Control smart home devices with the Favourites widget

The Favourites widget is a Public Preview feature. Join Public Preview to try out the feature.

You can access your smart home devices using the Favourites widget. Your preferred devices are a tap away from the Home screen. The Favourites widget is only available on Android 12 or later.

Before you can set up your Favourites widget, you must first add a home and set up Google devices in your Home app. You can also add other compatible smart home products, like lights, cameras and Matter-enabled devices. Once your devices have been set up, you can add them to your Favourites list.

For added flexibility, you can sync the devices and actions in your widget with your Home app Favourites list or select your own list that is unique to the widget. You can also add multiple widgets to your home screen.

Create or add a home in the Home app

Open the Google Home app .
Tap Settings Add .
Select Home.
Follow the on-screen steps.

Tip: You can have up to five homes in your account.

Set up Favourites in the Home app

To change which actions or devices you have on Favourites, scroll down and tap Edit .
- To add more tiles, tick the box next to the tile.
- To remove tiles, untick the box next to the tile.
To organise your devices, tap Reorder to drag the tiles into the position you want.

Tapping on a Favourites tile will open the controls for the smart devices that you connect to the Google Home app.

How to add the Favourites widget to your home screen

Add your Favourites widget to your Android device's home screen. From smart locks to lighting, the widget lets you manage and access your smart home devices in a convenient way.

Add the Favourites widget from the Home app icon

Long press your Home app icon.
Tap Widgets .
Press and hold the entire Favourites widget.
Drag and drop the Favourites widget on the home screen.

Add the Favourites widget from the widget library

On a Home screen, touch and hold an empty space.
Tap Widgets .
Find the app that has the widget you want.
To check the list of available widgets for the app, tap the app.
Touch and hold a widget. You’ll get images of your Home screens.
Slide the widget to where you want it. Lift your finger.

Choose controls for the Favourites widget

Once added to your home screen, you will get a prompt to select which devices appear in the Favourites widget. The number of devices shown will depend on the number of devices selected, the size of the widget and size of your device's screen.

Tap Favourites if you want your Favourite devices from the Home app to appear.
Tap Choose custom if you'd like to select a custom set of devices to appear.

Edit your Favourites widget through the widget settings

Your Favourites widget can be edited through Widget settings . Widget settings lets you choose the controls for your widget, change your associated home or edit and reorder your Favourites. There are two ways to access Widget settings :

Long press the widget without touching the device tiles, drag the widget and drop it on Widget settings .
Long press the widget and release on the home screen to enter edit mode. Press the small Edit button to open Widget settings .

Sync your Home app Favourites

In Widget settings , select Widget controls.
Tap Favourites to sync with your Favourites in the Home app.

When you edit your Favourites

in the Home app, your widget will refresh to reflect the latest changes from the app.

Choose a custom set of widget controls

In Widget settings , select Widget controls.
Tap Custom.
Tap or untap the tick boxes of your devices to add or remove them.
Hit Save if you're satisfied with your choices.

Note: This configuration is specific to the widget and will not change the Favourites configuration on your app or other devices.

Choose a different home

In Widget settings , select Choose home.
Tap the account with your preferred home.
Tap the name of the home that you want to control.
Once you've selected a home, you can edit the device controls shown in the widget by following the steps under 'Sync your Home app Favourites' or 'Choose a custom set of widget controls'.

Resize your Favourites widget

On your home screen, touch and hold the widget
Lift your finger.
- If the widget can be resized, an outline with dots is visible on the sides.
To resize, drag the dots.
When you've finished, tap outside the widget.

How to control devices in the widget

Check the status of your device through your Favourites widget. The widget will indicate if the device is active or not and will refresh its status every 30 minutes. Depending on the status of the device, the colour shade of the device tile will change.

Some devices can be switched on or off with the Favourites widget (kitchen lights, bedroom blinds, etc.). Tap on the device tile that you wish to switch on or off. Devices may take some time to complete the task but the widget will present the progress of completion.

There are devices that don't have the toggle on or off option. If you tap on the Camera, Wi-Fi, Thermostat and Command tiles, they will open the device on your Home app instead.

Sensitive actions like opening smart locks, garage doors or viewing cameras require different levels of user authentication. This is to ensure that your home remains safe and under your control.

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