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Android’s Smart Lock feature is amazing when it functions properly. When your Android device “knows” it is in your hands, there is no need for you to enter your PIN; you’d just unlock it and go. However, Smart Lock — in particular — its Trusted Places feature, might occasionally be difficult to use.
The majority of Smart Lock’s features are unbeatable. The most useful aspect of the Smart Lock feature, Trusted Devices, Trusted Face, On-Body Detection, and Voice Match, has the most issues. When you’re at home, Trusted Places should typically leave your phone unlocked, but many users are dissatisfied that it doesn’t.
In this guide, we’ll show you several ways to fix issues with the Smart Lock and Trusted Places features on Android smartphones. Take note of our helpful tips and instructions, and find out which ones help you best in troubleshooting the issue.
How Do I Fix Issues With Smart Lock and Trusted Places?
The troubleshooting procedures listed below are in escalating order, so we advise that you start with the first one, give Smart Lock another try, and check whether Trusted Places is fixed. If not, then you can move on to the next step. Ensure that you follow the steps in order because they get progressively more complicated but all presume you’ve already attempted the previous ones.
Step 1: Verify that GPS is on
Making sure that GPS is turned on is the first and easiest step. Since Trusted Places only has a radius of about 50 meters and other location reporting techniques aren’t as reliable as your phone’s actual GPS sensor, Trusted Places depends on your phone’s reported location being entirely accurate.
Navigate to the main Settings menu on your phone to enable GPS. Use the box at the top of the Settings page to look for “Location” because the precise location from there may differ depending on your device. Click on “Location Method” or “Locating Method” and then “High Accuracy” to open the Location menu and enable GPS.
Step 2: Ensure that Location is Updated
It’s possible that your phone’s location information hasn’t been updated recently. In this scenario, Smart Lock won’t function because Trusted Places need a somewhat recent location report in order to unlock your phone.
Launch Google Maps, then tap the compass icon in the lower right corner to lock in your position. Your phone will get an updated location report when the screen zooms over your present position (this is the blue dot in Google Maps).
Step 3: Make sure other devices are disabled from Google Location Reporting
Go to Settings -> Google, scroll down, and then choose “Location” to correct this. Ensure that only your current device is enabled, then select “Google Location History” (you might need to touch “Advanced” before you see this choice).
Step 4: Disconnect Other Google Devices
Similarly, if Trusted Places is using data from a different Google account together with or instead of your primary account, the feature may stop functioning.
If you have multiple Google accounts signed in on the same phone, Smart Lock can be using the wrong account to get location data because you can’t select which account to use for its features.
The only thing you can do in this situation is to delete all your other Google accounts from your device. Any non-primary Google account can be chosen by going to Settings -> Accounts. On the following screen, select “Remove account,” then check the box to confirm your decision.
Step 5: Ensure that Play Services has Location Permission Enabled
A system program named Google Play Services serves as the foundation for all Smart Lock functions. Trusted Places requires this app to be able to see the location of your smartphone in order to function.
Go to Settings -> Apps and choose “All Apps” from the menu to confirm that Play Services may access your device’s settings. After selecting “Google Play Services” from the drop-down menu, press “Permissions” and ensure that the “Location” toggle is turned on.
Step 6: Ensure that Play Services can Adjust System Settings
When Smart Lock is turned on, Play Services can unlock your smartphone by using a unique permission labeled “Modify System Settings.” By typing “Modify System Settings” into your Settings app and selecting the top result, you can verify that Play Services has this permission. Choose “Google Play Services” from the list that appears after that, then check that the toggle is turned on on the following screen.
Step 7: Verify that Play Services is not Battery-Optimized
The majority of users won’t be affected by this troubleshooting step, but if you’ve applied a hack like this one to reduce Play Services battery drain, then Trusted Places might not be functioning properly because its supporting software (Google Play Services) is set to Doze Mode.
Go to Settings, perform a search for “Battery Optimization,” and then press the first result to confirm. From there, search for Google Play Services by scrolling through the list; if it appears on the main menu, you’re good to go. If it isn’t, select “All Apps” from the menu at the screen’s top, then find Play Services and change its setting to “Not Optimized.”
Step 8: Remove Trusted Places and Re-Add It
Access the address you’re experiencing issues with by going to Settings -> Security -> Smart Lock -> Trusted Places and tapping it. To remove this address, first choose “Edit” from the menu and then hit the trash can sign in the upper right corner of the next screen. Verify your selection on the prompt.
Restart your phone after you’re done there. Return to the Trusted Places menu afterward, select “Home,” and then type the address once more.
Step 9: Change the Location Address
Most of us have allowed Google to use location information from Google Maps to automatically calculate our home and workplace addresses. This is where the address originated from if your trusted location is marked as “Home” or “Work,” and there’s a possibility that Google’s mapping system just contains incorrect metadata for that particular address.
Turn off this location by selecting “Turn off this location” after selecting your default address under Settings -> Security -> Smart Lock -> Trusted Places as a solution. When the location indicator is over an area extremely near the address where you want Smart Lock to activate, touch “Add trusted place” and then pan and zoom the given map. Trusted Places will still function while you’re there as long as your destination address is located inside the blue dotted circle.
