Pixel Watch Gen 1 DND & Bedtime mode sync with Pixel phone feature still missing for some, but there's a potential workaround

08:55 am (IST): All Google Pixel Watch Gen 1 users are finally receiving the ‘DND and Bedtime mode sync with Pixel phone’ feature, which they were waiting for since the latest December Feature Drop update but only some had it available until now.

Original article follows:

Even after the December Pixel Feature Drop update, there are users for whom the expected option to sync their Pixel Watch Gen 1 ‘DND’ and ‘Bedtime mode’ settings with a Pixel phone is missing or not available.

Among the multiple features included in the latest Pixel Feature Drop update, there is this useful one that makes the user experience more convenient for owners of a Pixel phone and a Pixel Watch Gen 1. Basically, it allows them to not have to manually tweak the DND and Bedtime mode settings on each device separately.

However, some people are reporting that the ‘DND and Bedtime mode sync with a Pixel phone’ feature is still missing on their Pixel Watch Gen 1 after updating.

For reference, this option comes with the Pixel Watch 2 as standard, and the December Pixel Feature Drop brought it to the original model. Normally, it should be available from the Pixel Watch app notification settings, as shown in the screenshot below:

However, this is not the case for several people, and there are even reports where, while the option is available, it is not working correctly after enabling it. Some of those affected have tried to contact the Google support team directly, but even that did not help resolve the problem.

Reports indicate that those Pixel Watch Gen 1 users who have the ‘DND’ and ‘Bedtime mode’ sync with a Pixel phone available meet at least one of two conditions:

• They received the Pixel Watch app v2.2.0.585985448 udpate
• They linked their Pixel Watch app with a Pixel Watch 2, as well as with a Pixel Watch 1

In the first case, it seems that very few people have received that particular update, and the APK is currently impossible to find anywhere. At the time of writing this story, it is not available in the Google Play Store or the reliable APK Mirror repository.

In the second case, it seems that linking a Pixel Watch 2 with your Pixel Watch app unlocks the feature, allowing you to use it on a Pixel Watch Gen 1 as well. So, if it is possible, you can try to do this as a potential workaround.

Based on all of the above, the origin of the problem could be an initial limited release of the feature to a small number of users through the Pixel Watch app v2.2.0.585985448 udpate. The company could be doing this to test that everything works correctly before a mass rollout. However, this is not yet confirmed, since there is no official word on the matter yet, but the clues point to it.

That said, there are several users confused or upset since Google promoted the rollout of the feature with the announcement of the December Pixel Feature Drop update. This would not be the first time that a new feature announced by Google is not available to everyone after an update, having to wait a few days (or weeks) for it to reach everyone.

Let’s hope that it won’t take long for the feature to reach all the users who have been eagerly waiting for it since its announcement to improve the experience with their Pixel Watch Gen 1.