Driving your car in a city can be quite stressful, especially if you don't know the route to a new place and if you are in rush hour traffic. That's why having a reliable navigation and GPS app like Google Maps is critical.
Google Maps simplifies navigation thanks to its vocal directions. In fact, if you're driving, you don't even have to keep your eyes on the screen: just listen to the spoken directions. But what if the spoken directions don't work? How can you solve the problem?
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Troubleshoot Google Maps voice directions not working
1. Check the volume settings
First, make sure your phone's volume isn't muted. Maybe you accidentally hit the volume down or mute button without even realizing it.
Press the volume up button located on the side of the phone. Swipe down from the top corner of the phone screen and check if your device is in silent mode.
Alternatively, you can also hit the volume up button after launching Google Maps.
The Maps volume settings are independent of the phone settings and the device volume is set to 100%, you won't hear anything unless you hit the volume up button after launching Google Maps.
2. Enable Play voice over Bluetooth
If you've connected your phone to your car's Bluetooth system, make sure you've also enabled the Play voice over Bluetooth option for the voice navigation directions to work.
Here are the steps to follow on Android
- Tap the icon at the top right of the menu on Google Maps
- Go to Settings → Navigator settings
- Activate the function Play voice via Bluetooth as well as the option Play voice during phone calls .
Also, make sure the guide volume settings are set to Higher.
If you are using an iPhone, you need to tap your account picture, select Settings → Navigation and then enable both options Play voice via Bluetooth.
3. Disable or restore the Bluetooth connection
If your phone has failed to establish a stable connection to your car's Bluetooth system, you will not hear spoken directions, street names and other directions.
Turn off your phone and car Bluetooth. Swipe down from the top corner of the phone screen and tap the Bluetooth icon to turn it off. Try to connect your device to your car again.
If that didn't work either, try resetting the Bluetooth connection completely. This means deleting the car's current Bluetooth connection from your phone's settings and setting it up again.
4. Force close Google Maps and clear the cache
Your phone's cache may occasionally break some app functions. That's why we'll force Google Maps to close and clear the app cache.
- Go to Settings → App
- Locate Google Maps and tap on it
- Tap the button Force Stop
- Tap the option Memory and touch Clear cache button to clear the Google Maps cache
- Launch the app again and check if the problem is resolved.
5. Update Google Maps and your operating system
If one of your apps isn't working as it should, you may be using an outdated version. Updating Google Maps to the latest version of the app should fix the problem.
Speaking of updates, make sure your phone has the latest version of the operating system installed. To update Google Maps, open the Play Store app and search for Google Maps. If there is a button Update next to the app, tap it.
7. Use an alternative app
If nothing worked, not even reinstalling the app, switch to another GPS and navigation app.
Some of the best Google Maps alternatives for phones include Waze, HERE Maps, and MapQuest. Take a look and follow the app that best suits your needs.
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