How to Unlock Android Pie’s Feature Flags Menu

Android Pie comes with a lot of great features. Some of those features are not as easy to find as others, such as the Feature Flags option. To use these hidden flags, you need to do things such as turn on Developer Options.

By adjusting a few flags, you can do things such as move the About Phone option to another position. Or, you can make a Use Bluetooth when driving option appear, an option that is off by default.

How to Enable Developer Options in Android Pie

Enabling Developer Options in Android Pie is very similar if not identical to how you would go about this in previous Android versions. Go to Settings > System > Advanced > and when you get the Build number, tap on it seven times.

When you’ve tapped on the option enough times, you should see a message saying that you are now a developer. Also, don’t be surprised if you have to enter your pin after unlocking the Developer Options.

How to Find Feature Flags in Android 9

With Developer Options enabled, you can access this new option by going to System > Developer options > Debugging > Featured flags.

Some of the flags you’ll see are the following:

• settings_battery_display_app_list – Offers a comprehensive list of the App usage since full charge found in the Battery menu. You’ll find this option within the Settings app.
• settings_about_phone_v2: Changes the user interface of the About phone segment. The About phone is also transferred to the head of the system.
• settings_zone_picker_v2 – More information for the Automatic time zone option.
• settings_bluetooth_while_driving – This flag will turn on an option called Use Bluetooth when driving. The option can be under Connected devices in Settings.
• settings_connected_device_v2 – You might or might not see this flag. If you do see it, by turning it on (true), you’re going to see a more straightforward Connected device’s menu. If you turn it off, it’s going to have an Android Oreo design, in other words, the Connection preferences are quickly available.
• settings_data_usage_V2 – This option doesn’t make any visible changes, but if anything changes, I’ll let you know if anything changes.
• settings_zone_picker_v2 – By turning this flag on and going to Settings > Date & time > Turn off Automatic time zone, and when you select it, you’ll see a more comprehensive outline of the option. By setting this flag to off, you’ll only see a more understandable version with fewer options.
• device_info_v2 – You may or may not have this option, but if you do by turning it off or on won’t produce any visible changes.
• settings_audio_switcher – This flag doesn’t provide any noticeable changes.
• settings_battery_v2 – By having it set to true, you’ll see less information about your device’s battery in Settings (like before Oreo). With the flag set to false, you see the battery settings like in Oreo.

Conclusion

Now that you know what each of the flags can do, it’s up to you if you want to give them a try or leave them as-is. Which flags do you think you’re going to start using? Share your thoughts in the comments below.