Have you noticed that you unlock your phone several times a day? Typing a pin or swiping your finger on a fingerprint sensor to unlock your smartphone too many times can be very annoying. Fortunately, to solve this problem, Google is offering the Smart Lock feature for devices running Android 5.0 or higher. Here we show you how to enable smart lock on your Android phone so you do not need to constantly unlock your device, at least in certain situations and places.
What is a smart lock?
Smart Lock lets you choose situations where your phone stays unlocked for long periods of time. For example, the Trusted Location setting, which is one of them, keeps your phone open at home, and in addition has other settings that can be useful to you.
This feature allows you to access your mobile phone much faster. Of course, only if you are in a place where you do not worry about the security of your phone. When you are not in a safe environment, such as when you are in a public place, the smart lock allows you to return to normal security.
Find the Smart Lock Settings section
Depending on your mobile phone model, you may find smart locks in different parts. For this tutorial, we use the OnePlus phone.
1- Open your device settings.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and tap Security & Lockscreen.
3. Now tap Smart Lock at the bottom.
4. Use your password, unlock pattern, PIN or fingerprint to verify your identity.
5. Now the smart lock options appear.
On other models, these options may be in the Security or Lock Screen subcategory. We will explain about these options below.
On-Body Detection
These smart lock settings are very easy to configure. In fact, this feature uses your phone’s sensors to determine if you are carrying the phone with you. There is a slight problem here, though. If you give your phone to someone else, the device will not be able to tell if it is you who is moving it. However, there are some phones that have the ability to learn how to walk specifically to you and are locked if carried by someone other than you. Another problem arises when getting in the car, and locking your phone may take up to ten minutes.
Here’s how to enable On-Body Detection on your mobile phone.
1- In the Android smart lock menu, tap On-body detection.
2. Change the On-Body Detection option at the top to activate it.
3. You are now receiving a warning from Google that On-Body Detection can not distinguish between you and another person. If you want to take this risk, press the OK button and enable this feature.
Now every time you put your phone in your pocket and take it out for a quick glance, it unlocks.
Trusted Places
When you enable Trusted Places, your phone uses the geographic range of your mapping software to determine whether you are at home, at work, or elsewhere, where you feel comfortable holding your phone unlocked. With this option enabled, you do not need to unlock your phone as long as it is connected to the Internet and location services.
Make sure your mobile location feature is turned on before enabling Trusted Places. If you do not know how to do this, follow the steps below.
1- Go to your device settings.
2. Select Location.
3. Make sure the Use location is turned on.
Once the location is activated, you can start using Trusted Places:
1. In the Smart Lock menu, tap Trusted Places.
2. Tap Home to use the home location you set in Google Maps, then select Turn on this location.
3- Or you can tap Add trusted place to select another place manually. You can choose your current location.
4. Tap Search to select a location other than your current location. Then type the name or address of the desired location and then tap OK. You can also check the list of nearby locations listed and simply tap Select this location.
Trusted Devices
The last way to use the smart lock on your Android device is to pair it with secure devices. With this feature, it keeps your phone unlocked whenever it is close to other trusted devices, such as your smartwatch. Each time these devices are connected, your cell phone unlocks automatically.
This option has its limitations. For example, if your phone detects that the connection is not secure, trusted devices will be rejected. In addition, range can be problematic. Others can access your device, even if the device is 100 meters away from you.
To use Trusted Devices to unlock your phone, follow these steps:
1. Open the Smart Lock menu.
2. Tap Trusted Devices.
3. Tap “Add trusted device” and select one of your trusted Bluetooth devices to unlock your phone.
4. Select, then tap the Yes, add button to complete the settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What should I do if Trusted Places does not work?
Trusted locations Smart locks can be a very useful feature, if not a problem. If you have problems with this, you can either troubleshoot it by checking the suggested solutions on the Internet, or as an alternative, if you use the home address provided by Google Maps, go to Settings and Edit Reset home or work. Slightly move and save the PIN or badge, then return the PIN to your home address and tap Save again. This forces the smart lock system to reset.
- Why can’t I see Trusted Face and Trusted Voice in my Smart Lock feature list?
The smart lock used to have Trusted Face and Trusted Voice features, but these features are no longer available to many users. The disappearance of these functions occurred gradually, because they were never part of the Android operating system. They were controlled by Google Play Services, which deleted them silently. On many phones, Face Unlock is now a separate option in the Security & lock screen section of the device settings. Users can easily add face information by following these steps.
- Is there an alternative to Trusted Voice?
The best option is to use the help of Google Assistant. Even if you can’t use Google Virtual Assistant to unlock your phone when you hear your voice, you can ask it to do several things on your lock screen, such as calling contacts, sending emails and more.
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