Friday, February 3, 2017

Google Acknowledges a Bug That Prevents a Trusted Voice from Unlocking the Phone

Someone in the Pixel User Community of the Google Product Forums has discovered a bug that is happening with both the Pixel and the Pixel XL. This feature can be found in the Google application settings and it enables you to unlock your phone by saying the words "OK, Google." The feature is supposed to be trained to know your voice specifically, so that anyone else doesn't pick up your phone and have the ability to unlock it simply by saying OK, Google.

On the Pixel phones, it seems there's a bug that will lock the user out from this feature if it detects a wrong voice. It would make sense to think that this is actually a security measure and that Google simply wants to make sure the owner of the phone is present. But tapping on the notification that is presented doesn't do anything (when tapping on a notification will usually ask for your PIN, pattern or password to unlock the phone.

What is actually happening though, is that the Trusted Voice feature is turning off once a wrong voice is detected. This feature turns back on once the Pixel phone has been unlocked, so again, it would make sense to think that this is just an added security measure. However, a Google employee has acknowledged that this is not how it's supposed to work and developers have already identified a fix to the problem. They aren't sure when the fix will be implemented, but Orrin says he'll update the thread once it is ready.

Others in the thread are saying this is happening on both the Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P too (this could also be happening on other devices). Orrin does offer a workaround for the bug for those who need a fix immediately. You'll want to go into the Google application, then Settings and then Accounts & Privacy. From here, dive into the Google Activity Controls section and then Voice & Audio Activity section. You'll want to make sure this is set to "on" for all accounts on the device.

Source: Google Product Forums



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