A new shortcut for scanning QR codes have been added to the Google Pixel 6, Google Pixel 6a and Google Pixel 6 Pro tanks to a new update to the operating system. To see how you can use this function, you can take a look at this tutorial from Seeking Tech.

1. It is important to note that the QR code scanning shortcut was added to Android 13. On Android 12, you previously need to open the Camera App, or use another application, to be able to scan a QR image.

So, if you haven’t done so already, you can update your smartphone by doing the following:

• First, you should open the Settings application on your smartphone.
• From the Settings App, you need to scroll down the list and then select System.
• In the System menu, you then need to tap System Update.
• Finally, select the Check for Update option located on the bottom right side on the next screen in order to see if there is a new Android version to download and install.

2. With Android 13 installed on your Pixel 6, Pixel 6a or Pixel 6 Pro, you then need to go to the expanded Quick Settings window.

One of the methods to do so is to swipe down from the top of the screen with one finger and then do it again.

Alternatively, you can also use two fingers to swipe down from the top of the screen to open the expanded Quick Settings window immediately.

3. In the expanded Quick Settings window, tap the edit option, which is represented as the pencil icon.

4. In the Edit menu, scroll down to the Hold and Drag to Add Tiles. Here, you should find the Scan QR Code tile.

5. Move the Scan QR Code tile to the Hold and Drag to Rearrange Tiles section at the top of the Edit menu.

To make Scan QR Code tile appear in the truncated Quick Settings window, make sure you move it to move it to one of the top four spots in the Hold and Drag to Rearrange Tiles section.

If you want the Scan QR Code tile to appear in the first page of the expanded Quick Settings window, then you need to move it somewhere between the range of the #5 to #8 spots in the Hold and Drag to Rearrange Tiles section.

How to use the Scan QR Code function on Pixel 6

Now that you added the Scan QR Code tile to the Quick Settings menu, you can use it on your Pixel 6 series phone by doing the following:

1. To start off, swipe down from the top of the screen to bring up the Quick Settings window.

2. If the Scan QR Code tile does not appear, then you can swipe down from the top again to expand the Quick Settings window.

If you still don’t see the tile, then you can swipe to the right to change pages.

If the Scan QR Code tile is nowhere to be found, then make sure you added it to the Hold and Drag to Rearrange Tiles section in the aforementioned Edit menu.

3. Next, you need to tap the Scan QR Code tile.

4. In the Scan Any QR Code menu, align the square with the QR code.

If you need better lighting, then make sure you tap the lightning icon located on the top right side of the menu.

After updating your Google Pixel 6, Google Pixel 6a or Google Pixel 6 Pro to the Android 13 operating system, you may notice that the battery is draining very quickly.

To see how you can prevent the battery charge from depleting rapidly, you can take a look at this troubleshooting article from Seeking Tech.

1. Because you are installing a new operating system to your Pixel 6 series smartphone, it may take some time for Android 13 to accurately display the remaining battery charge.

In this case, we recommend that you use the device and then recharge it normally. After a few discharge and recharge cycles, your phone may be more accurate when it comes to showing its battery percentage.

2. If your Pixel 6 is still draining battery after several discharge and recharge cycles, then the next step you can take is to update all of your installed apps. Some applications may not be fully compatible with Android 13 and, as a result, end up using more battery than previously. Therefore, a new patch may help resolve this problem.

In order to update all of your apps, you can try doing the following:

• Open the Google Play Store App.
• Inside the store, tap your profile picture located on the top right side of the screen.
• You then need to tap Manage Apps & Device in the pop-up menu.
• Inside the Manage Apps & Device menu, tap the Update All option in the Updates Available section.

3. You may also want to consider force stopping, uninstalling and/or disabling apps that are draining the battery of your phone.

In order to do so, you can try taking the following steps:

• First off, you should go into the Settings App on your phone.
• Inside the Settings menu, you should then head over to the Battery section.
• From the Battery section, go to Battery Usage.
• In the Battery Usage, you should see the amount of battery change being used by active applications over the past 24 hours. Here, you can select an app.
• In the next screen, you can force stop the application to prevent it from running and, therefore, draining your battery.
• Alternatively, you can select the Uninstall option in order to delete the app. For Google applications, you can select the Disable the option, which will stop and hide the app but won’t delete it.
• Furthermore, you can also set the Manage Battery Usage to Optimized or Restricted.

