Ryan Haines / Android Authority
Tl;
- Pixel phones, from Pixel 6 to the Pixel 9 series, face significant problems with the “Now Player” feature, which is unable to recognize songs as it did before.
- Reddit and Google Community Forums are flooded with complaints about the function that does not work, even after the release of an update aimed at improving it.
- Users have suggested clearing the cache for Android System Intelligence as a potential solution, but many are still frustrated by the persistent problems.
One of the best features of Pixel phones is their ability to identify music that plays nearby and show the song title and artist name on the lock screen. The feature is known as “Now Playing”, has been a fan favorite ever since Google introduced it on Pixel 2, and immediately helps users recognize songs they listen to restaurants, cars or other public spaces. However, it seems that now player is experiencing significant problems across pixel units, with its functionality seriously weakened for months.
What is the problem?
Reddit users report That their pixel phones are no longer able to recognize music when it now player function is activated. Complaints, which span several months, highlight problems across devices ranging from Pixel 6 to the latest Pixel 9 series. In fact, many users have to disable the feature completely due to the lack of functionality.
A Reddit user shared: “With my Pixel 6 it was fantastic. It will recognize almost every song, whether automatic or manual. But now it hardly works at all. “This user described a four hour drive where their pixel only recognized two songs playing in the car.
Another user commented, “terribly poorly compared to previous versions.”
We can also confirm that now player is not working properly on Pixel 8 Pro. In a test of 10 songs played on a nearby phone, Pixel 8 Pro, with now player was activated, was just able to recognize a song. Even manually hitting the search icon shows a “no music found” meter despite popular tracks that flip the background.
Many threads at the reddit and Google’s social forums Echo similar frustrations with playing now. The problem was first erected on Googles Issue Tracker Last year, but recent comments from a few days ago show that users continue to face significant problems with the function.
In an attempt to solve the problem, Google release An update to Android System Intelligence last month, promising “Bug Fixes and Improvements to Pixel that is now playing album art feature.” While this update aroused hope that now plays would begin to work as it did before, many users are still experiencing problems with the feature.
Is there a solution?
Several users have reported that they first began to experience problems now playing after updating their Pixel phones to Android 15. However, the update does not appear to be the definitive guilty. Uninstalling Android 15 just to create now to play function is obviously not a viable solution. You would rather not use the feature than to give up all the other benefits that come with the latest Android update.
However, some people seem to have had some luck with a solution. A user recommends clearing the cache for Android System Intelligence to try to solve the problem. To do this, take the trip to Settings> Apps> All Apps> Android System Intelligence on your pixel phone. Select the app and press Storage and cache, followed by Clear cache.
Other than the above method, which did not work for us, but maybe work for you, there is no other way to temporarily fix now playing on your pixel phone. Google needs to take a closer look at the problem and roll out an update to implement a solution evenly on its devices. Until then, try alternative music recognition apps like Shazam to identify songs that play nearby.