Google Gemini Expands Lock Screen Functionality, Enhancing Smart Home Control and Communication

Google Gemini's new lock screen setting has a hidden smart home benefit

Summary Gemini's functionality has expanded to allow control of smart home devices like lights and thermostats without needing to unlock your phone. This feature is enabled by toggling "Use Gemini without unlocking" in Gemini Settings, under the "Gemini on the lock screen" section. Devices with privacy concerns, like cameras, will still require the phone to be unlocked before Gemini can access them. ✕ Remove Ads Nobody would blame you if you weren't quite ready to give up Google Assistant in favor of Gemini -- it's simply a fact that Google's new AI still has some catching up to do when it comes to those little quality of life features the old assistant spent years amassing. But last week, Gemini took a big step forward in this regard, finally letting you use some features while your phone is locked. As it turns out, there was more to this update than we initially thought. Related Gemini's Android assistant just got a lot more useful when your phone is locked But you have to enable a setting first Posts8 Last week, Google rolled out a new setting for Gemini's Android assistant that lets you access the AI without unlocking your phone. Within this menu, there's an additional option for allowing the assistant to make phone calls and send text messages while the device is locked. ✕ Remove Ads What is not shown here, however, is the fact that you can now also control smart home devices like lights and thermostats via the Google Home extension for Gemini, all without unlocking the device. You just have to enable the Use Gemini without unlocking toggle under Gemini Settings → Gemini on the lock screen to activate the functionality -- no need to also turn on the Make calls and send messages without unlocking setting. Close The new smart home functionality from the lock screen was first spotted by a Reddit user. The folks over at Tech Issues Today saw the report and hunted down Google's documentation for the feature, which confirms that you can now "Control most smart devices, like Smart Displays or a smart thermostat" with this setting enabled. ✕ Remove Ads Sensitive smart home devices are still gated behind the lock screen Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed in the screenshots above that the Gemini on lock screen feature "will still ask you to unlock when a response contains personal content." In our testing, we discovered that this pertains to certain smart home devices, too. Asking Gemini to turn on lights or adjust a thermostat from the lock screen works seamlessly. But when you ask the assistant to view one of the cameras in your Google Home, for instance, it responds with something along the lines of "Sure thing. Could you unlock your phone first? To do this, I need to check your personal content." ✕ Remove Ads

Gemini's Android assistant just got a lot more useful when your phone is locked

Gemini's newest extension finally makes it a decent Google Assistant alternative Summary Google is rolling out a new Gemini setting that allows the AI to make calls and send texts while your phone is locked. This feature is not enabled by default and requires the user to manually turn it on in the Gemini app settings. Users also need to ensure the texting and calling extensions are enabled, although these should be turned on automatically. ✕ Remove Ads Gemini was a bit of a reactionary product, starting life as Google Bard to directly compete with ChatGPT. So when Google turned the AI into an Android assistant, it was no surprise that a lot of the little things Google Assistant was capable of just weren't present yet. Slowly but surely, this side of Gemini is catching up with its predecessor, and the latest addition is one of those quality of life improvements that'll make you wonder why it wasn't like this in the first place. Related Google will go full throttle with Gemini in 2025 Aiming for 500 million monthly Gemini users Posts9 After the early signs of a rollout were spotted at the end of last year, it appears that Google is now widely introducing a new setting for Gemini that lets the AI assistant make calls and send texts when your screen is locked (via 9to5Google). However, unlike some of the Gemini extensions that have been added recently, this setting is not enabled by default. ✕ Remove Ads If you're okay with someone potentially being able to make calls and send messages without unlocking your phone, you can enable the new setting by tapping your profile icon in the top-right corner of the Gemini app. From there, go to Settings → Gemini on lock screen, then enable the toggle next to Make calls and send messages without unlocking. Close Make sure texting and calling extensions are enabled as well If you're not seeing the setting, force-stop the Gemini app and try again. Another thing to check is the set of extensions that make this possible, though these are enabled by default. To make sure the feature is usable, tap your profile icon in the Gemini app, choose Extensions, then see to it that both the Messages and Phone extensions are enabled. ✕ Remove Ads Related Gemini's newest extension finally makes it a decent Google Assistant alternative Is this the biggest nail in the Assistant coffin? Posts24 Now, you should be able to invoke the Gemini assistant from your lock screen and instruct it to "Call mom" or "Send a message to dad" without unlocking the phone first.

Google Gemini's new lock screen features make the AI even more useful -- here's what it can do

Google is making changes to Gemini that will make it much easier to use key features of your phone without having to unlock it first. Recently spotted by 9to5Google, it seems the ability to send messages or make calls from the lock screen via Gemini has been slowly rolling out to users, after initially appearing in an update in December. Updating to version 15.50+ of the Google app should allow you to find the "Make calls and send messages without unlocking" feature in the Settings app (see the image below). However, users will need to make sure that the Messages and Phone Gemini extensions are turned on within Gemini for the feature to work. This kind of feature can be very useful when you don't have a free hand or can't easily reach the phone to unlock the screen. It is especially useful in cold weather as you don't need to take off your glove and unlock the screen every time you want to make a call. As someone who has used the feature, I would recommend making sure your contact's names are distinct enough that it's easy for Gemini to find the person you intend to call. There are many great things about Google Gemini, but using them still requires you to actually unlock the phone. This isn't a unique problem, but it did raise the question of why you would use certain Gemini features when it was just as fast to do it yourself. However, this messaging ability adds some extra flexibility. Google has been working to make Gemini one of the best AIs on the market, and it certainly shows. For instance, Gemini Live has made the feeling of talking with Gemini much more natural, while the recent introduction of Gemini 2.0 improves how the AI works on your device, and even promises the eventual release of new AI agents.