Important: Some of these steps work only on Android 11 and up. Learn how to check your Android version.
Choose how to get around
- Open your phone's Settings app.
- Go to System
Navigation Mode.
- Choose an option:
- Gesture navigation: No buttons.
- 3-button navigation: Three buttons for Home, Back, and App Overview.
- 2-button navigation (Pixel 3, 3 XL, 3a, and 3a XL): Two buttons for Home and Back.
Tip: Learn how to get around on your Pixel phone with our step-by-step tutorial.
Move between screens, webpages & apps
Open the previous screen you were looking at. You can go back more than once. But when you reach the Home screen, you can't go back any further.
- Gesture navigation: Swipe from the left or right edge of the screen.
- 3-button navigation: Tap Back
.
- 2-button navigation (Pixel 3, 3 XL, 3a, and 3a XL): Tap Back
.
- Gesture navigation: Swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
- 3-button navigation: Tap Home
.
- 2-button navigation (Pixel 3, 3 XL, 3a, and 3a XL): Tap Home
.
Tip:You can have more than one Home screen. Swipe right or left to move between them. Learn how to add, move, and remove Home screens.
- Gesture navigation: Swipe up from the bottom, hold, then let go.
- 3-button navigation: Tap Overview
.
- 2-button navigation (Pixel 3, 3 XL, 3a, and 3a XL): From the bottom of your screen, swipe up to the middle.
From here, you can:
- Close apps: Swipe up on the app image.
- Open an app: Tap its image.
- Take a screenshot: Tap Screenshot
.
- Select text (selected languages): Tap Select
. Then select words on the app image and tap Copy, Share, or Search.
- See two apps at the same time.
Important: With 2-button navigation, you can't take a screenshot or select text from all open apps. Learn other ways to take screenshots.
- Gesture navigation: At the very bottom of the screen, swipe from left to right.
- 3-button navigation: Tap Overview
. Swipe right until you find the app you want. Tap it.
- 2-button navigation (Pixel 3a & earlier): To switch between your 2 most recent apps, swipe right on Home
.
- Gesture navigation: Swipe up from the bottom edge or middle of your home screen.
- 3-button navigation: Swipe up from the bottom edge or middle of your home screen.
- 2-button navigation: Swipe up from the middle of your home screen.
Search your phone (Pixel 4a & later, including Fold)
Using search on your Pixel phone, you can locate content from both your Pixel device and the web.
- Web: Online search results
- Apps: Applications and content from apps
- Contacts: Your contacts and the apps you use to connect with them
- Settings: Phone settings, information, and features
- Google Play Store: Apps from the Play Store
- Screenshots: Thumbnails of recent screenshots from your phone
- Google Assistant: Actions from the Assistant app that can be used to set up routines, send messages, and other functions
- Pixel Phone Tips: Pixel-exclusive tips, tricks, and new features
- On your phone, tap the search bar on the home screen, or swipe up to reveal a search bar.
- Type a query, find what you are looking for and tap on the search result to open it, or keep scrolling to see more results.
Circle to Search on your Pixel phone
Important: This feature is currently available for Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro only.
- Touch and hold the home button or navigation bar at the bottom of your Pixel screen.
- Circle, highlight, scribble, or tap the part of an image or text you want to search.
- You can use multisearch to further refine your query. Just circle, highlight, scribble, or tap an image and then type your additional query in the search bar, where “Add to your search” text appears. Learn more about multisearch.
- You can get AI Overviews with Circle to Search based on your text or multisearch queries.
- If you’re in the United States:
- AI Overviews are available by default on multisearch queries.
- To enable AI Overviews for text queries, you need to opt in to AI Overviews and more in Search Labs. Learn more about AI Overviews and more.
- If you’re outside the United States:
- To enable AI Overviews for text and multisearch queries, you need to opt in to AI Overviews and more in Search Labs. Learn more about AI Overviews and more.
- If you’re in the United States:
Move items around
Tap to select
To select or start something on your phone, tap it. In some apps, you can touch andhold text to find available actions, like making a restaurant reservation or playing a song.
Tap to type
To type something, tap where you want to type. You'll find a keyboard open.
Touch and hold
Touch and hold an item on the screen. After the item responds, lift your finger.
Drag
Touch and hold an item. Without lifting your finger, move your finger on the screen. When your finger is in the right place, lift it. For example, you can move apps around your Home screen by dragging them.
Swipe or slide
Quickly move your finger across the surface of the screen without pausing. For example, you can swipe a Home screen left or right to find your other Home screens.
Change the size and direction of items
Double tap to change size
On some pages like a webpage or map, tap twice to get closer ("zoom in").
Pinch & spread to change size
In some apps, put 2 or more fingers on the screen to change the size. To shrink, pinch your fingers together. To enlarge, spreadthem apart.
Rotate
As you turn your phone, most screens can rotate with it. To turn rotation on or off, swipe down from the top with 2 fingers and tap Auto-rotate.
Related resources
- Change what's on your Home screen
- Find, open, and close apps
- Quickly change common settings
- Use gestures on your phone
Need more help?
Try these next steps:
Get to know Pixel
Check out our step-by-step onboarding guide to Pixel. Learn how to transfer your data, explore, & personalize your phone, prepare for an emergency and more.