Joe Maring / Android Authority

TL;DR

• A recent Pixel update changed the home screen search bar behavior, but you can revert it with a workaround.
• The change forces the search bar to open the standard Google Search UI rather than the Pixel Launcher’s unified search.
• By using ADB to toggle a specific launcher flag, you can force the device to return to the old unified search experience.

Google constantly experiments with new ways to improve its products, but like all experiments, results vary. In a recent Pixel update, Google modified the home screen search bar to launch the standard Google Search UI rather than the Pixel Launcher’s unified search experience. While the standard UI makes it easier to access AI Mode, it lacks some features and feels less integrated. Fortunately, users who want to restore the old search experience can do so with a simple workaround. Here’s what you need to do.

First, follow this guide to set up ADB on your device. You’ll need this tool to run a command that overrides the flag responsible for the search UI switch. Once ADB is ready, run the following two commands one-by-one:

Code

adb shell cmd device_config override launcher enable_one_search true
adb shell am force-stop com.google.android.apps.nexuslauncher

The first command overrides the “enable_one_search” flag read by the Pixel Launcher. Setting it to ‘true’ forces the launcher to use the unified search experience instead of the standard Google Search UI. The second command restarts the Pixel Launcher to apply the updated flag. To revert this, simply replace ‘true’ with ‘false’ in the first command.

Thanks to users jspirit and Kieron Quinn for sharing these commands!

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