Android 10 has been around for two months now, at least for Google Pixel owners who picked up the first release in early September. Since the OS arrived, it has been great for most people, but this isn’t to say things are perfect for everyone.

Over time, a few annoying issues have popped up, including the Pixel 3a hissing sound, the persistent roaming icon on Verizon units, PIN authentication bug, app shortcuts bug, ambient display flickers, and dead sensor issue, among others.

Google-Pixel-4
Google Pixel 4

While addressing these issues, Google is also expected to add more features to Android 10. One such feature is Rules, a feature that is basically a super-limited edition of what Tasker does with automating our devices.

Android 10 Rules first appeared in the beta testing phase but didn’t make it to the final release. A couple of weeks ago, the feature started showing up on some Google Pixel phones, suggesting that it was a server-side update.

Apparently, the feature is continuing to show up on more Pixel phones. It’s unclear how long it will take for everyone to get Android 10 Rules enabled on their Pixel phone, but for those who can’t wait, you can start using Rules right now, albeit with a catch.

Google-Pixel-and-Pixel-XL
Original Google Pixel and Pixel XL

The catch here is that you need to have a rooted Google Pixel phone in order for this trick to work. You are also warned to stay off this route if you have never edited the data files below as you might end up messing up your device.

Below are the steps to enable Android 10 Rules on any rooted Google Pixel phone:

1. Using any file explorer (which supports navigation in rooted folders), go to /data/data/com.google.android.settings.intelligence/shared_prefs folder.

2. Open the file SettingsGoogleIntelligenceSharedPrefFile.xml and change all flags value containing RoutinesPrototype in its name to true. (Except for the debug one, which you probably don’t need). Save the file.

3. Now force stop Settings and Settings Suggestion app from Apps & Notifications menu.

4. Now open Settings and search for rules. You should be able to see the rule menu over there.

5. To start showing Rules inside settings under System, run the following commands from a terminal:

– First enable superuser by running “su”.

– Then run “pm enable com.google.android.settings.intelligence/.modules.routines.impl.settings.RoutinesSettingsActivity”

Source

Note that you should run the commands without quotes. Also worth noting is that you don’t have to go all through this if you don’t have a rooted Pixel and you can be a little more patient. As noted earlier, Google seems to be silently enabling Android 10 Rules and soon it will be enabled on your unit too.

But for those who already have rooted Pixel phones, there you have it.

PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.

Hillary Keverenge
2009 Posts

Tech has been my playground for over a decade. While the Android journey began early, it truly took flight with the revolutionary Lollipop update. Since then, it's been a parade of Android devices (with a sprinkle of iOS), culminating in a mostly happy marriage with Google's smart home ecosystem. Expect insightful articles and explorations of the ever-evolving world of Android and Google products coupled with occasional rants on the Nest smart home ecosystem.

Next article View Article

[Updated] Instagram crashing on all Android phones, but there are workarounds

Here's the crux of the article in video form: New updates are being added at the bottom of this story……. Original story from (June 5, 2018) follows: We're...
Jul 10, 2023 6 Min Read