How to turn on Bixby on Samsung

Samsung

Let’s start the review by defining what Samsung‘s Bixby. ” Bixby” is a voice assistant that is built into the smartphone shell. it appeared in the spring of 2017 with the Galaxy S8 and S8 smartphones.

We can say that this application is a “daughter” of the program S Voice. Assistant helps simplify users’ lives. it answers questions, performs the simplest actions, opens apps, and more.

To understand what it is. Samsung Bixby, it is necessary to understand the history of its development. The assistant was originally designed to be used exclusively on smartphones running the Android Nougat operating system and above. But later the scope has expanded significantly. now the artificial intelligence is embedded in other Samsung equipment (TVs, refrigerators, washing machines).

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In the future, developers promise AI integration with other mobile devices. The program now supports three languages:

Bixby is the same as Siri on the iPhone, the native voice assistant on a Samsung smartphone.

Figured out what kind of program it is. the Bixby assistant, a worthy competitor to Cortana, Siri or Alexa from Amazon. To understand the intricacies of the work and understand why you need the assistant, we need to talk in detail about the available features.

Why is the assistant not available??

It matters your location, Android operating system version, phone model.

By the way, you should know that Bixby is not just an app. It is a full-fledged intelligence, a smart intelligence that is able to integrate into almost all areas of smartphone handling. An important part of it is the voice assistant, which in our country is still working in test mode.

So, why Bixby does not work in Russia. the following reasons stand out:

  • The test mode of the voice assistant assumes incomplete coverage of users. If your phone is not among the lucky ones, use a VPN, otherwise the voice function will not be available in our country;
  • Perhaps you just need to update the assistant. go to the official Samsung store, find the application and check whether you have the current version. If it is outdated, you will see an active “Update” key;
  • It may not be because Bixby is not working in your country, but because of the operating system installed on your smartphone. Check, the version should be Android Nougat 7.1 and older;
  • Some components of the Android system update on the Galaxy S8 were unsuccessful, they conflicted with the official software installed on the devices. Developers have quickly rectified the situation, but some users have not yet installed the new files. As a result, they don’t have the Bixby button working, or the app responds, but a message appears that “the assistant is not available”.

Thus, to solve the problem, you need to update the Bixby assistant and the operating system.

In some cases, only buying a new phone can help, such as the Samsung Galaxy S9. Holders of this smartphone model have the fewest complaints with the wording “Bixby assistant is not available in your country”.

Instructions for turning it on

There are two ways how to turn on Bixby. with the phrase “Hi, Bixbi” or by pressing and holding the special button. A small circle of blue appears on the left side of the screen. For a long time, Samsung did not allow you to disable or reassign the button. After the update, it’s now possible. If the owner of a Samsung smartphone turned off the button and plans to turn it back on, the solution is available in two ways.

  • tap the app button and activate Voice and prompts;
  • Click on the gear icon at the top right of the display;
  • turn Key on by moving the slider to the right side.
  • press the display and slide your finger from right to left;
  • switch the Home Assistant toggle switch;
  • Open the Home screen and tap the gear icon in the upper right corner of the display;
  • turn Key on by moving the switch.

The last step is to make sure that Bixby on Samsung works as usual.

How to use Bixby

Using Bixby is pretty simple: you just talk to the phone. You can set it to speak if you just want to launch the app by saying Hi Bixby, or you can hold down the Bixby button during a call. You can even type Bixby if that’s more your style.

In order for Bixby to execute a command, it needs to know what app you want to use, and what you need to. For example, Open Google Maps and go to Baltimore.

If Bixby doesn’t understand what you’re asking for, or if you’re asking it to use an incompatible message, the app will tell you as much. While launching with Bixby can be frustrating because it doesn’t recognize your voice correctly or gets confused, the more you use your digital assistant, the more capable it is.