4. A new update to the Android 13 operating system may also fix the battery drain issues of your Pixel 6, Pixel 6a or Pixel 6 Pro.

To manually check if there is a new update available, you need to open the Settings App and then go to System. Afterwards, select System Update and then Check for Update.

5. A factory reset may be helpful as well since it returns its phone to its original default settings. To factory reset your Pixel 6 series phone, you can do the following:

• To start off, back up any important files and data. Otherwise, these will be deleted during the process.
• Next, you should head into the Settings App.
• You then need to head to System.
• Inside the System menu, select Reset Options at the very bottom.
• In the Reset Options section, you then need to select Erase All Data (Factory Reset).
• Once the factory reset has been completed, you need to setup your phone again. During this process, you should be able to import the files and data that you previously backed up.

Thanks to a new update, you are now able to add a Google Home shortcut to the lock screen of your Google Pixel 6, Google Pixel 6a or Google Pixel 6 Pro. This feature is helpful as you don’t have to go through the extra steps in order to access the smart devices you have linked to your smartphone.

To find out how this shortcut can be added, you can take a look at this tutorial from Seeking Tech.

1. To start off, make sure you update your smartphone to Android 13. Without this new operating system, you won’t be able to add the Google Home shortcut to the lock screen.

2. If you haven’t done so already, you should also make sure that you add your smart devices to the Google Home App. In order to do so, you can take the following steps:

Start by opening the Google Home App on your Pixel 6, Pixel 6a or Pixel 6 Pro. If you can’t find it, then you can swipe up from any empty space on the home screen to bring up the list of installed applications. You should be able to find and go to the Home App from there.

Inside of the Google Home App, you then need to tap the plus sign icon located at the top left side of the screen.

In the Add and Manage menu, you then need to tap Set Up Device.

You should now be in the Set Up a Device menu, where you should be able to add a new smart device to the Google Home App.

3. Once you have everything set up, you need to go ahead and open the Settings App on your phone.

4. From the Settings menu, you need to tap Display.

5. You then need to tap the Lock Screen option in the Display menu.

6. From the Lock Screen menu, you first need to make sure that the Show Device Controls setting is enabled. Otherwise, the Control from Locked Device setting will be greyed out.

7. Next, you need to also enable the aforementioned Control from Locked Device setting from the same Lock Screen menu.

8. You should now be able to open the Google Home App straight from the lock screen without having to unlock your phone beforehand.

The Google Pixel 6, Google Pixel 6a and Google Pixel 6 Pro recently got updated to the Android 13 operating system, adding several new features. One of which is a privacy dashboard that makes it easier to see what potentially sensitive information are being tracked on your smartphone.

To see how you can open this dashboard, as well as use it to enable or disable permissions, you can take a look at this tutorial from Seeking Tech.

1. Before we start, make sure that your smartphone has been updated to Android 13 if you haven’t done so already. Otherwise, the privacy dashboard won’t be accessible in an older Android operation system.

2. Once you have your Pixel 6, Pixel 6a, or Pixel 6 Pro updated, you can then head over to the Settings App.

If you can find this app, then it should appear when you swipe up from an empty space to bring up a list of installed applications on your phone.

3. From inside the Settings App, you need to scroll down and then select Privacy.

4. In the Privacy menu, you then need tap the Privacy Dashboard option located at the top.

5. Inside of the Privacy Dashboard menu, you will see the type of information that was being tracked over the past 24 hours.

To view more permission types, tap the See Other Permissions options. The full list should include the following categories:

• Location
• Camera
• Microphone
• Body Sensors
• Calendar
• Call Logs
• Contacts
• Files
• Music and Audio
• Nearby Devices
• Notifications
• Phone
• Photos and Videos
• Physical Activity
• SMS

6. Select any of the aforementioned permissions to view more time-specific details on the tracking.

7. In the next screen, you can also tap the Manage Permission option at the bottom of the screen, which will let you choose to allow, or disallow, apps from using this type of tracking.

8. Next, you should see a list of apps that have been categorized based on the following options:

• Allowed all the time
• Allowed only while in use
• Ask every time
• Not allowed

Here, you can tap any apps that support this permission. Afterwards, you should be able to select any of the aforementioned options.

9. Repeat the same process for any permissions that you want to allow or disallow from apps by using the Privacy Dashboard menu.

