Is your Pixel phone missing Screen-off Fingerprint Unlock? How to enable it in Android 16 Beta 4

Every Tensor-powered Pixel phone, with the exception of the two foldables, has a fingerprint scanner underneath the display. Until recently, the Pixel’s under-display fingerprint scanner only functioned when the screen was on. Google finally addressed that limitation with a new feature called Screen-off Fingerprint Unlock in a previous Android 16 beta. Or so we thought. Google has mysteriously removed the feature’s toggle in the latest beta, suggesting the company won’t launch it in the upcoming stable release. Despite the missing toggle, the Screen-off Fingerprint Unlock feature is still working for those who previously enabled it. Furthermore, we discovered a way to enable it for users who didn’t get a chance to turn it on previously.

The Screen-off Fingerprint Unlock feature lets Pixel phones use fingerprint unlock even when their screens are off. In other words, the feature makes the fingerprint scanner always active, so all you have to do to unlock your phone when the screen is off is press your finger on the scanner area. Previously, the only way to keep the fingerprint scanner active at all times was to enable the always-on display, which keeps the display (and thus the fingerprint scanner) always powered on.

Google initially introduced the Screen-off Fingerprint Unlock feature in the second developer preview of Android 16, but it was restricted to the Google Pixel 9 series. However, with the release of the third Android 16 beta, Google expanded the Screen-off Fingerprint Unlock feature to all Pixel phones. Thus, it seemed like the feature was surely going to make it into the upcoming stable release of Android 16.

Unfortunately, the Screen-off Fingerprint Unlock setting has been removed in Android 16 Beta 4. The setting was previously found under Settings > Security & privacy > Device unlock > Face & Fingerprint Unlock > Fingerprint Unlock, but it’s no longer available in Android 16 Beta 4, even on my Pixel 9 Pro. Since Android 16 Beta 4 is the last scheduled release in the Android 16 beta program, it’s possible the feature won’t be available in the upcoming stable release. It’s also possible the feature will return in the stable release, but if so, we’re not sure why it was removed in Beta 4.

The Screen-off Fingerprint Unlock toggle that was introduced in Android 16 DP2 is now missing in Android 16 Beta 4.

Curiously, the Screen-off Fingerprint Unlock feature still works for those who previously enabled it in Beta 3. Digging deeper, we discovered that the feature hasn’t actually been removed from Android 16 Beta 4, but the setting to enable it has been. We also discovered that it’s possible to manually toggle the feature using a hidden command.

Simply set up ADB access and then run the following command from your PC to enable Screen-off Fingerprint Unlock:

To disable the feature, run this ADB command instead:

In order to resurface the setting for the feature, you’ll need to root your Pixel device and then install a Runtime Resource Overlay (RRO) that flips the framework’s config_screen_off_udfps_enabled flag from false to true.

If you prefer not to use ADB commands or root your phone, then you’ll have to hope that Google brings the setting back in the stable release of Android 16. Alternatively, you can simply enable the always-on display feature to keep the fingerprint scanner active at all times, but note that this increases battery usage a bit.