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Samsung Galaxy S8: remap the Bixby button (Updated: new root method)

A number of apps helping remap the Galaxy S8 Bixby button have cropped up. We list the best options and talk about what we like and what we don't.

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Published onMay 5, 2017

Update May 5: We've now added a non-app method for remapping the Galaxy S8's Bixby button on a rooted device. If rooting isn't your style, we've also listed the pros and cons of some of the better Bixby remapping apps in Google Play.

As the saying goes, when the world gives you lemons, make lemonade. Or in this case, when Samsung gives you Bixby, use an app to remap the Bixby button to Google Assistant or any other app.

A number of apps helping people to remap their Bixby button have cropped up. We’ve decided to list some of the best options and talk about what we like and what we don’t.

Remap Bixby without an app

If you feel comfortable with rooting your Galaxy S8, a developer has demonstrated how you can remap Bixby on the Galaxy S8 without needing an app. You can remap the Bixby button to a wide variety of options including launching the camera, Google Assistant and much more.

The procedure does require using a root explorer, and is definitely not for everyone. You will also have to rename and edit a file or two in your smartphone, which again we don’t recommend if you are not already comfortable with handling these kinds of tasks. You can find detailed instructions on the XDA Developers forum.

BixRemap

After Samsung’s blocking update – which has also caused problems for multiple users with a “DQA keeps stopping” error message – the ability to remap the Bixby button went with it. Until a Redditor by the name of Dave Bennett came along.

He decided to write a basic app to bypass Samsung’s blockade by simply launching Google Assistant over the top of Bixby whenever the button is pressed. As such, you’ll see a quick flash of Bixby before Assistant elbows it out of the way to give you its more useful feature set, you know, like actual voice commands.

Samsung Galaxy S8 remap Bixby button BixRemap

What’s even better is that there’s absolutely nothing to it either, no root, no ADB commands, no anything. Simply install the BixRemap app from Google Play via the button below, flip the switch in Usage Data Access and then hit the big old Start Service button. Note that following Samsung’s latest update some S8 owners are no longer able to call up Bixby with a single press or the dedicated button, so you might need a double press instead.

It’s not a very elegant solution and means that you’ll have both Bixby and Assistant running on top of each other, but until a more polished fix comes (I’m sure there are more than a few devs working on it as we speak) it’ll suffice. Several other Redditors have suggested the app be updated to lower its priority settings to remove the persistent status bar icon and to add a launch at boot option. Bennett seems to be open to the ideas so keep your eyes peeled for that update.

Don’t miss: The first 10 things you should do on your Galaxy S8

bxActions

bxActions is a very well designed app that gives you access to a number of different actions to map the Bixby button to. You can’t remap the button to whatever you want, but the 10 options it does give you are all quite useful to have on the fly. You’ll have to set up Hello Bixby for the app to work while the screen is off, and after that it will quickly launch Bixby, then your app, then close Bixby. This proves just how “hacky” this method is, but you can’t see the series of actions when the screen is unlocked, so its really not much of an issue.

Check out the screenshots above to see if this is the app for you, or continue on to see other options.

BixBye

BixBye has quite a bit more functionality than something like bxActions, allowing you to do things like launch individual apps with a tap of the Bixby button. The app isn’t quite as intuitive or good looking however, but it’s up to you whether or not this is something you actually care about. Another unfortunate aspect of this app is that is that it will launch apps underneath the lock screen, forcing you to unlock the screen yourself to get access to these apps. It’s a trade off, really, so you’ll have to decide if you value more functionality over convenience. Check out the screenshots below, and decide for yourself if this is the best remap for you.

Note: We did notice some issues with this app, mainly focused around disabling the functionality. After toggling the remap off it still performed the action, so you’ll have to remap the button to “Do Nothing” in order to actually turn it off.

Bixby Button Remapper

Bixby remapper is a bit of a hybrid between the previous 2 options, having a decent looking interface while also offering quite a lot of functionality. There is also a beta option that offers faster launching, though it may not work every time. You have the option of doing quite specific actions like pressing the back or home button.

While we’re not sure why you would want to do this, it’s always nice to have the option.

Unfortunately like BixBye this app will not unlock your screen and will only do actions and launch apps in the background, so if you want this functionality you may want to go with something like bxActions. Check it out.

Which Bixby remap app is your favorite? Is there a great one you didn’t see covered here?

Let us know!