Pixel 2's Now Playing Feature Becomes Unresponsive With Words With Friends 2 App, Users Report

Some Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL users claim that the Words With Friends 2 app breaks the default 'Now Playing' song recognition feature. The new issue, as reported by users on Google Product Forums, silently disables the preloaded feature that was designed by the search giant to counter Shazam, which also offers a similar music recognition feature through its app.

First spotted by technology blog PiunikaWeb, a large number of Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL users have reported the issue on Google Product Forums. The affected users have found that after uninstalling the Words With Friends 2 app, they are able to enable their Pixel 2 models to recognise the song playing in the background. "I just discovered that the app Words With Friends causes now playing to stop working. Works perfectly all day unless I open the Words With Friends app," one of the users who discovered the issue after some initial postings on the product forums wrote.

It appears that the Words With Friends 2 app has some conflicts with the software-centric 'Now Playing' feature on the Pixel 2 family. The affected users are currently recommended to reboot their handsets after accessing the Words With Friends 2 app to use the song recognition feature. Uninstalling the conflicting app can also resolve the issue. However, Google is intrinsically working on a fix that would reach your Pixel device soon. "[T]hese reports have made us aware of this issue, and we're working on a fix. We really appreciate you coming here to share what you've found," a Google community manager writes in response to the discovery of the new flaw.

Last week, the Pixel 2 XL was in the headlines for some speaker distortion issues that were reported by its users on Google Product Forums. Several users even spotted earlier this month that the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are facing issues with bundled headphone adapters. Most interestingly, the arrival of Android 8.1 Oreo on the Pixel 2 XL few weeks back even slowed down its fingerprint sensor for some users.