActivity extends PreferenceActivity {


@Override
protected void onPostCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onPostCreate(savedInstanceState);


LinearLayout root = (LinearLayout)findViewById(android.R.id.list).getParent().getParent().getParent();
Toolbar bar = (Toolbar) LayoutInflater.from(this).inflate(R.layout.settings_toolbar, root, false);
root.addView(bar, 0); // insert at top
bar.setNavigationOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
@Override
public void onClick(View v) {
finish();
}
});
}


}

Result :

UPDATE (Gingerbread Compatibility) :

As pointed out here, Gingerbread Devices are returning NullPointerException on this line:

LinearLayout root = (LinearLayout)findViewById(android.R.id.list).getParent().getParent().getParent();

FIX:

SettingsActivity.java :

public class SettingsActivity extends PreferenceActivity {


@Override
protected void onPostCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onPostCreate(savedInstanceState);
Toolbar bar;


if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.ICE_CREAM_SANDWICH) {
LinearLayout root = (LinearLayout) findViewById(android.R.id.list).getParent().getParent().getParent();
bar = (Toolbar) LayoutInflater.from(this).inflate(R.layout.settings_toolbar, root, false);
root.addView(bar, 0); // insert at top
} else {
ViewGroup root = (ViewGroup) findViewById(android.R.id.content);
ListView content = (ListView) root.getChildAt(0);


root.removeAllViews();


bar = (Toolbar) LayoutInflater.from(this).inflate(R.layout.settings_toolbar, root, false);
            



int height;
TypedValue tv = new TypedValue();
if (getTheme().resolveAttribute(R.attr.actionBarSize, tv, true)) {
height = TypedValue.complexToDimensionPixelSize(tv.data, getResources().getDisplayMetrics());
}else{
height = bar.getHeight();
}


content.setPadding(0, height, 0, 0);


root.addView(content);
root.addView(bar);
}


bar.setNavigationOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
@Override
public void onClick(View v) {
finish();
}
});
}
}

Any issues with the above let me know!

UPDATE 2: TINTING WORKAROUND

As pointed out in many dev notes PreferenceActivity does not support tinting of elements, however by utilising a few internal classes you CAN achieve this. That is until these classes are removed. (Works using appCompat support-v7 v21.0.3).

Add the following imports:

import android.support.v7.internal.widget.TintCheckBox;
import android.support.v7.internal.widget.TintCheckedTextView;
import android.support.v7.internal.widget.TintEditText;
import android.support.v7.internal.widget.TintRadioButton;
import android.support.v7.internal.widget.TintSpinner;

Then override the onCreateView method:

@Override
public View onCreateView(String name, Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {
// Allow super to try and create a view first
final View result = super.onCreateView(name, context, attrs);
if (result != null) {
return result;
}


if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT < Build.VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP) {
// If we're running pre-L, we need to 'inject' our tint aware Views in place of the
// standard framework versions
switch (name) {
case "EditText":
return new TintEditText(this, attrs);
case "Spinner":
return new TintSpinner(this, attrs);
case "CheckBox":
return new TintCheckBox(this, attrs);
case "RadioButton":
return new TintRadioButton(this, attrs);
case "CheckedTextView":
return new TintCheckedTextView(this, attrs);
}
}


return null;
}

Result:

AppCompat 22.1

AppCompat 22.1 introduced new tinted elements, meaning that there is no longer a need to utilise the internal classes to achieve the same effect as the last update. Instead follow this (still overriding onCreateView):

@Override
public View onCreateView(String name, Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {
// Allow super to try and create a view first
final View result = super.onCreateView(name, context, attrs);
if (result != null) {
return result;
}


if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT < Build.VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP) {
// If we're running pre-L, we need to 'inject' our tint aware Views in place of the
// standard framework versions
switch (name) {
case "EditText":
return new AppCompatEditText(this, attrs);
case "Spinner":
return new AppCompatSpinner(this, attrs);
case "CheckBox":
return new AppCompatCheckBox(this, attrs);
case "RadioButton":
return new AppCompatRadioButton(this, attrs);
case "CheckedTextView":
return new AppCompatCheckedTextView(this, attrs);
}
}


return null;
}

NESTED PREFERENCE SCREENS

A lot of people are experiencing issues with including the Toolbar in nested <PreferenceScreen />s however, I have found a solution!! - After a lot of trial and error!

Add the following to your SettingsActivity:

@SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
@Override
public boolean onPreferenceTreeClick(PreferenceScreen preferenceScreen, Preference preference) {
super.onPreferenceTreeClick(preferenceScreen, preference);


// If the user has clicked on a preference screen, set up the screen
if (preference instanceof PreferenceScreen) {
setUpNestedScreen((PreferenceScreen) preference);
}


return false;
}


public void setUpNestedScreen(PreferenceScreen preferenceScreen) {
final Dialog dialog = preferenceScreen.getDialog();


Toolbar bar;


if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.ICE_CREAM_SANDWICH) {
LinearLayout root = (LinearLayout) dialog.findViewById(android.R.id.list).getParent();
bar = (Toolbar) LayoutInflater.from(this).inflate(R.layout.settings_toolbar, root, false);
root.addView(bar, 0); // insert at top
} else {
ViewGroup root = (ViewGroup) dialog.findViewById(android.R.id.content);
ListView content = (ListView) root.getChildAt(0);


root.removeAllViews();


bar = (Toolbar) LayoutInflater.from(this).inflate(R.layout.settings_toolbar, root, false);


int height;
TypedValue tv = new TypedValue();
if (getTheme().resolveAttribute(R.attr.actionBarSize, tv, true)) {
height = TypedValue.complexToDimensionPixelSize(tv.data, getResources().getDisplayMetrics());
}else{
height = bar.getHeight();
}


content.setPadding(0, height, 0, 0);


root.addView(content);
root.addView(bar);
}


bar.setTitle(preferenceScreen.getTitle());


bar.setNavigationOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
@Override
public void onClick(View v) {
dialog.dismiss();
}
});
}

The reason that PreferenceScreen's are such a pain is because they are based as a wrapper dialog, so we need to capture the dialog layout to add the toolbar to it.

Toolbar Shadow

By design importing the Toolbar does not allow for elevation and shadowing in pre-v21 devices, so if you would like to have elevation on your Toolbar you need to wrap it in a AppBarLayout:

`settings_toolbar.xml :

<android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content">


<android.support.v7.widget.Toolbar
.../>


</android.support.design.widget.AppBarLayout>

Not forgetting to add the add the Design Support library as a dependency in build.gradle file:

compile 'com.android.support:support-v4:22.2.0'
compile 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:22.2.0'
compile 'com.android.support:design:22.2.0'

Android 6.0

I have investigated the reported overlapping issue and I cannot reproduce the issue.

The full code in use as above produces the following:

If I am missing something please let me know via this repo and I will investigate.

Now the official answer for this problem has been released. It is the v7/v14 Preference Support library.

See How to use the v7/v14 Preference Support library? for the discussion how to use it.