As Google prepares Android 16 for launch , users are discovering interesting new features in its various betas. The latest one, discovered by Android Authority , allows you to unlock your Google Pixel phone even when its screen is turned off. This is possible on Pixel phones that have an in-display fingerprint sensor and are running Android 16 beta 3.
How to unlock your Pixel phone with the screen off
Here’s how the new feature works. First, get an eligible Pixel phone and then update it to Android 16 beta 3 (I’ll go over how in a little bit). Next, go to Settings > Security & privacy > Device unlock > Face & Fingerprint Unlock > Fingerprint Unlock, and enable Screen-off Fingerprint Unlock. Now lock your phone and place your finger where the in-display fingerprint sensor is located. This should unlock your smartphone.
The devices that support Android 16’s screen off fingerprint unlocks
Many Android phones actually already support unlocking via the in-display fingerprint sensor even while the screen is off, but Google Pixel phones have not supported this feature until now. You can use this feature with every Google Pixel phone that has an in-display fingerprint sensor, which is to say that if you have a Pixel 6 or newer, you’ll have access to it. You will need Google’s newest OS, but because Android 16 can be installed on Pixel 6 and newer devices , that’s not a problem.
Installing Android 16 on your Pixel phone
Before downloading and installing the Android 16 beta, you should make a full back up of your device. Beta software is unstable and can cause critical apps such as the Phone app to stop working. If this happens to you, you may be out of luck, as Google warns that reverting to a stable version of Android requires you to erase all data on your phone and that restoring from a backup may not be successful at times.
Once you’ve prepped, and if you’re okay with the risks, visit Google’s Android beta website and select View your eligible devices. After that, follow the on-screen prompts to enroll in the Android beta program. With that, just go through the steps above to start unlocking your phone without turning on the screen first.
