Connect your Pixel to your Mac
Pixel runs near-stock Android, which is the contract Pier is written against — so this is the phone where it just works. One optional setting makes it bulletproof.
The reliability promise. Your Android on your Mac, and a link that stays up. Pixel is Low for background reliability: a properly-running foreground service is largely exempt from Doze, so Pier stays connected with little or no tuning. The setup below is exactly what Pier’s in-app wizard walks you through on Google Pixel; doing it once is the difference between a link that comes back on its own after every drop and one that “keeps disconnecting.”
Keep Pier connected on Google Pixel — the checklist
- Settings → Battery → Pier → “Unrestricted.” This is the only setting that matters, and it prevents the rare case where the app is manually restricted.
- When Pier asks to ignore battery optimizations at pairing, allow it — that’s the universal Android escape hatch and on Pixel it’s all you need.
- You do not need to disable Adaptive Battery.
Pier detects your phone’s manufacturer and shows these exact steps — deep-linked straight to the right settings screens where Google Pixel allows it — the first time you pair. This page is the pre-install version so you know what you’re in for.
Why Google Pixel needs this
Pixel follows standard AOSP behaviour — Doze, App Standby buckets and Adaptive Battery — and a foreground service like Pier’s is largely exempt from the network and alarm deferral that would break the link. The only thing that actually stops it is the “Restricted” battery setting, so keeping Pier “Unrestricted” is the whole job. If Pier ever misbehaves on a Pixel, that’s our bug to fix, not the OS fighting you. One note: Android may auto-revoke permissions for apps unused for months — irrelevant for a daily driver.
Tested devices. We have not run Pier on a Google Pixel handset. Two phones have been through the lab — a Samsung Galaxy A26 and an OPPO A5 Pro — and the checklist above comes from Google Pixel’s own documented power-management behaviour, which is what the in-app wizard ships. Treat it as the setup guide, not a guarantee — and if Pier can’t hold a stable link on your Google Pixel phone, the 30-day refund is unconditional.