Set Waze as your default navigation app (2024)

FAQs

Set Waze as your default navigation app? ›

Choose 'Settings' ⚙️; Click 'Navigation app' ; Choose 'Google Maps', 'Waze' or 'Other'; 'Other' will allow you to use any navigation app you've installed on your phone.

Choose 'Settings' ⚙️; Click 'Navigation app' ; Choose 'Google Maps', 'Waze' or 'Other'; 'Other' will allow you to use any navigation app you've installed on your phone.

Tap the menu icon in the upper-right corner. Select Settings. Tap Default apps. Under the Navigate from your location and Navigate between locations sections, select Google Maps.

Waze was removed from Android auto. Doesn't appear as an available app in launcher.

Yes, you can use both Google Maps and Waze to plan a whole trip. Both apps offer features for navigation, traffic information, and route planning. You can enter your destination, get directions, view alternate routes, and even see estimated arrival times based on real-time traffic data.

Open up Settings and choose Apps. Then look for the default apps option—it's labeled Default apps on Pixel phones, and Choose default apps on Samsung Galaxy phones. This takes you to a list of all the default app associations currently in place on your phone. Tap on any of the entries to make changes.

If you're a driver who wants to get to their destination as quickly as possible, and don't care how you get there, you'll want to use Waze. Google Maps may be able to see and anticipate road conditions, but it isn't as proactive about sending you down a different route when things get dicey.

Google owns both mapping apps as they acquired Waze in 2013 but kept it as a separate app with separate developers that focused on different features. While both apps provide the same basic functionality and utility, significant differences may appeal to you based on how you use a mapping app.

Why should I use Waze over Google Maps? ›

Waze and Google Maps have different data-gathering approaches, leading to different travel experiences. Waze uses crowdsourced data to provide up-to-the-second driving information. That means Waze users constantly provide real-time information about driving conditions, hazards, and speed.

You cannot set Google Maps as your default Maps service, but you can force your iPhone into opening it every time you want to start a navigation.

Open phone Settings > Apps > Google Maps > Select Battery > Enable Allow background activity. Check your Permissions settings for Android Auto. Open phone Settings > Apps > Android Auto > Permissions > Check all settings.

If you can't find your apps in Android Auto's app launcher, they might be temporarily disabled. To save your battery life, Samsung phones temporarily disable apps you haven't used in a while. These apps might still show up on your phone, but won't show up in your Android Auto app launcher until you re-enable them.

But, in May of 2023, Waze confirmed that it had intentionally ripped out most voice commands from its Android Auto app. As of that time, users were only available to use voice commands to navigate to preset “home” and “work” locations, rather than being able to input any location or address.