Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Pixel telephones, from the Pixel 6 to the Pixel 9 sequence, are dealing with vital points with the “Now Taking part in” characteristic, which is failing to acknowledge songs because it did earlier than.
- Reddit and Google neighborhood boards are flooded with complaints concerning the characteristic not working, even after the discharge of an replace aimed toward bettering it.
- Customers have recommended clearing the cache for Android System Intelligence as a possible repair, however many are nonetheless annoyed with the persistent points.
Probably the greatest options of Pixel telephones is their potential to establish music enjoying close by and show the tune title and artist title on the lock display. Often known as “Now Taking part in,” the characteristic has been a fan favourite ever since Google launched it on the Pixel 2, serving to customers immediately acknowledge songs they hear in eating places, vehicles, or different public areas. Nonetheless, it appears Now Taking part in is experiencing vital points throughout Pixel gadgets, with its performance severely impaired for months.
What’s the issue?
Reddit customers are reporting that their Pixel telephones are now not in a position to acknowledge music when the Now Taking part in characteristic is enabled. Complaints, spanning a number of months, spotlight points throughout gadgets starting from the Pixel 6 to the most recent Pixel 9 sequence. In reality, many customers have resorted to disabling the characteristic altogether because of its lack of performance.
One Reddit person shared, “With my Pixel 6, it was implausible. It will acknowledge practically each tune, whether or not robotically or manually. However now, it hardly works in any respect.” This person described a four-hour drive throughout which their Pixel solely acknowledged two songs enjoying within the automotive.
One other person commented, “Horrendously unhealthy in comparison with earlier variations.”
We will additionally verify that Now Taking part in isn’t functioning correctly on our Pixel 8 Professional. In a check with 10 songs performed on a close-by telephone, the Pixel 8 Professional, with Now Taking part in enabled, was solely in a position to acknowledge one tune. Even manually hitting the search icon exhibits up a “No Music Discovered” immediate regardless of widespread tracks blaring within the background.
Quite a few threads on Reddit and Google’s neighborhood boards echo comparable frustrations with Now Taking part in. The problem was first raised on Google’s Difficulty Tracker final 12 months, however latest feedback from just a few days in the past present that customers proceed to face vital issues with the characteristic.
In an try to deal with the difficulty, Google launched an replace to Android System Intelligence final month, promising “bug fixes and enhancements to Pixel Now Taking part in Album Artwork characteristic.” Whereas this replace raised hopes that Now Taking part in would begin functioning because it did earlier than, many customers are nonetheless experiencing points with the characteristic.
Is there a workaround?
A number of customers have reported that they first began experiencing points with Now Taking part in after updating their Pixel telephones to Android 15. Nonetheless, the replace doesn’t appear to be the definitive offender. Clearly uninstalling Android 15 simply to make Now Taking part in operate isn’t a viable resolution. One would reasonably not use the characteristic than hand over on all the opposite advantages that include the most recent Android replace.
Nonetheless, some people appear to have had some luck with a workaround. One person recommends clearing the cache for Android System Intelligence to attempt to repair the issue. To do that, head to Settings > Apps > All Apps > Android System Intelligence in your Pixel telephone. Choose the app and faucet on Storage & cache, adopted by Clear cache.
Apart from the above technique, which didn’t work for us however would possibly be just right for you, there’s no different method to briefly repair Now Taking part in in your Pixel telephone. Google should look into the difficulty extra deeply and roll out an replace to implement a repair evenly throughout its gadgets. Till then, you possibly can attempt different music recognition apps like Shazam to establish songs enjoying close to you.
