Turn the Pixel Stand Charger Into a Smart Home Controller
I love my Google Pixel Stand. It works great with both Android and iPhone – yes, I charge both – and gives me the fastest wireless charging I could get among a variety of similar stands that do the same (10W Android; 7.5W presumably iPhone). And now, thanks to the update, you can even tinker with various smart home devices the next time you place the Pixel on the specified stand.
I confess when I first read that the Pixel Stand was getting an “update” I was a little curious. I don’t think the physical rack gets any updates over the air. I’m not even sure how this is possible given its construction. Rather, it’s the Pixel Stand feature in Android 11 that gets some new features. And playing with it doesn’t require you to jump over big hoops.
Just open the app “Settings” on your compatible phone Pixel (Pixel 3/3 XL, Pixel 4/4 XL, Pixel 5), on which the latest version of Android 11 . Click on ” Connected Devices” and find your Pixel Stand. Click on the gear icon on the right.
You should now see a new option at the bottom called Home Control. Click on it.
Then enable “Connected Devices” using the slider.
Then you will see the “Add Account” option . Tap on it, select the account associated with your main google activity, and start tapping to add up to four connected devices that you want to have access to when your phone is charging.
It should be noted that you just get separate devices, no matter how you set them up differently in different applications. This means I need to select individual smart bulbs, not any rooms I created with the bulbs app, Google Home, etc.
Once you’ve made your selection, click the blue Enable button. Ready. You can now return to using your Pixel as usual. Once you place it back on the Pixel Stand, simply tap your phone once or twice to reveal the smart home controls. You can then click on them to turn your devices on and off.