How to make use of Android 12’s name screening options

Back in February 2020, we ran an article explaining the right way to use the useful name screening performance that Google had launched for its Pixel telephones. Screen Call, Google’s screening app, lets you display requires numbers you don’t acknowledge (or individuals you don’t notably wish to discuss to).

Nearly two years later, and with Android 12, the corporate has added some helpful options that may not solely prevent from having to cope with spam calls however can hold you from having to cope with the tedious and irritating technique of working via name menus. And a few of them can be found even for those who don’t have a Pixel.

How does name screening work? When you get a telephone name from somebody who is just not in your contact listing, you get a “Screen call” button (together with buttons for accepting or denying the decision). If you hit “Screen call,” the caller will get an audio message asking them to say who they’re and why they’re calling. The transcribed textual content of the message and their reply will seem in your display. You can then select whether or not you wish to choose up the decision or not.

Unfortunately, as everyone knows, there might be huge variations between Android telephones, relying on the producer and the mannequin. As a consequence, one of many latest options obtainable — computerized name screening — can at the moment solely be discovered on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro.

So this text provides separate instructions on the right way to use Google’s name screening function for a Pixel 6 or 6 Plus and for different telephones that will at the moment be utilizing Android 12. We used a Pixel 3 for the latter. However, in case you have, say, a Samsung telephone, you possibly can entry a few of these options by downloading the Google Phone app from the Play Store, and you’ll in all probability discover these instructions give you the results you want as nicely.

It’s not tough to handle how Screen Call works. Here’s how one can regulate your settings, relying on whether or not you might be utilizing a Pixel 6 mannequin or not.

Pixel 6 and 6 Pro

• In the Phone app, faucet the three dots within the higher proper nook
• Go to Settings > Spam and Call Screen

You will first see two controls which you could toggle on and off: “See caller and spam ID” (which has the telephone determine enterprise and spam numbers, in addition to recognized contacts) and “Verified Calls” (which helps you to see the decision ID for companies which might be verified as legit).

For all different controls, faucet on “Call Screen.” This is the place you possibly can resolve what you wish to do with calls that fall into one in all a number of classes: spam, presumably faked numbers, first-time callers, or hidden numbers. In all instances, you will have two decisions: you possibly can select to have the telephone ring after which manually resolve whether or not you wish to display the decision or not, or you possibly can let Google routinely display the decision and decline it if it’s a robocall. The solely exception is spam calls, which you can too select to silently decline in order that your telephone received’t ring in any respect.

You need to set every of those classes individually: faucet on the class identify and choose the way you’d like these calls to be dealt with. The default is to ring the telephone and allow you to resolve manually whether or not you’d prefer to display the decision, so if that’s your selection, you possibly can simply depart issues as they’re. And one factor to concentrate on: in line with Google, computerized screening received’t work for those who’re utilizing headphones or audio system.

There are two different options you possibly can allow in Call Screen. You can save the audio from any calls which might be screened. You may have both a female-sounding or male-sounding voice reply the screened name; the default is feminine, so if you wish to change it, tape on “Voice.”

Older Pixels and different telephones

If you aren’t utilizing a Pixel 6 or 6 Plus, you’ll nonetheless be supplied the possibility to display a name every time the quantity is just not in your Contacts listing (though you received’t have entry to the automated screening obtainable within the Pixel 6 line). You can handle the settings for name screening right here:

• In the Phone app, faucet the three dots within the higher proper nook
• Go to Settings > Caller ID & spam

You can have entry to 3 controls which you could toggle on and off: “See caller and spam ID” (which helps you to determine enterprise and spam numbers, in addition to recognized contacts), Filter spam calls (to stop suspect spam calls from ringing your telephone), and Verified Calls (which helps you to see the decision ID for companies which might be verified as legit).

Whether you will have entry to computerized screening or simply handbook screening, it’s inarguable that having the ability to display unknown telephone numbers may help us to keep away from having to deal immediately with annoying and / or scamming calls.