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HTC U11 life (Android One)

HTC · catalog updated 2026-10-21

All supported devices
Brand
HTC
Kind
Android phone · released 2017-11 · last update Android 10
Model codes
HTC U11 life

Android One edition, sold outside the US. Ships with Android 8.0; updated to Android 9 and, as Notebookcheck and PiunikaWeb reported in 2020, to Android 10 (no HTC page confirms it); install the Android 10 update first. Build.MODEL "HTC U11 life" is shared with the US HTC Sense edition (Google Play device list). Announced 2017-11-01; the month shown is the announcement month.

Gestures on the HTC U11 life (Android One)

Squeeze the lower sides of the phone briefly (Edge Sense short squeeze)

DocumentedInput: Extra key

Requires: HTC U11 life, Android One edition, updated to Android 10

Set it up

  1. Settings
  2. Edge Sense
  3. Customize squeeze action
  4. Pick the option that launches an app
  5. Quick signal: key

One squeeze opens the app, so one event means one squeeze. Out of the box the squeeze opens the Camera. HTC lists "Launch any other app that's preinstalled or downloaded on your phone" among the squeeze actions and says these actions also work with the screen off unless you clear "Enable gesture when screen is off". With Advanced mode on, the menu item is called "Customize short squeeze action". HTC's guide is based on Edge Sense app version 1.21.9x; no HTC page describes Edge Sense after the Android 10 update.

Sources

Squeeze and hold the lower sides of the phone (Edge Sense Advanced mode)

DocumentedInput: Extra key

Requires: HTC U11 life, Android One edition, updated to Android 10

Set it up

  1. Settings
  2. Edge Sense
  3. Enable advanced mode
  4. Set the squeeze force levels as shown on screen
  5. Customize squeeze & hold action
  6. Pick the option that launches an app
  7. Quick signal: key

One squeeze and hold opens the app, so one event means one hold. Out of the box the squeeze and hold launches the default voice assistant (Google Assistant). Advanced mode keeps the short squeeze as a separate gesture with its own action.

Sources

Plus what the app offers on every Android phone: In-app button, Widget, Quick Settings tile, Shake, Volume keys, Voice phrase. How to set those up

Recommended presets

  • Shake ×3Sends a signal

    Three sharp shakes within 2.5 s: hard to do by accident, easy to do without looking.

    Shake ×3, 0.15–1 s apart · whole gesture within 2.5 s

  • Widget ×2Sends a signal

    Two taps on the home-screen widget within 3 s; a single accidental tap does nothing.

    Widget ×2, 0.1–3 s apart · whole gesture within 3 s

  • Edge Sense squeeze ×3Sends a signal

    Three short squeezes of the lower sides within a few seconds; a single firm grip, for example when picking the phone up, does nothing.

    Extra key ×3, 0.3–2.5 s apart · whole gesture within 8 s

Gestures are set up in the phone settings as shown, then combined into a trigger recipe in the app, where practice mode shows step by step whether a gesture would trigger.