Pixel Buddy Support

Common questions

Calling the buddy from anywhere

• Android: make Pixel Buddy your phone’s digital assistant, then hold the power button (or swipe up from a bottom corner) in any app. The setting is in your phone’s Settings → Apps → Default apps → Digital assistant app; the path can differ a little between phone makers. The app’s Settings shows “Not your phone’s assistant yet” until it is.
• iPhone and iPad: say “Hey Siri, talk to Pixel Buddy”, or set the Action button to the Talk to Pixel Buddy shortcut (Settings → Action Button → Shortcut). “Ask Pixel Buddy” and “Set a Pixel Buddy timer” work with Siri and the Shortcuts app too.

The buddy says it needs a brain

Open Settings → Brain and pick one:

• On this phone: download a Gemma model. Models are 2.6 to 3.7 GB, so the download waits for Wi-Fi unless you turn on Allow mobile data. After that it works offline.
• Your own server: connect an OpenAI-compatible server on your network, such as Ollama, LM Studio or vLLM, or an AI service you have a key for.

My own server doesn’t connect

• Use the server’s OpenAI-compatible address, usually ending in /v1, for example http://192.168.1.20:11434/v1.
• An http:// address works only for a server on your own network; anything on the internet needs https://.
• Check that the phone is on the same Wi-Fi as the server, and that the server listens on the network, not only on the computer it runs on.
• On Android 17 and newer, allow Nearby devices when the app asks, so it can reach your network.
• Tap Test connection to see what the app found.

“Hey Buddy” doesn’t hear me (Android)

Turn on Say “Hey Buddy” to call me in the app’s Settings → Voice, allow the microphone, and make Pixel Buddy your digital assistant (see above). While it is on, Android shows a notification and its microphone indicator. The phrase is heard on the phone itself; nothing is recorded or sent.

Timers don’t ring, or ring late

• Android: allow notifications for Pixel Buddy, and Alarms and reminders in your phone’s settings, so timers ring on time.
• iPhone and iPad: allow Pixel Buddy’s alarms when it asks. Its timers and alarms then ring like the Clock app’s, through silent mode and on the Lock Screen, and count down in the Dynamic Island. If you said no, turn them on in Settings → Apps → Pixel Buddy.

A reply was wrong or inappropriate

Replies come from an AI and can be wrong. Long-press the reply and tap Report this reply: your mail app opens with the reply and the model’s name, ready to send to us. Nothing is sent unless you send it.

How do I change the language?

Pixel Buddy follows your phone’s language: English, Spanish or French. To pick another one just for the buddy, use Settings → Language.

Your buddy

Moving to a new phone

Open Settings → Buddy passport and scan its QR code with Pixel Buddy on the new phone, or copy or share the code there. Your settings move over: the brain, the voice, the servers and the language. Turn on Include the buddy itself to bring its level, unlocked shapes and look, and Include the diary for what it remembers about you. API keys travel only if you turn on Include API keys and tokens. There is no account and no server; your chats stay on the old phone.

Anyone who sees or scans the code can use what’s in it, so keep it to yourself. On the new phone, download the on-device model again if you use it.

What the buddy remembers

Settings → Buddy’s diary shows everything the buddy keeps about you. Forget one fact or clear it all.

Starting over

Settings → Reset app data returns your buddy to level 1, deletes your chats and memories, and starts the intro again. This can’t be undone.

To delete everything the app has stored on your phone, uninstall it.

Privacy

How Pixel Buddy handles your data is described in its privacy policy.