Better late than never Google will finally fix awesome (but broken) song detection feature for Pixels Google broke the feature last year, and it's taken months of complaints to get this far. Ryan Whitwam Feb 27, 2025 3:56 pm | 29 When Now Playing works, it looks like this. Credit: Ryan Whitwam When Now Playing works, it looks like this. Credit: Ryan Whitwam Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreGoogle's Pixel phones include numerous thoughtful features you don't get on other phones, like Now Playing. This feature can identify background music from the lock screen, but unlike some similar song identifiers, it works even without an Internet connection. Sadly, it has been broken for months. There is some hope, though. Google has indicated that a fix is ready for deployment, and Pixel users can expect to see it in a future OS update.First introduced in 2017, Now Playing uses a cache of thousands of audio fingerprints to identify songs you might encounter in your daily grind. Since it works offline, it's highly efficient and preserves your privacy. Now Playing isn't a life-changing addition to the mobile experience, but it's damn cool.That makes it all the stranger that Google appears to have broken Now Playing with the release of Android 15 (or possibly a Play Services update around the same time) and has left it that way for months. Before that update, Now Playing would regularly list songs on the lock screen and offer enhanced search for songs it couldn't ID offline. It was obvious to Pixel fans when Now Playing stopped listening last year, and despite a large volume of online complaints, Google has seemingly dragged its feet. There are only so many settings to fiddle with, and none of them will make Now Playing work. There are only so many settings to fiddle with, and none of them will make Now Playing work. An update to the Android System Intelligence component earlier this year was supposed to fix bugs with Now Playing, but it doesn't appear to have improved matters. In fact, the bug is still present in the latest Android 16 Beta release as well as the stable Android 15 builds. In the issue tracker for Android 16, one user has finally gotten Google's attention and celebrated with a post on Reddit.After getting bug reports and screen recordings, a Google engineer was able to identify the problem and develop a fix that allegedly restores background song detection, as well as the enhanced search feature of Now Playing. Unfortunately, all we have to go on for now is this one bug tracker post. The post says the fix is done, and it will arrive in "an upcoming release."As for what counts as "upcoming," there are two possibilities. Google is testing Android 15 QPR2, which is the second "quarterly platform release" for this version of the OS. These builds eventually become Pixel Drop updates, which deliver a raft of improvements for Google's phones every few months. We expect to see a new Pixel Drop in March 2025 that could include the Now Playing fix. However, it's not impossible the fix will end up bundled into the Android 16 update. That's expected out in June as part of Google's revamped platform release schedule.Ryan WhitwamSenior Technology ReporterRyan WhitwamSenior Technology Reporter Ryan Whitwam is a senior technology reporter at Ars Technica, covering the ways Google, AI, and mobile technology continue to change the world. Over his 20-year career, he's written for Android Police, ExtremeTech, Wirecutter, NY Times, and more. He has reviewed more phones than most people will ever own. You can follow him on Bluesky, where you will see photos of his dozens of mechanical keyboards. 29 Comments