To make a location a trusted location, tap “Select this location” and then “Select.” By manually doing this, you may add coordinates to your trusted location, which is more trustworthy than just a street address.
Step 10: Erase Data from Google Play Services
This “nuclear option” is the final step in troubleshooting. To disable all Smart Lock features, go through each menu item starting with Settings -> Security -> Smart Lock. Ensure that your Trusted Places are also turned off.
Go to Settings -> Apps next. From the drop-down option, choose “All Apps.” Scroll through to discover Google Play Services. After tapping it, select “Storage.” Tap “Clear Storage” (or “Clear Data”) on the following screen, then click “Yes” when prompted. Restart your phone as soon as possible. Afterward, turn on your Smart Lock features once more, and they should start operating at last.
In summary, you can easily fix any issues you’re experiencing with the Smart Lock and Trusted Places features. Just follow the instructions and tips in this guide carefully, and you’ll get it fixed.
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Author:Joan Agie
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Updates to apps typically introduce new features, but they can sometimes disrupt existing features or bring about unwelcome changes. Unfortunately, it becomes far more difficult to keep your remaining apps updated if you’re hanging onto the older version of an app because you don’t want to allow the update.
Granted, you could access the Play Store page for the app and turn off “Automatic Updates,” but doing so has drawbacks. If you ever visit the My Apps section of the Play Store and select “Update All,” you will be prompted to decide whether to update that specific app, and it’s quite easy to choose incorrectly at this point. Additionally, you’ll always be able to see in the My Apps section if there are any updates available.
Not to worry, in this guide, you’ll learn an easy way to disable updates permanently for any specific app on your Android smartphone. So, keep reading to find out.
Note This: This technique ought to stop any user-installed app from getting updates on the Play Store, but it won’t stop pre-installed apps from getting updates unless you’re rooted.
In essence, you will be re-sideloading an app that you yourself signed. You must delete the official version of the app before signing it yourself and installing it again to stop updates because Android won’t install a differently-signed software on top of a different one (even if everything else is identical).
Therefore, removing the official version is the only way to stop updates for pre-installed system programs. You can only do it if your device is rooted; if it is, all you need to do is remove the APK file from /system/app or /system/priv-app. No root access is required, though, if you’re carrying this out for a self-installed app.
How Do I Disable App Updates Permanently?
Now to the important part, which is how to disable unwanted app updates permanently, pay attention to the following instructions:
- Step 1: The real version of the program that you want to keep permanently must be obtained first. This first step can be skipped if you already have the version in question installed on your device and you’ve been avoiding updates.
If you’ve already upgraded, you’ll obviously need to start by first uninstalling the updated app. Afterward, you need to install the version you’d prefer to keep. Look for the application on APKMirror, then sideload the older APK to locate older versions.
- Step 2: Two applications are all you’ll need to complete this procedure on your phone. So, the next step of this procedure is to install both apps. You’ll use the first tool, APK Extractor, to extract a copy of the program version that you want to keep installed. You will use the second program, APK Signer Orijinal, to stop the app from upgrading.
Search for both of these apps on the Play Store using their names to get them. Alternatively, if you’re reading through this guide on your mobile device, simply tap any of the links below:
APK Extractor
App Signer Orijinal
- Step 3: Open APK Extractor next. Scroll down to the bottom of the main screen and choose the app you wish to stop updating. If asked, press “Allow” on the window to grant the app access to your storage. The app will then extract its APK file after you’ve once again chosen the program whose updates you want to block.
APK Extractor can now be removed if you’d like because its work is finished.
- Step 4: After completing the previous step, press “Choose In/Out” on the APK Signer app after opening it. Next, select the program you extracted in Step 3 after opening the ExtractedApks folder.
After the APK has been added to the queue, pick all of the choices, then click “Sign the file” near the screen’s bottom. You won’t need the APK Signer app anymore once the file has been signed; this process could take up to a minute.
- Step 5: The version of the software you currently have running needs to be removed next. Your personally signed version cannot be installed on top of the current app because this version bears the developer’s official signature.
So, long-press the app icon and choose “Uninstall,” or long-press the icon and drag it to the “Uninstall” button at the top of your home screen.
- Step 6: Next, locate the ExtractedApks folder in your internal storage using any file browser program. Here, you’ll see two APK files: the original, which you extracted in step three, and the version you signed in step four.
Since the names will be extremely similar, long-press it and select “Rename” to verify that you’re installing the correct one. Make sure the APK file name contains the word “signed” at the end. If not, look at the other APK.
Make sure Unknown Sources is turned on once you are certain you have located the signed APK. You may then just tap the file to open it, at which point you will be requested to install the software that has been specially signed for you. After pressing “Install,” click “Open.”
- Step 7: Finally, open your Play Store app and navigate to the “My Apps” section. You’ll notice that no updates are available even though you have the earlier version of the program installed if the procedure was completed without a hitch. Now, no matter how often you touch the “Update All” button, your customized APK won’t be updated. If you like, you can even set up automatic updates.
In summary, keeping your preferred version of any app you like just got so much easier with the instructions we’ve provided in this guide. You’ve essentially tricked the Play Store into thinking you don’t have that specific app loaded anymore by signing the APK with your own unique signature, and this will stop any unwanted updates.
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