Google has embraced the Pixel devices with one of the most useful features for music nerds—Now Playing. This dormant feature, hidden inside the Lock Screen Settings of the Pixel phones, comes in handy when you hear a good song but can’t remember its name. However, some Google Pixel users are now reporting that the Now Playing app is not working, crashing, or unable to detect a song.

Now Playing not working after December 2024 update

The Now Playing feature automatically recognizes the song and displays the title on the lock screen. Alternatively, you can click a search icon on the lock screen to find a song playing in your surroundings. This feature works pretty accurately. But for some Pixel users, Now Playing is acting up or not working correctly. For some, it is unable to detect a song, while for others, the app simply crashes.

Now Playing throws ‘no song found’ error

It’s frustrating when you really want to know the song playing around you and Now Playing suddenly stops working. A section of Pixel users have been reporting that the app is throwing ‘No song found’ error when trying to recognize a song by tapping on the search icon present on the lock screen.

Now Playing app crashing

For others, the app simply crashes. After updating to the December 2024 update, some Pixel users have noticed that the Now Playing setting keeps crashing when they try to access it. Users keep getting Android system intelligence keeps stopping” errors when trying to access the settings.

Alternative to Now Playing – Shazam

A no-brainer solution would be to check for the latest system update and try updating the device if there’s a pending update. Some other solutions include restarting the device and turning the feature off and on. However, if the problem persists, then it’s better to check out an alternative until Google fixes the issue permanently.

One of the best alternatives to Google’s Now Playing is from it’s biggest rival – Apple. Shazam is an app available on the Play Store that works exactly as the Now Playing and will help you recognize the songs playing around you.

That said, Shazam is a great alternative for the time being. But don’t get carried away with it, keep checking for the new update as Google may also release a fix for this bug in one of the upcoming software updates.

For what it’s worth, the December 2024 update for Pixel phones has introduced another bug. As per reports, themed icons are reversed in dark and light mode.