New Assistant shortcuts have been added to the Google Pixel 6, Google Pixel 6a and Google Pixel 6 Pro. To find out how you can add these new ways of activating the voice control feature, you can take a look at this tutorial from Seeking Tech

How to add Google Assistant shortcut to gestures-based navigation

In order to add the Assistant shortcut when you are using the gestures-based navigation on your Pixel 6, Pixel 6a or Pixel 6 Pro, you need to take the following steps:

1. Before you begin, make sure you turn on your phone and unlock its screen. Afterwards, you should also make sure that you have updated the device to the latest firmware as the new shortcut was added in the Android 13 operating system.

2. Once you are ready, you need to launch the Settings App.

3. Inside of the application, select System from the bottom of the screen.

4. In the System sub-menu, you then need to go to Gestures.

5. You should then head to System Navigation in the Gestures sub-menu.

6. From the System Navigation menu, you should first make sure that the Gesture Navigation setting is selected.

7. Afterwards, tap the gear icon next to the Gesture Navigation setting in the same screen.

8. Once you get to the Gestures Navigation Sensitivity sub-menu, make sure that the Swipe to Invoke Assistant setting is enabled.

9. With this setting turned on, you will be able to activate Google Assistant by swipe upwards from the bottom left corner or bottom right corner of the screen.

How to add Google Assistant shortcut to buttons-based navigation

If you want to add the Google Assistant shortcut while using buttons-based navigation, then you need to do the following:

1. To start off, make sure you update your Google Pixel 6, Google Pixel 6a or Google Pixel 6 Pro to Android 13 if you haven’t done so already. Otherwise, the shortcut won’t be available.

2. After making sure that your smartphone is running the latest Android operating system, you need to open the Settings App.

3. Inside of the Settings application, you need to scroll down and then select the System option located near the bottom.

4. Once you get to the System sub-menu, you need to tap Gestures.

5. From the Gestures sub-menu, go to System Navigation.

6. In the System Navigation sub-menu, make sure that the 3-Button Navigation option is selected and then tap the gear icon next to it.

7. From the Button navigation sub-menu, make sure that the Hold Home for Assistant setting is enabled.

8. With this setting enabled, you can now be able to activate Google Assistant by pressing and holding the circle icon, which should now have a circular outline, located at the bottom of the screen.

With the Google Pixel 6, Google Pixel 6a and Google Pixel 6 Pro, you can add a back tap shortcut in order to use your smartphone as a flash light. To find out how to do so, you can take a look at this tutorial from Seeking Tech.

Downloading the Android 13 Firmware

The flashlight back tap shortcut was added in Android 13. So, if you haven’t updated your phone to that operating system, then make sure you do so.

The Pixel 6 series came out starting in 2021; therefore, you should be able to update to Android 13.

In order to manually update your smartphone, you can try doing the following:

1. Open and unlock you Pixel 6 series phone if you haven’t done so already.

2. Now that you can interact with your smartphone, you then need to go to the Settings App.

3. In the Settings App, you first need to select the System option located near the bottom of the list.

4. Inside the System screen, you should then select System Update.

5. From the System update screen, select Check for Update.

6. Wait for the firmware to complete.

How to add flashlight to the back tap shortcut to Pixel 6, Pixel 6a and Pixel 6 Pro

Once your Google Pixel 6, Google Pixel 6a or Google Pixel 6 Pro has been updated to Android 13, you will be able to add the flashlight back tap shortcut by doing the following:

1. Once again, you should head over to the Settings App.

2. On the front page of the Settings application you need to scroll down and then tap System.

3. After getting to the System screen, you then need to head over to Gestures.

4. Select the Quick Tap to Start Actions option in the Gestures menu.

5. Once you get to the Quick Tap to Start Actions menu, you first need to make sure that the Use Quick Tap settings is enabled.

6. Next, you need to select the Toggle Flashlight option from the same Quick Tap to Start Actions menu.

7. Exit out of the Quick Tap to Start Actions menu and then double tap the back of your Pixel 6, Pixel 6a or Pixel 6 Pro.

You should be able to turn on the flashlight feature of your phone.

8. If you are having a hard time trying to activate and deactivate the flashlight, then make sure that you are taping towards the middle port on the back of your phone.

If you are using a protective case, then it may be causing issues with your phone not being able to recognize the back taps. In this scenario, you can try applying more pressures to the back taps. Alternatively, you can try removing the case to see if the device will become more responsive to your inputs.

9. If you keep accidentally turning on your flashlight, then you can go back to the aforementioned Quick Tap to Start Actions menu. From there, you can turn on the require Stronger Taps setting.