The “Now Playing” music detection feature on Pixel smartphones has not been working properly for too long. Despite an update from Google, the problem persists, which has the gift of annoying many users.
The “Now Playing” feature on Pixel smartphones is broken
The “Now Playing” feature allows Pixel smartphones to automatically identify songs playing nearby and to display the title and artist on the lock screen. Very popular since its introduction on the Pixel 2, it is now the source of much frustration. For several months, reports have multiplied on Reddit and Google forums. Users from Pixel 6 to Pixel 9 notice that the tool no longer recognizes songs correctly, or not at all. Even after an update that was supposed to improve the functionality, the problem persists.
User testimonials show a clear degradation in performance the “Now Playing” feature. One Pixel 6 owner says: “It used to work perfectly. Now it barely recognizes anything.” He explains that he took a four-hour drive during which only two songs were detected. Google tried to fix the problem with an update in January 2024, which was supposed to improve the display of album art in “Now Playing.” Unfortunately, this does not seem to have been enough to fully restore the functionality.
A temporary solution
While some users associate the appearance of the problem with the installation of Android 15, the cause and effect link remains uncertain. Uninstalling the update to regain the use of “Now Playing” does not seem to be a viable solution.
An alternative, discussed on the forums, is to clear the Android System Intelligence cache:
- Open Settings
- Go to Apps > All Apps > Android System Intelligence
- Select Storage & Cache
- Tap Clear Cache
However, this method does not work for everyone. Until an official fix from Google, users can turn to apps like Shazam to identify nearby music.
Source: Android Authority
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