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Before the calendar flipped over to 2022, Google announced the December Feature Drop. With it, a lot of new features arrived for older Pixel devices, along with enabling a new feature or two for the most recent Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. One such feature was the ability to enable and use Ultra-Wideband (UWB) on the Pixel 6 Pro.
After the Feature Drop was announced, the update rollout was pretty much slow and non-existent, leaving many of us to side-load the update instead. However, Google then followed that up by announcing the Feature Drop was being delayed until the “end of January” for various reasons.
What is Ultra-Wideband (UWB)?
Ultra-Wideband (UWB) support was first introduced at Google I/O 2021, alongside the announcement of Android 12. With UWB, Google claims this technology provides “accurate ranging and spatial orientation”. That may sound like a bit of complicated jibberish, but the reality is that with UWB available on your phone, you’ll be able to essentially turn your Pixel 6 Pro into a car key.
Instead of needing to rely on NFC and physically tapping the handle of your car door, UWB makes it so that your car can be unlocked whenever your phone and car are close enough. UWB also provides better reliability and enhancements for Android’s Nearby Share functionality.
How to toggle Ultra-Wideband (UWB) on the Pixel 6 Pro
Surprisingly, if you have already received, or side-loaded, the December Feature Drop, Google has made it possible for you to toggle Ultra-Wideband (UWB) support on or off. Here’s how you can do so, right from your Pixel 6 Pro:
- Open the Settings app.
- Select Connected devices.
- Tap Connection preferences.
- Scroll down and tap the toggle next to Ultra-Wideband (UWB).
Regardless of whether you are turning the feature on or off, there won’t be any additional prompts displayed. However, as 9to5Google points out, if you happen to turn on Airplane Mode, you will not be able to enable the Ultra-Wideband chip manually. Instead, you’ll need to take your phone out of Airplane Mode in order to get things back in working order.
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