Part of the Pixel’s core appeal is the phone’s phenomenal software. Not all Android experiences are created equal, as anyone who’s spent seven seconds with a Samsung out-of-the-box setup can tell you, and Google’s clean and simple approach to Android is a huge part of what makes the Pixel so enjoyable to use.
Still, while the Pixel may be perfectly peachy from the moment you turn it on, Google’s smartphone software is full of hidden features and advanced options that can make your experience even more exceptional.
And whether you’re setting up a shiny new Pixel 6a right now or holding an older Pixel model in your suspiciously sticky paw, taking the time to consider some of your phone’s most easily overlooked settings can take your Pixel adventure to a whole new level.
So grab whatever Pixel you’ve got, grab a grape soda for good measure, and let’s reveal some of your Google phone’s biggest secrets. And don’t miss coming check out my free Pixel Academy eCourse to reveal even More ▼ advanced intelligence that hides in your favorite Pixel phone when you’re ready.
Pixel Setup #1: Your friendly genie holding the phone
Some of the Pixel’s most practical features revolve around the brilliant bits of Google goodness available on the phone calling front – and yet most of those elements are turned off by default and barely highlighted in Google’s marketing. Find out, huh?
First and foremost is the Pixel’s incredibly useful Hold for Me system, which will automatically recognize when you’re put on hold and offer to take the brunt for you. The system will actually monitor the call on your behalf and then alert you audibly when a real (supposed) person is back on the line – so you can continue drinking your grape soda and giving each other saucy winks without worrying, that you will miss something.
junior Hold the phone, though: it depends you first find and activate the thing. Otherwise, that fizzy purple drink and your delightfully weird fun will be on hold indefinitely.
So here’s the answer – provided you’re using a Pixel in the US, Australia or Canada, where the feature is currently available:
- Open the Phone app on your Pixel.
- Tap the three-dot icon in the upper right corner and select Settings.
- Tap Hold for me.
- Turn the on-screen switch that appears to the on position.
And that’s it: Now just wait for your next anger-inducing call to customer service and look at your Pixel’s screen for the offer to hold on your behalf — and try not to rub your newfound power in your companions’ faces with iPhone too a lot, right?
Pixel tweak #2: Your call interception assistant
Google’s spam blocking technology is second to none and truly one of the best parts of using the Pixel. (Seriously – simple ask some of those iPhone loving friends of yours.)
But while the Pixel’s basic spam-blocking features are turned on by default, the most advanced nuisance-blocking programs on your phone require you to activate them once and tap into their magic.
So first and foremost, go back to the Pixel Phone app settings and this time:
- Tap the line labeled “Spam and Call Screen,” then tap “Call Screen.”
- Under Unknown Call Settings, tap Spam and change its setting to Silent Reject.
- Next, tap on “Potentially Fake Numbers” and change its setting to “Auto Scan; reject robocalls’.
- If you really want to go all out, consider adjusting screening behavior and private or hidden callers so that your Pixel automatically screens these types of calls to find out who’s calling and what they want before they bother you with some buzz. Just be aware that you may end up interfering with legitimate calls from doctor’s offices and similar places with this setting enabled, so consider whether it makes sense for you.
Call Screen is available on Pixels in the US, as well as Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Spain and the UK. If you’re not in one of those areas, don’t panic: we’ll get to some less geo-restricted features in a minute.
Pixel Setup #3: Your IQ Booster for Business Conversations
Spam calls aside, one of the biggest phone annoyances in our modern lives is the mysterious incoming call from a company. Are they calling for a real reason? Does it actually matter? Or is it just more of a waste of time and a test of patience?
Your Pixel can help you separate the real from the junk. Just go back into those Phone app settings again and:
- Tap Spam and Call Screen once more.
- Then tap the switch next to Confirmed Calls to turn it on.
Now, when a “participating business” dares to interrupt your life with an unsolicited call, your Pixel will display the company’s name and logo so you know it’s legit, and it’ll also show you reason it calls out (eg “to annoy the living daylights out of you”) right on your screen.
