'Keep WiFi On During Sleep' Feature Is Missing From Google Pixel 2

Android has always had an option under WiFi settings that lets users turn off WiFi while their handset is in sleep. With the new Pixel 2 smartphones, that option seems to have been removed by Google for no apparent reason.

On stock Android, this option is called “Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep,” while Android phones from other OEMs have it under different names. By default, this option is turned on. Android Police first discovered that this option is nowhere to be found on the Pixel 2 smartphones. The site even tried to find it under Developer Options just in case Google moved it there, but it remains missing.

When this particular WiFi setting is disabled, it automatically switches off WiFi when a user’s Android smartphone or tablet goes to sleep. WiFi will turn back on automatically once it detects that the device is no longer sleeping and is in use. The feature won’t turn off WiFi if the Android device is charging. It’s a feature that’s not really being used by a lot of users, but it could save a bit of battery life when the Android device isn’t really being used.

With this WiFi option absent, it’s presumed that the default option right now is that WiFi will always be turned on even when the device sleeping. This is really a minor inconvenience to some people who use this but could be a huge problem for some.

Android Police’s tipster, Jeff Brooks, couldn’t keep WiFi on when his Pixel 2 unit is in sleep mode. This means that every time his handset’s screen goes off, his phone automatically switches to using cellular and starts eating up his data plan without his knowledge.

When Brooks talked to Google’s Pixel 2 support, he was merely instructed to check the option to keep WiFi on during sleep. Unfortunately, It’s gone and it looks like the default option on his Pixel 2 unit has “Keep Wifi on during sleep” turned off for some reason.

This WiFi feature has been on the Android operating system for a long time now, and the original 2016 Pixel and Pixel XL still have it to this day with Android 8.0 Oreo. It remains unclear why the WiFi option is missing from the Pixel 2. It might simply be a bug or Google, for some reason, decided to remove it entirely from its new pair of Pixel smartphones.

Right now, there’s no permanent solution within Android to solve this problem. However, there are third-party apps like Tasker and WiFi Automatic that can turn off WiFi while a user’s Pixel 2 smartphone is sleeping.

For those who have the same problem as Mr. Brooks, there’s really no fix for this, as pointed out by 9To5Google. They will simply have to wait for Google to investigate the potential bug and release a software update.

This new problem adds to the growing list of problems that users are now finding on the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. Both phones have been criticized for having dull displays, while the larger XL model is already showing signs of screen burn-in. Some Pixel 2 units are also emitting weird ticking or clicking sounds which can only be removed by disabling NFC. Google is now actively investigating both of these issues.