Detailed instructions: how to reassign Bixby

You’ve already figured out that you can now assign a different function to a key. all that’s left to figure out is which one. The choices are wide:

  • Open any app;
  • Activating Google Assistant;
  • Calling a specific contact;
  • Jump to the last application;
  • Camera Activation;
  • Opening the home page or task manager;
  • Enable/disable display;
  • Navigate to the settings panel;
  • Creating a screenshot;
  • Enabling the flashlight;
  • Splitting the screen;
  • Activating full-screen mode;
  • Navigate to vibration/loudness and more.

You can change the button to one of the actions programmed by the system, or you can reassign it to your own option, this option is provided in the settings.

Please note, Bixby button setup is only possible if you update your device’s operating system! You need to make sure you have the version 2 update installed.1.04.18 or newer!

How To Use Bixby. Hands On Guide

So, how to reassign the Bixby button on the Samsung Galaxy S8 and other models of flagship smartphones? Read the manual!

  • Launch Assistant;
  • Click on the three-dot icon in the upper right corner of the screen;
  • Select Settings ;
  • Scroll to the “Key” block ;
  • Click on it to enter the settings;
  • Here you will see two icons. single and double tap;
  • Select the appropriate option to open another menu item, “Setup Configuration” ;
  • Under “Open” you’ll see two lines;
  • Click on the first line. Here you can select a specific application from the list. just click on the gear opposite;
  • Or click on the second line and reassign your own command!

For information on how to disable the Bixby button on your phone, follow this link and read our other article.

Just follow the steps described with precision to successfully reassign the Bixby S9 button, tying in another useful option.

You can see the instructions in more detail at

To make it clear why Bixby does not work in Russia, we will explain, as they say, “on the fingers”. See:

  • We’re talking about the voice assistant. That is, the service, the work of which is based on the recognition and analysis of human speech.
  • For cost-effectiveness reasons, the software is developed primarily for countries with a Bixby language. And where, accordingly, this service will be actively used. At the moment, it is Korean, English, English-British, Chinese, Spanish, Italian and German.
  • The virtual assistant does not speak Russian, so there is no software to ensure its correct operation in Russia.

How the helper works can be seen at

This is the main reason for the “Bixby is not available in your country” error. Other limitations that can cause problems:

  • Smartphone model. Virtual Assistant is built into Samsung Galaxy S8, S9, S10 and later. Other devices are considered compatible.
  • Operating system version. It must be at least 7.0.

Please note! Also the service may not work due to incorrectly installed files update OS. In this case, the error will appear as “the assistant is unavailable” without “in your country” being prefixed.

Reassigning the Bixby button on Samsung: simple instructions!

In 2017, the manufacturer Samsung introduced a unique application designed for two Samsung models (S8 and S8). On these, and eventually other smartphones, there is a button that provides the start of the assistant. Once you press it, the system calls the assistant and allows you to use its features. In the absence of the Internet, this option is useless, so people began to ask how to reassign the Bixby button on Samsung to enable another app.

Before the beginning of 2019, there was no such option. After the 2019 update, users have the right to reassign the key and use it for other tasks. If you want, you can reconfigure the Bixby button to turn on the flashlight, launch a browser, Google Assistant or other apps. How to do this, see below.

How to use Bixby reminders

You can use Bixby to create and remember appointments or shopping list.

For example, you could ask Bixby to remind you that your favorite TV show is on Mondays at 8 p.m. You can also tell Bixby where you parked your car, and then when you return, it can remind you where you parked.

You can also ask Bixby to remember and retrieve a specific letter, photo, web page, and more.

How to turn off the Bixby button

Although Bixby is a handy digital assistant, you may decide you don’t want the app to run every time you press a button. You may choose not to use Bixby at all, opting for Google Assistant or not using the digital assistant at all.

You can’t turn off Bixby completely, but you can make it harder to accidentally start.

  • Go to Settings Advanced Features Bixby Key.
  • Select Double-tap to open Bixby