Not bad, huh?
Pixel Tweak #4: Your Phone Menu Wizard
Perhaps my favorite Pixel phone feature of all is a relatively recent addition called Direct My Call. Only available in the US and in English at the moment — grumble, grumble, sorry, international Pixel comrades! — but if you’re in the States and speak something vaguely reminiscent of English, it can save you a lot of trouble and is one of the biggest benefits of having a Pixel in your pocket.
Plain and simple, Direct My Call senses when you’ve entered the hell of a company phone maze and shows you all available options as tap-ready buttons on your screen. That way, you can skip the typical sanity test and avoid having to listen to every reversal option at every point along the way.
And all you have to do is activate it once:
- Go back to your Phone app settings and tap Direct My Call.
- Now flip the switch next to “Direct My Call” to the on position.
- Have a little fun celebrating, and then don’t forget to look at your screen the next time you find yourself in phone menu hell.*
junior *Joyous jig optional but highly recommended.
Pixel Setup #5: Your BFF for finding business
OK — one last phone-specific tweak for your favorite Pixel product.
When you need to dial a nearby business, your Pixel can save you the step of searching for its name, finding the number, then tapping or copying it to return to your Phone app and ready to make the call.
Yay – forget this mess. Save yourself steps and unnecessary brainache by simply searching for the business you want directly in the Phone app on your Pixel and then making the call right then and there, in one streamlined place.
First, you need to enable all related options:
- Gallop back to those Phone app settings one last time.
- Tap the line labeled “Nearby Places”.
- Make sure the main “Nearby Places” toggle is turned on – which it probably will be.
- Then tap the switch next to “Personalized search results” to turn it on. This will allow the Phone app to refer to your usual search history when looking for business results to increase the chances of being offered the place you want right away.
- Finally, tap the “Location Permission” row to give the Phone app the permission it needs to work smart.
One more down. And now we’re ready to think about a few broader, non-call-specific Pixel features worth finding.
Pixel Tuning #6: Your Song Superbrain
You know that feeling when a song comes on and you can’t for the life of you figure out what it is? (FYI, there’s at least a 70% chance it’s something from Michael Bolton.)
Your Pixel can help – by proactively identifying any song playing near you and putting its name and the artist responsible for it right on your lock screen.
junior To start the function:
- Go into your Pixel’s system settings (by swiping down twice from the top of the screen and then tapping the gear-shaped icon on the panel that appears).
- Tap Display followed by Lock Screen and Now Playing.
- Slide the switch next to “Identify songs playing nearby” to the on position.
Go ahead and flip the toggle next to “Show search button on lock screen” to the on position while you’re there. This will give you a manual button on the lock screen to start an audio search when a song is playing and your phone can’t (or maybe just chooses not to, due to an understandable moment of Bolton overload) identify it for you .
Pixel Setup #7: Your on-demand song memory
Speaking of your Pixel’s ability to identify songs, you’d be forgiven for forgetting, but your phone actually maintains a running list of every single song it identifies throughout your day.
Make this treasure trove of Bolton ballads super easy to access by placing a one-touch shortcut directly on your Pixel’s home screen:
- Go back to that same area of your Pixel’s settings that we just explored – the Now Playing section under Display and then Lock Screen.
- Do you see the line that says “Play history now”? Touch it. Beat it with pleasure, garnish it!
- Look for the option at the top of the screen that appears next to add a shortcut to the home screen.
One more tap and ta-da: any song your Pixel picks up during the day will always be available with a tap.
junior And with that, we’ve run through our first set of Pixel smart settings worth tweaking. Look out for a second set of stellar Pixel tweaks coming soon — and be sure to come join my free Pixel Academy eCourse to discover heaps of exclusive hidden features and time-saving tricks in the meantime.
Copyright © 2022 IDG Communications, Inc.
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3668190/pixel-settings.html
