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Samsung is once again blocking workarounds for remapping the Bixby button on Galaxy S8

One of the minor issues many have regarding the Galaxy S8’s hardware is the presence of the Bixby button located on the left side of the phone. It’s safe to say that basically everyone would prefer to use that button for basically anything else, but Samsung has been blocking any attempts to accomplish that. After the first wave of breaking apps, Samsung’s latest updates have broken almost every other method.

The most recent workaround for remapping the Bixby button was by using the Bixby app itself as a shortcut to open something else. The idea was that any time the Bixby app was opened the “remap” application would register that and perform a preset action at that point. For many, that was opening up Google Now or another app of their choice. It wasn’t perfect, but it was highly preferable to Bixby’s limited functionality for many.

As a part of the most recent update to the S8 on T-Mobile (soon to arrive on other models), Samsung has blocked how these apps work yet again. Android Police was tipped off that bxActions was blocked as a result of that update, and other apps such as Bixby Button Remapper and more have also been broken.

It’s still unclear if developers will be able to figure out another workaround, but it’s unlikely that any will give up trying. With Bixby Voice set to arrive in the coming weeks, it’s likely that Samsung is going to continue to push its assistant by any means possible, even if it hasn’t really impressed us yet.


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