Gemini app now lets you make calls & message without unlocking

Google’s work to add more basic features that make Gemini a good phone assistant continues today: it can now make calls and send messages without unlocking the device.

Update from 01/09/25: The “Make calls and send messages without unlocking” feature has been slowly rolling out in recent weeks, but should now be more widely available (Google app version 15.50+). Make sure Gemini Messages and Phone Extensionswidely circulated last month are also included.

Force stop the Gemini/Google app if you don’t already have it installed. As part of this change, the Google Assistant Features in Gemini page has been reduced to just six items.

This setting overrides Google Assistant’s lock screen settings, including lock screen settings for Assistant routines. As new features become available, some of them will automatically work on the lock screen.

Original 02.12.24: Under Gemini Settings > Gemini on Lock Screen, Google is introducing a new setting called “Make calls and send messages without unlocking.”

Under the equally new “Outgoing Calls and Messages” heading, the page explains how “you need to enable calling and messaging apps in Gemini for these features to work.” At the end of October, Google began releasing new Gemini extensions for “Phone” and “Messages”.

These extensions are not widely available yet, but this new option works without it if you return to the assistant. On a device that doesn’t have the “no unlock” option, I have to click “Please unlock to continue” (as shown below).

If the new setting is enabled, the call will be made immediately while my phone is still locked.

The “Make calls and send messages without unlocking” setting is not yet widely available and is still being rolled out. (Try force stopping the Google app.) We see this in the Google app. 15.48 beta after server side update.

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