A couple of weeks ago, we reported that Google would be updating the Google Now feature on Android phones. This would essentially allow users to use the “OK Google” hotword from any screen. Previously this was only limited to the home screen, and any screen functionality was also limited to devices like the Moto X.
That being said, the update has yet to make its way to the masses, but if you’re too impatient and you wish to get the feature now, you can, and you will be able to do this without having to root your phone. This is thanks to a post on Reddit where user xStreame found a way to enable the feature on your phone with a root-free method.
Basically all you’d have to do is open Google Now, search for “OK Google everywhere”, go to your Settings (the three small dots at the bottom right corner of your search page), Voice, OK Google detection, and you should see the option to launch the feature from any screen. For some users this will require Google Search to be updated first.
So if you tried it out and can’t get it to work, head on over to the Google Play Store and update your Google Search, and it should work just fine. It is unclear if this feature will work across all devices, but so far users with handsets like the Nexus 5, Nexus 7, and Moto G are reporting that it works.
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