Is music recognition not working on your iPhone?
Whenever you hear a great song, you want to learn the artist singing it and its title. The first thing you do is remember a phrase in the lyrics and look for it in Google search. While this is an effective way of knowing the title of a song, it is not always convenient.
Luckily, Apple decided to add a music recognition feature on their iPhones, similar to what Sony did with their Xperia phones.
In 2018, Apple acquired Shazam from its owners. This is an application that can identify music, movies, advertisements, and TV shows based on a short clip or sample played and use the microphone on your device to record it.
With Shazam’s acquisition, Apple decided to incorporate the app on iOS. However, some users complained that the feature wasn’t working correctly after the release of iOS 15.
To help out, we’ve decided to make a guide on how to fix music recognition if it’s not working on your iPhone.
Let’s get right into it!
What Causes This Issue?
There are various reasons why the music recognition feature is not working on your iPhone after updating to iOS 15. You’ll see a ‘No Result. We were unable to find anything’ error message when you use the app, even when you play a popular song or show.
Most of the time, this problem is caused by a bug or glitch in the version of iOS 15, which Apple has already released a fix. On the other hand, it can also be due to incorrect user configurations, lack of permissions, network-related issues, and corrupted software.
Luckily, this issue isn’t that hard to address, and you should be able to resolve it with just a few steps.
1. Restart Your Device.
When you encounter problems with music recognition or any feature on your iPhone, the first thing you should do is restart it. This should reload your resources and eliminate temporary errors that may have occurred during runtime.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Access the Assistive Touch on your iOS device.
- Next, go to More.
- Finally, choose Restart and wait.
Try using music recognition again to check if the problem is solved.
2. Force Restart Your Device.
If normal restarts were ineffective in solving the problem, try using force restart. Unlike a regular restart, force restarting your iPhone cuts off the power from the battery, which clears your system cache and memory.
See the steps below to force restart your iPhone:
- First, press the Volume Up button on your iPhone once.
- Now, quickly press the Volume Down button.
- Hold down the Side button afterward and release it once the Apple logo appears.
Wait for your device to initialize, and try using the music recognition feature again.
3. Check Your Connection.
The music recognition feature on your iPhone needs an internet connection to identify the music you’re playing. If it’s not working correctly, it might indicate a problem with your network or provider.
To confirm this, perform a test using Fast.com to measure your network’s current upload and download bandwidth.
If the result indicates a problem with your connection, power cycle your modem or router to re-establish the link with your ISP’s servers. Unplug your router from the outlet and let it rest for 5 to 10 seconds before reconnecting it.
Once done, re-run the test on your network to check if the problem is solved. If your connection continues to run slow, contact your provider and report the issue.
4. Check Permissions.
Like any application on your device, Shazam needs permission to access the microphone. If the app is not allowed to use your iPhone’s mic, it cannot function correctly, explaining the ‘No Result. We were unable to find anything’ error message.
To fix this, see the steps below to check your device permissions:
- On your device, access the home screen and launch the Settings app.
- After that, scroll down to the installed apps section and tap on Shazam.
- Finally, turn on Microphone access for the app.
Restart Shazam and see if the problem is solved.
5. Check Restrictions.
iOS features parental controls that allow you to limit certain features on your child’s device or when you lend your phone to them. Possibly, you’ve enabled parental controls on your device and forgot about it.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Launch the Settings app on your device.
- Now, go to Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions. If asked, enter the password you’ve set for your device.
- Under Privacy, look for Microphone and allow apps to access it.
Try using music recognition again to check if it works.
6. Update Shazam.
The version of Shazam on your device could be outdated and has underlying issues. To rule this out, we recommend updating your app to the latest version available to patch bugs and other errors.
See the steps below to update Shazam:
- First, go to the App Store on your iOS device.
- Next, open your Profile and look for Shazam on the list.
- Lastly, tap the Update button to install the latest version.
Once done, use music recognition again to check if the update worked.
7. Update Your Device.
Since the issue started occurring after updating to iOS 15, it’s possible that the initial version of iOS 15 is not yet stable. In this case, Apple may have already released a newer version with fixes and patches.
Follow the guide below to update your iPhone:
- Open the Settings app on your iOS device.
- After that, go to General > Software Update.
- Go to Automatic Updates and enable all the options under it.
- Finally, go back to the previous page and tap on Download and Install.
Try using Shazam again to see if the update worked.
8. Contact Apple.
If none of the solutions above worked, the last thing you can do is report the problem to Apple. Head to their support page and submit a ticket to report the issue you’ve been experiencing with the music recognition feature.
Provide all the necessary details on your report, including the version of iOS you’re running and the model of your iPhone.
That wraps up our guide on how to fix music recognition if it’s not working on your iPhone. If you have questions or other concerns, please let us know in the comment section, and we’ll do our best to answer them.
If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂
