With all the high-tech magic available on today’s smartphones, the simplest and most practical tool is perhaps the flashlight. If you have a Google Pixel model, it’s easier to turn your flashlight on and off from anywhere.
On Android 12, you can swipe down from the top of the lock screen to open quick settings and toggle the flashlight toggle. You can do the same on the home screen or any app, but it might take two swipes or two fingers if the flashlight isn’t immediately visible. If you don’t mind talking to Google Assistant, this might be a more convenient way to switch your flashlight.
However, both options are not as convenient as a flashlight, they all have simple on/off switches. Third party apps like Shake Torch can help by giving you another shortcut to toggle your phone’s rear LED, but Google has finally provided a better option with the Android 13 update.
Similar to Back Tap for iOS, Quick Tap lets you activate shortcuts to apps and activities by quickly double-tapping the back of your Android device, but this is only available on Pixel 4a (5G) and newer models. If that’s what you have, it’s easy to set up a new favorite gesture.
Step 1: Open Quick Access Settings
To get started, open the Settings app, go to the System section, select the Gestures menu, and then tap on “Quick press to launch actions.”
Step 2: Install Quick Tap to Switch Flashlight
Turn on the “Use Quick Tap”toggle at the top if it’s not already on, then scroll and select the “Toggle Flashlight”option. That’s all.
Advice. If you later find the double-tap gesture too sensitive, turn on Require Stronger Touches to prevent accidental flashlight firing.
Step 3Turn on/off the flashlight
Now all you have to do is double-tap the back of your phone to turn on the flashlight, even if the screen is locked. Repeat the action to turn it off.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that your flashlight is still on, such as when you’re outside in bright sunshine or whenever you accidentally turn on the light. To help with this, Google also has a “At a Glance”feature for Pixels that has a flashlight notification added as of June 2022.
If it’s on, you’ll see a “Flashlight on”alert on your home screen or lock screen, and tapping on the widget will turn off the flashlight.
If you don’t see it, open Settings and search for “look”. Select Brief from the results for Pixel Launcher. Make sure it’s turned on in your home settings, tap the gear next to it, and turn on the Flashlight option if it’s turned off.
Other ways to switch flashlight
If you’d rather use Quick Tap for other purposes, such as opening a specific app or feature within an app, there are a few alternatives that are easy enough as well. These will be your methods if you have a Google Pixel 4a or older.
- Quick settings tile: Swipe down from the top of the lock screen (it must be active) to open quick settings and toggle the flashlight toggle. Do the same on the home screen or in any app, but it may take two swipes or two fingers if the flashlight tile isn’t immediately visible. You can edit your tiles to move the flashlight to the first row for faster access.
- Google Assistant: It’s pretty easy if you choose Google Assistant. Just say, “Ok Google, turn on your flashlight.”You will then have an on-screen switch to turn it off again. This method also works if your screen is locked if Google Assistant is set to work with a locked screen.
- Magic Spells: If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you can say “OK Google, lumos”to get Google Assistant to turn on the flashlight. The rest of the method is exactly the same as the Google Assistant method, except you can use the “nox”command to turn it off.
