Tech

A useful hack for Pixel’s new shortcut system


Alright Pixel friends: We’ve talked a lot buried treasure you can find out on your oh-so-Googley phone, largely thanks to the arrival of Android 12. But there’s a cool new feature you can implement than useful with a bit of crafty customization.

I’m talking about Quick press system introduced on Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro last month and is now also available on the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G.

Quick Tap, in case you haven’t discovered it yet, is a great new system of shortcuts that are connected to physical taps on your favorite phalange. Once set up, you can simply double-tap the back of the Pixel’s body to trigger a specific action on the phone.

Nifty, no? I definitely think so. It’s a smart time saver and a great way to create your own quick access shortcut to any function you want. It’s just a matter of the annoyingly limited list of available options for now, and what would be the most sensible and practical keyboard shortcut for that setup – especially for those of them We use the new Pixel 6 models – which are missing in performance.

However, for most things on Android, where there’s a will, there’s a way. And I came up with a super simple way to enhance the Pixel’s Quick Tap feature and make it do an obvious, incredibly useful thing that it just won’t do now.

[Psst: There’s lots more Pixel magic where this came from. Check out my free Pixel Academy e-course to uncover tons of advanced intelligence lurking within your current Pixel phone!]

Read on, and I’ll explain.

Limitations of Pixel Quick Tap

We’ll get to it right away: The missing functionality I’ve been wondering about is the phone’s simple and straightforward mute ability in the Pixel’s new tappity keyboard shortcuts system. It’s indeed a welcome alternative to Quick Tap on any Pixel, but there’s a reason it’s especially relevant for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro.

The latest Pixel devices no longer have the handy mute shortcut for every previous Pixel. On previous Pixels, a quick press of the power button and the volume up button muted your phone in a jiffy. It’s always been the easiest and most convenient way to turn your phone on right away, without having to mess around with any on-screen menus or options.

However, on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, Google has removed that option. It seems the reason is that it conflicts with the awkward new setup, where the device’s power button now pulls up Google Assistant by default. Therefore, the power and volume increase combination became the way to summon Standard the power menu actually allows you to shut down or restart your device.

Honestly, it’s a bit messy, and more than a little silly. I mean, come on: It’s called power – not the Assistant button! But it’s also another sign of how hard Google works place Assistant anywhere and everywhere and make it as easy to use as possible.

(On Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G, the same setup is available – but unlike on newer Pixel 6 models, if you choose Not to pull the power button onto the Assistant, the old volume up volume shortcut still works. On the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, it doesn’t appear at all, no matter what you do.)

Now, to fix.

Expand Pixel Quick Tap

By default, the new Pixel Quick Tap system can handle six different functions:

Google Pixel, Android 12: Quick tap JR

Why muting your phone isn’t on that list is beyond me. But with about 20 seconds of fine tuning, we can change that.

The trick involves the last Pixel Quick Tap option – the option to open an app on your phone. And it revolves around a basic app where possible and completely free from the Play Store called The mute.

After much searching and testing, I stumbled upon this random little gem and realized it was the perfect answer to our pressing problem. It doesn’t look like much, and it hasn’t even been updated in almost 5 years. But don’t let that throw you. For our current purposes, it is exactly what we need.

All you have to do is install the app and then open it once. You’ll be prompted to allow Mute to modify your system settings – a permission it obviously needs if it can silence the phone for you. The app doesn’t ask for any other permissions or access methods and can’t even access the internet. All it does, literally, is mute your phone whenever it’s activated.

See where are we going with this? The next step is to open the Quick tap settings on your Pixel – by going to the System section of your Pixel settings, then tapping “Gestures”, then “Quick tap” (again, just available on Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G).

Make sure the toggle at the top of the screen is on and active. Next, select the “Open App” option at the bottom of the list, then tap the gear-shaped settings icon next to it and select “Mute” from the list of choices that appear.

Back to the home screen and that’s it: Now, whenever you double-tap the back of your Pixel, you’ll feel a slight vibration and see a small visual confirmation that Mute has been activated. The phone’s ringtone and media volume will be all the way down to 0 and Android’s Do Not Disturb mode will be activated. Double-tap again and Do Not Disturb will turn off while your volume settings bounce back to the previous level.

Not much easier than that.

Don’t let yourself miss out on a bit of Pixel magic. Registration for My free Pixel Academy e-course and discover tons of hidden features and time-saving tricks for your favorite Pixel phone.

Copyright © 2021 IDG Communications, Inc.



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