Why is my Google Maps not giving me voice directions?
Check Your Sound Settings
To enable voice directions, check your sound settings in your device’s settings and Google Maps.
First, make sure your device’s media volume is turned up by using the volume buttons or in the settings on your phone or tablet. Without overall volume control enabled, your map app cannot provide voice directions regardless of the other settings.
Next, open the Google Maps app and confirm that voice guidance is enabled in the settings menu. You may have previously turned this off which disabled the voice navigation. Go to the app settings and turn on “Voice guidance” under Navigation settings to re-enable verbal directions.
With both your device volume and Google Maps voice guidance enabled, you should now hear voice directions during navigation again.
Update Your Apps
One of the most common reasons for Google Maps voice navigation to stop working is having an outdated version of the app. Google Maps is constantly being updated with new features and bug fixes, so it’s important to keep it fully updated on your device.
Go to your device’s app store (the App Store on iOS or the Play Store on Android) and search for Google Maps. If an update is available, install it. The latest stable version as of October 2022 is Google Maps 6.86 for iOS and 11.62 for Android 1. Updating to the newest version can often resolve voice navigation issues.
You should also make sure your device’s operating system is updated to the latest version. Bug fixes and optimizations in OS updates can improve the performance of apps like Google Maps. On an iPhone, go to Settings > General > Software Update to check for iOS updates. On Android, go to Settings > System > System Update. Keeping your device’s OS up-to-date is good general practice and may fix your Google Maps voice issues.
After updating Google Maps and your device OS, try using voice navigation again to see if the problem is fixed before moving on to other troubleshooting steps.
Check Your Network Connection
In order to enable voice directions, you will need to be connected to the internet using WiFi or cellular data (3G, 4G, or 5G). Check here to see if your device is connected to a WiFi or cellular network. Try closing and reopening Google Maps to refresh the network connection.
If your device is connected to a network but you’re still not getting voice directions, your network connection could be slow or weak. Try toggling airplane mode on and off to reset the network connection. Or, try moving to a location with a stronger signal. If issues persist, contact your internet service provider for assistance with troubleshooting or enhancing your network connection.
Allow Location Access
One common reason for Google Maps not giving voice directions is that location access is not enabled for the app. To fix this on iPhone:
- Open the Settings app
- Scroll down and tap on Privacy
- Select Location Services
- Find Google Maps in the list of apps and ensure the location toggle is set to Always. As noted by iGeeksBlog, Always allows the app to continually access the device’s location for the most accurate navigation.
With location access set to Always, Google Maps should now provide voice directions during navigation. If the issue still persists, try some of the other troubleshooting tips like updating the app, checking network connectivity, switching navigation mode, or restarting your device.
Switch Navigation Mode
One issue that can cause Google Maps to stop providing voice directions is if the navigation mode is set incorrectly. For example, if you are driving, but have walking directions enabled, you won’t receive voice guidance.
To fix this, open Google Maps and start navigation as usual. Tap the directions icon in the top right corner, then tap “Directions” and check that driving or bicycling navigation is selected, not walking.
You’ll also want to verify that navigation voice is not set to silent or alerts only. Tap “Settings” then “Navigation settings.” Under “Voice & sound,” select “Voice guidance” or “Voice guidance with alerts.”
Switching between driving and walking modes, and enabling full voice guidance, can often resolve problems with Google Maps voice directions not working properly.
Restart Your Device
Sometimes a simple reboot can fix temporary glitches in Google Maps and get it working again. To properly restart your Android phone, press and hold the power button until the “Power off” prompt appears, then tap it [1]. Once the phone is fully powered down, press the power button again to turn it back on and load Maps.
Restarting an iPhone is similar – press and hold the power or side button and volume down button simultaneously until the power off slider appears. Slide it to turn off your phone, wait 30 seconds, then press and hold the power button again to turn your phone back on and open Maps [2].
After fully power cycling your phone this way, try Google Maps again. The restart helps clear temporary bugs that may be interfering with Maps voice navigation and directions.
Clear App Cache and Data
Over time, app caches and temporary files can accumulate and cause issues like voice navigation not working properly in Google Maps. Deleting this data forces the app to restart fresh and may resolve software issues.
To clear cache & data for Google Maps on Android:
- Open your device Settings
- Select “Apps” or “Application Manager”
- Select “Google Maps”
- Tap “Clear Cache” and then “Clear Data”
- Confirm clearing cache/data when prompted
- Open Google Maps and test functionality
Clearing cache & data will sign you out and remove offline maps, but won’t delete personal data like saved locations. It essentially gives the app a “fresh start” which often fixes odd issues. After testing voice navigation again after clearing data, hopefully it will now be working properly for providing directions.
Check Google Assistant Settings
Make sure the voice settings for Google Assistant are properly configured.
Open the Google Assistant app on your device and go to the Settings menu. Under Preferences, verify that Voice is enabled and set to an audible volume such as 50% or higher.
You can also check the Device settings in the Google Home app for your device to confirm Voice Match is enabled and permissions for Microphone are granted.
According to a discussion on Reddit, Google Assistant voice commands can sometimes fail if these settings are not properly set.
After verifying the Google Assistant and device settings, test voice navigation again in Google Maps to see if directions are now spoken aloud during navigation.
Contact Google Support
If you’ve tried the troubleshooting steps and your Google Maps voice navigation still isn’t working, you can contact Google Support for additional help:
Google has published official troubleshooting guides for fixing Google Maps voice navigation issues on Android and iOS devices. These guides cover common problems and provide step-by-step solutions to try.
You can also submit feedback directly to Google through the Maps app or the Google Maps Help page. This allows you to describe your specific issue in detail for Google to investigate.
For live assistance, Google offers troubleshooting support over chat or by phone. You may need to provide device details like make/model and Maps app version when contacting support.
Speaking to a support rep could help identify unique problems like device compatibility issues that prevent voice navigation from functioning properly.
Try a Different Navigation App
The issue with Google Maps may be specific to the app itself, so trying a popular alternative navigation app is worth a shot. According to The 7 Best Navigation Apps Besides Google Maps, some top options include:
- Waze – Owned by Google but uses crowdsourcing for routes and road condition updates
- Apple Maps – Pre-installed on iPhones and integrates with Siri
- Here WeGo – Offline navigation and global maps available
- TomTom – Reliable navigation app with traffic alerts
See if voice navigation works properly in one of these alternative apps. If it does, then the issue is likely isolated to Google Maps. Trying a different navigation app is an easy way to check if the problem persists across other apps or is Google Maps-specific.