Pixel’s “Now Playing” Feature Faces Major Issues: What You Need to Know
One of the standout features of Pixel phones has always been the ability to identify songs playing nearby and display the title and artist on the lock screen. Known as “Now Playing,” this feature has been a fan favorite since it debuted on the Pixel 2, making it easy to recognize songs in restaurants, cars, or public places. But lately, users are reporting major issues with Now Playing, which has been underperforming—or outright failing—across multiple Pixel devices for months.
What’s Going On with Now Playing?
According to Reddit users, Pixel phones are no longer reliably recognizing music when Now Playing is enabled. The issue appears widespread, affecting everything from the Pixel 6 to the latest Pixel 9 series. Some users have even disabled the feature entirely because it has become so unreliable.
One Reddit user noted, “With my Pixel 6, it was fantastic. It would recognize nearly every song, whether automatically or manually. But now, it hardly works at all.” They described a four-hour car ride during which their phone only identified two songs. Another user commented, “Horrendously bad compared to earlier versions.”
In our own testing, we found similar problems with the Pixel 8 Pro. Out of 10 songs played on a nearby phone, the device only recognized one. Manually using the search icon wasn’t much better, returning a “No Music Found” message even with popular tracks playing in the background.
Is It Working for You?
A quick poll of Pixel users shows mixed experiences with the feature:
- Yes, it works just fine: 25%
- No, it doesn’t work at all: 13%
- It works, but not as good as before: 63%
Numerous threads on Reddit and Google’s community forums echo frustrations about Now Playing. The issue was first flagged on Google’s Issue Tracker last year, but users continue to report problems even after Google released a recent update.
Last month, Google rolled out an update to Android System Intelligence, promising fixes for the Pixel Now Playing Album Art feature. Unfortunately, while the update raised some hopes, many users say the feature is still not functioning as it used to.
Is There a Fix?
The issue seems to have started for many users after updating their Pixel phones to Android 15, although the update may not be the sole cause. Uninstalling Android 15 isn’t a practical solution, and most users would rather ditch Now Playing than give up the benefits of the latest Android update.
However, some users have found a potential workaround. One recommends clearing the cache for Android System Intelligence. Here’s how to do it:
- Go to Settings > Apps > All Apps > Android System Intelligence on your Pixel phone.
- Select the app and tap on Storage & cache.
- Choose Clear cache.
While this method didn’t work for us, it might help you. Beyond that, there’s little you can do right now to fix the issue. Google will need to investigate further and roll out a proper update to resolve the problem across all devices.
In the meantime, you may want to try alternative music recognition apps like Shazam or SoundHound to identify songs playing nearby. Until Google addresses the issue, these apps can serve as a reliable stopgap. Stay tuned for updates as we monitor this situation.
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