Has anybody found a good way to turn the Pixel 2 XL flashlight on when the screen is off?

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I recently obtained a Pixel 2 XL after almost a decade of being exclusive to Motorola. So far I'm pretty happy with this phone but there is one thing that is REALLY bugging me. The flashlight. I am so used to doing the chop motion to activate my flashhlight instantly. I have had this phone for less than a week and I've found myself needing this ability over a dozen times now. I've Google searched this question and only see posts about it on various websites from 2017. It's well into 2018 now. Has anybody found A GOOD way to do this? I've tried some suggested apps and they don't seem to work right. It's like there will be a significant delay, or you have to light up the lock screen first, etc. At this point it doesn't even have to be a chop motion. Something like pressing the power button twice for camera kind of thing would be fine with me. I don't know why this is such a hard thing to accomplish with what is so far a really great device.
 

Mike Dee

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I recently obtained a Pixel 2 XL after almost a decade of being exclusive to Motorola. So far I'm pretty happy with this phone but there is one thing that is REALLY bugging me. The flashlight. I am so used to doing the chop motion to activate my flashhlight instantly. I have had this phone for less than a week and I've found myself needing this ability over a dozen times now. I've Google searched this question and only see posts about it on various websites from 2017. It's well into 2018 now. Has anybody found A GOOD way to do this? I've tried some suggested apps and they don't seem to work right. It's like there will be a significant delay, or you have to light up the lock screen first, etc. At this point it doesn't even have to be a chop motion. Something like pressing the power button twice for camera kind of thing would be fine with me. I don't know why this is such a hard thing to accomplish with what is so far a really great device.

Activate Google Assistant and say "flashlight on"
 

czar_droid

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I know that command. But let me give a scenario. It's dark in my bedroom and I need to go to work but I can't find my left sock. I don't want to wake my wife and kids up by speaking out loud. I'm in a hurry. I just need to very quickly turn on my flashhlight, retrieve the sock, and turn off the light. All faster than it would be to say those phrases out loud or to open the phone and manually turn the light on. With my old phone this could be done by chopping the phone. At this point I'd settle for pressing a button twice, like how the camera opens....
 

Mike Dee

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I know that command. But let me give a scenario. It's dark in my bedroom and I need to go to work but I can't find my left sock. I don't want to wake my wife and kids up by speaking out loud. I'm in a hurry. I just need to very quickly turn on my flashhlight, retrieve the sock, and turn off the light. All faster than it would be to say those phrases out loud or to open the phone and manually turn the light on. With my old phone this could be done by chopping the phone. At this point I'd settle for pressing a button twice, like how the camera opens....

Whispering works. I also find it's not a problem to use my fingerprint sensor to unlock, swipe down and press the flashlight icon. There's another thread here somewhere about this exact topic and there are no options like you asking for.
 

czar_droid

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I'm still getting used to the differences. I actually never intended to get this phone. I was content with my Moto Z². It shut down last week and would not turn back on. Just suddenly gone. Verizon offered me this Pixel 2xl as a replacement, said they couldn't give me another Z².. I have been searching for the flashlight thing. I just finally decided to ask now because all of the other people asking this question were back in 2017 when the phone was new. I was just hoping that there was a solution by now like an app or a launcher, something. It just seems so incredibly simple of a request. All phones should have this feature is my opinion.
 

Mike Dee

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I'm still getting used to the differences. I actually never intended to get this phone. I was content with my Moto Z². It shut down last week and would not turn back on. Just suddenly gone. Verizon offered me this Pixel 2xl as a replacement, said they couldn't give me another Z².. I have been searching for the flashlight thing. I just finally decided to ask now because all of the other people asking this question were back in 2017 when the phone was new. I was just hoping that there was a solution by now like an app or a launcher, something. It just seems so incredibly simple of a request. All phones should have this feature is my opinion.

I had it on my Droid Maxx but always forgot to use it
 

czar_droid

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Do you mean something like Power Button Flashlight https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ru.irk.ang.balsan.powertorch
Or if you want shake functionality you can try Flashlight https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.peacock.flashlight

Yes that's what I mean. I've tried these apps and have had issues with each of them. I think this is something that S Pixel needs to fix itself. I'd trade squeezing the side of my phone for a flashlight instead of assistant any day. I never have been big on using assistant type things anyway.
 

GSDer

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dmark44

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I feel your pain, OP. People don't understand how convenient that chop chop is, especially when you've been used to it. I've been there, looking under the bed in the dark and on one hand and 2 knees, and only having the one hand free.

Unfortunately the lumos command seems to take a few seconds to activate, so the delay can be annoying. Remapping the squeeze with a 3rd party app will probably be the best way to go.

The brilliance of the flashlight and camera actions Motorola uses is not only are they quick but are so easy to do with taking any attention away from what you are focused on. No need to look at your phone at all, free your other hand etc.
 

Mike Dee

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I feel your pain, OP. People don't understand how convenient that chop chop is, especially when you've been used to it. I've been there, looking under the bed in the dark and on one hand and 2 knees, and only having the one hand free.

Unfortunately the lumos command seems to take a few seconds to activate, so the delay can be annoying. Remapping the squeeze with a 3rd party app will probably be the best way to go.

The brilliance of the flashlight and camera actions Motorola uses is not only are they quick but are so easy to do with taking any attention away from what you are focused on. No need to look at your phone at all, free your other hand etc.

From people who have used those features and don't miss it it's not always about a lack of understanding. This is true of many features that dont exist on all phones or get removed in subsequent models. Not everyone likes the same things.
 

Kizzy Catwoman

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Odd...it's working here
Hmmm. That's all I get
8c2438ed6179ca60fd2cb9ad8c612e6b.jpg
 

dmark44

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From people who have used those features and don't miss it it's not always about a lack of understanding. This is true of many features that dont exist on all phones or get removed in subsequent models. Not everyone likes the same things.
Yeah, I understand all of that. And I know there are people that don't use a phone flashlight much, and there were Motorola owners that just couldn't get accustomed to the chop-chop motion and don't like it.

I only made that statement because some alternatives like 2-handed operations were presented as just as convenient, and while they are good alternatives they don't match the one-handed ease the OP is looking for.

Like the OP, I find myself making use of my phone flashlight a good bit. Now that I am a 2 XL user, definitely feel like I'm fumbling for it more than when I had my Moto X. Or make sure to turn it on before I get into an odd position.

But I do love my Pixel, and I knew what I was gaining and what I would miss. The fact those gestures originated from a Google-owned Motorola, and Google has adopted the wrist-twist gesture for switching cameras (not nearly as useful a use-case) I could see a future of Google picking up these gestures if Lenovo/Motorola ever abandons them.
 

GibMcFragger

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I just press the power button to wake up the phone, then swipe down the shade, then turn on the flashlight. I don't have to unlock the phone first. I can access the shade with it locked.
 

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