Smart Lock is one of Android’s most underrated features and makes security less of a hassle. However, a recent bug keeps automatically disabling the ‘Trusted voice’ option, thus making “Ok Google” slightly less convenient. Fortunately, a fix has now been identified and is rolling out soon.

Trusted voice allows the “Ok Google” hotword to act as a password to unlock your device. It works by seeing if the uttered phrase at the start of a command matches your previously trained voice model. This is particularly useful when asking Google to perform a voice command that has a visual element, like surfacing images or getting directions.

In the past few months, several users on multiple devices have reported that the Trusted voice toggle located in settings of the Google app keeps turning off automatically. Even after re-enabling, the toggle would later be disabled. As such, getting the result of a voice command would require that users first enter a password.

Fortunately, a Google employee in the Pixel User Community notes that “the team has identified a fix, and it will be implemented soon.”Anecdotally, I have found that with the latest Google app beta (version 6.12), the Trusted voice toggle always stays enabled.

In the mean time, the following workaround should work until the patch is rolled out:

Go to Google app -> setting -> Accounts & privacy -> Google activity controls -> Voice & Audio Activity -> make sure it’s set to “on” Ensure this setting is “on” for all accounts on the device

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