Control smarthome devices from quick settings, that’s how it works

Since Android 11, smart equipment can be easily controlled from the power menu. You no longer have to open the apps of your smart home equipment. Google changes the location of the smart home control with Android 12 – you will now find the ‘control’ in the quick settings. Androidworld explains how to use this smart home control.

Device Control in Android

Do you have smart bulbs from Philips, a security camera from Nest and a smart lock from Nuki? From Android 11 you no longer have to keep the individual apps from the manufacturers on your phone. Devices that are linked to your Google account can easily be operated in the device control panel in the power menu of Android 11. You can switch equipment on and off in the menu, but often other options are also available – such as setting colors for your smart lamps.

However, not every manufacturer has chosen to implement the power menu from Android 11. This applies, for example, to Samsung and Xiaomi phones. If you have a Samsung or Xiaomi phone, you can already go to the quick settings for operating smart equipment. From Android 12, Google follows the setup of Samsung and Xiaomi by adding a tile in the notification panel for device control.

Devices can be controlled via this panel. Specifically, this concerns devices that are connected to, for example, the Google Home app. Not all apps currently work in the device control panel. Later in this article we explain how you can link apps to this panel. As an example, we use the Xiaomi Home app, in addition to the Home app that is linked by default.

Set up device control

To set up the device control panel, your phone must be running on Android 12. The steps as we present them below are specific to phones with ‘stock Android’. Many phones from Motorola, OnePlus, Nokia and ‘of course’ from the Pixel series will probably work with the step-by-step plan outlined below.

1. Open it notification panel from your phone
2. Search for a tile named Device Control
3. If this is already there, then you are finished. Like this not, then continue with step 4
4. Click bottom left side on the edit icon of the quick settings
5. Find the tile Device Control and swipe it to the desired spot
6. Click on the top arrow next To process

If the tile is already there in step 3, you do not need to take any further action. If you can’t find the tile yet, you’ll need to add it to continue with the steps below. Below we explain how to add an app like Xiaomi Home to the control panel.

1. click on Device Control in the quick settings
2. Continue your way through top right on the three dots to click
3. Then choose the option Add Controls
4. Select the option at the bottom View other apps
5. Choose for example Xiaomi Home
6. Select the devices you want operate

Google then automatically links the devices to the panel. However, you will always have to switch between the Google and Xiaomi Home apps at the top for operation. Google does not offer an option to combine devices from different apps in one tab.

Do you ever use the control panel in Android? What do you think of the tab location change? Be sure to let us know in the comments at the bottom of the article.