A frustrating limitation of Google’s Pixel phones is that the fingerprint scanner does not work when the screen is off. Even the Pixel 9 series, which comes with a more advanced and secure ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, has this quirk. This limitation requires you to either wake your Pixel’s display or have Always-on Display turned on in order to unlock the phone by simply placing your thumb on the fingerprint scanner. Fortunately, Android 16 will permanently solve this annoyance on all Pixel phones.
Google added a feature for “Screen-off Fingerprint Unlock” to the Pixel 9 series in Android 16 DP2. The feature, as its name suggests, lets you unlock your Pixel 9 by simply placing your thumb on the fingerprint sensor, without needing to first wake up the display.
Since they utilize an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner and can function without light passing through the display, many assumed that the feature would stay exclusive to Google’s latest Pixels. However, this is not true; Android 16 Beta 3 extends the feature to older Pixels as well.
On your Pixel 8 or older device with the latest Android 16 beta, navigate to Settings > Security & privacy > Device unlock > Face & Fingerprint Unlock > Fingerprint Unlock, and you will find the “Screen-off Fingerprint Unlock” option.
After activation, the display of your Pixel will automatically illuminate when you put your finger on the scanner, and the device will unlock if it detects the correct fingerprint. This is precisely how the fingerprint unlock feature operates on Android phones from brands like Samsung, Xiaomi, and others. The only exception was Google, which necessitated the additional step of manually turning on the display to enable the fingerprint scanner.
A minor adjustment that will improve the unlocking experience of your Pixel
If you have the Always-on Display (AOD) feature turned on for your Pixel, this new feature may not be very useful to you, as the fingerprint scanner is still active in AOD mode.
This would make unlocking your Pixel phone more seamless and bring the experience closer to that of other Android phones, although it is a small change.
Android 16 is set to be released in Q2 2025, which is earlier than the usual timeframe, meaning that Pixel owners won’t have to wait long for the enhanced fingerprint unlocking experience.
