[App][Pro][Test]HiLight - Control your Pixel 11 Pro/Fold's HiLight LED from Homey

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1

Hi everyone,

I’m not sure how many people will use this, but it is now possible to control the HiLight LEDs on supported Pixel 11 Pro/Fold devices from Homey.

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The setup consists of:

  • HiLight Remote on the Pixel
  • A small ADB-started helper running with Android’s shell UID
  • A Homey app and paired HiLight Pixel device
  • A secure internet relay between Homey and the phone

This does not require root, port forwarding, a fixed IP address, or both devices being on the same Wi-Fi network. However it requires you to use a custom apk which is open source and on git.

Once paired, Homey provides one Flow action:

Send color → with animation → for duration

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Available animations include:

  • None/static
  • Blink
  • Pulse
  • Breathe
  • Wave
  • Comet
  • Rainbow
  • Random

The duration can be set from 1 to 60 seconds.

Required setup

  1. Install HiLight Remote on the Pixel.
  2. Enable Developer options → Wireless debugging.
  3. Install Android platform-tools on a computer.
  4. Pair and connect with ADB:
adb pair PHONE_IP:PAIRING_PORT
adb connect PHONE_IP:DEBUGGING_PORT
  1. Start the HiLight helper with the supplied deployment script.
  2. Open HiLight Remote and choose Connect Homey or Home Assistant.
  3. In Homey, add the HiLight Pixel device.
  4. Enter the pairing code shown by the Android app.
  5. Create a Flow using the Send a HiLight effect action.

The helper must currently be started again after a phone reboot because it runs without root. The app does not expose an inbound network port; Homey sends bounded effect commands through the relay, and the phone applies them locally.

This is experimental and unofficial software for Android 17/Pixel 11 HiLight hardware. The project and setup scripts are available here:

Homey app:

Android companion app:

2

very cool. will keep an eye on this chat for when I get my pixel 11 (hopefully soon). are you expecting to make it into an official homey app?

3

What do you mean with official homey app?

4

Probably “official” as in that it can run on Homey Cloud. This costs €100 one-time and requires brand collaboration. However, since the Android app that it controls is also yours, it might get through without partnership from Google. See more here:

Edit: seems like it got updated, it’s no longer possible for individuals.

5

No not cloud version, as one that can be found in the homey app store, not install through git. But my mistake, I had not yet read completely through. This is all pixel side install. No app needed on Homey, do I read correctly?

6

Oh I only just noticed the homey app url was missing its now added.

But No its a Homey app + Android companion app through git