What you need to know
- Currently, you can sync dismissed notification statuses between Pixel devices, but there’s a catch.
- Syncing only works between Pixel phones and tablets when you’re connected to Wi-Fi.
- In a future update, Google could add a toggle that enables cellular data use for notification syncing.
Google is building a multi-device ecosystem with the Pixel brand, and there were a few Android 15 tweaks that made the experience of using multiple Pixel phones and tablets better. One such feature automatically dismisses notifications from all your Pixel devices if you dismiss on either your Pixel phone or Pixel Tablet, and it’s quite handy. However, it only works over Wi-Fi, which isn’t very helpful if you’re dismissing notifications on your smartphone when you’re out and about.
The company is seemingly aware of this limitation and is testing an option to use cellular data to sync notifications, according to code strings spotted by Android Authority. The strings were spotted in version 1.0.687093228_arm64-v8a_release_phone of the Device Connectivity Service app. This is a Pixel-specific app that handles cross device services between Pixel phones behind the scenes. In it, there’s evidence that Google might one day let you use cellular data for notification syncing.
The toggle is simply described as letting users “use mobile network to sync when no Wi-Fi is connected.” It’s not visible publicly, but the functionality could be added in a future software update.
To date, notification syncing for Pixel devices has been limited to Wi-Fi connections only. “Dismiss notifications across Pixel devices syncs when each device is connected to Wi-Fi,” the fine print explains. This is likely to preserve battery life and cellular data usage. A toggle giving users the option to enable cellular use would be ideal for people who are willing to sacrifice the battery life hit or have unlimited data plans.
Although the Dismiss notifications across Pixel devices is exclusive to Pixel phones and tablets, Google is also working on more general Cross Device Services that bridge the gap between other Android brands. More recently, Cross Device Services came to Nothing phones.
For now, Pixel users will need to continue waiting for Wi-Fi to sync their dismissed notifications between their Pixel phones and tablets. However, this new development provides some hope that one day there might be a cellular option.
