The Download
- Restarting the Waze app or your device is a simple first step to fix many problems.
- Check Waze’s status page to see if there are server issues causing the app not to work.
If Waze isn’t working, it might not show the map, update slowly, fail to find a route, or be muted during turn-by-turn directions. Whatever the issue, here are the best solutions to get Waze running again on Android or iOS.
Why Is Waze Not Working?
For a navigation app to work reliably, several components must function together. Possible reasons Waze isn’t working include:
- Waze’s servers are malfunctioning
- A temporary issue with the app
- Alerts are disabled, or the volume is too low
- Waze lacks permission to access your location
- Your phone’s data connection is off or weak
- An unresolved app bug interferes with operations
How to Fix It When Waze Is Not Working
Try these steps in order, beginning with the simplest solutions.
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Restart the app. This helps with any app issue, like when the map isn’t visible or GPS isn’t working.
The quickest way to restart is using the app’s built-in power feature: Tap the three-lined menu at the top, then choose Shut off. Reopen Waze to see if it resolves the issue.
If using Waze in your car, ensure the app remains open on your phone. This resolves map problems some users encounter in the car’s head unit.
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Check the Waze Status page or server issues if map edits aren’t appearing or the app isn’t working properly. If there are known issues, the only option is to wait for Waze to fix them.
The status page offers the latest updates from the Waze development team on North America and International server statuses.
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Reboot your device. A restart is easy and often resolves unexplained tech problems.
Restarting is similar across devices: Android [How to Restart an Android Device], iPhone [How to Restart an iPhone], or iPad [How to Restart an iPad].
If you’re using Waze with Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, restart your infotainment center. An easy, although not always convenient, way to do this is to turn your car off and back on.
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Check the volume. If the map is working fine, but you can’t hear turn-by-turn directions, the volume is likely the issue.
Check both your phone’s and car’s volume (if you’re using Waze through your car’s speakers) and also the app’s sound settings.
To do this on Android, tap the three-lined menu, go to Settings > Voice & sound. Ensure Sounds is set to On or Alerts only. From the same screen, check that Play sound to phone speaker is off if you want to hear Waze in your car.
On iOS, it’s similar. From the menu, tap Settings > Voice & sound. Then, choose Play sound via and select Play as Bluetooth phone call.
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Check location permissions. Waze needs access to your location to display the map and properly follow your route.
How this works differs by platform: For Android, see [[How to Manage Android App Permissions] and for iOS, see [How to Turn On Location Services on iPhone or iPad].
If you use Waze with Android Auto, try turning off the Android Auto app’s permission to access your location. The app doesn’t need your location if Waze can access it. This solution can help with random route recalculations and odd map rotations.
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Fix your mobile data connection. Your internet connection might not be working as it should. A stable data network connection is necessary for all aspects of Waze to run smoothly.
If there’s a problem with data, you might see errors like “No route” or “Routing server error.”
This could be the issue if you’re not receiving real-time traffic information, the map isn’t loading, you can’t post hazards, or Waze can’t find a route. The app might not provide reliable information even if your connection is intermittent.
One potential quick fix is to toggle Airplane Mode on and then back off.
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Clear the app cache. Over time, the cache can become full or corrupted, causing issues such as the Waze map not showing up or route problems.
You can clear the app cache on iPhone [How to Clear iPhone Cache] and Android [How to Clear Android Cache].
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Update Waze to the latest version. App updates often address bugs and other problems. If an update is available, installing it could fix the issue.
App updates work similarly on Android and iOS: [How to Update Apps on Android] or [How to Keep Your iPhone Apps Up to Date].
If you’ve been experiencing issues with Waze after a recent update, it’s likely to be resolved with a subsequent update. If you’re using an Android device, installing an older version of Waze is an alternative, although waiting for a bug fix through a regular update is recommended.
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Open a GPS status app, and leave it open while you use Waze. Several options are available, like GPS Status for iPhone and iPad and GPS Status & Toolbox for Android.
This may seem like an odd solution, but some users report that it opens a connection that Waze can use to obtain GPS data. It will also indicate whether there’s a genuine issue with your phone’s ability to access GPS information.
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Reinstall Waze. If the above steps don’t resolve the issue, reinstalling the app is the next action before contacting Waze support.
Tap and hold the Waze app to see the option to uninstall it. For detailed instructions, refer to Android [How to Delete Apps on an Android Phone] or iOS [How to Delete Apps From Your iPhone].
After removing Waze, download it from your device’s app store: Android [Download Waze for Android] or iOS [Download Waze for iOS].
After opening the newly installed app, pay close attention to prompts asking for location and other permissions. These need to be accepted for Waze to correctly display the map, track your location along a route, and play sounds.
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Contact Waze Support. At this point, you’ve tried everything you can on your end, and all that’s left is to let Waze address the issue.
Other users may share this problem, but Waze doesn’t know about it yet. Reaching out, then, is the best solution.
FAQ
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Can I use Waze without an internet signal?
Waze isn’t meant to be used without an active, working connection to the internet. If you find yourself without a signal, try using Google Maps or Apple Maps. They also need a signal, but might have already downloaded some of the map of the area you are in.
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Does GPS rely on an internet signal?
No, the GPS system just requires your device to have sight of the sky so that signals from the GPS system can reach your device. Now, without an internet connection your map software won’t be able to display the maps even if the map software knows where you are. If you think you’ll be out of range of a strong internet signal, consider downloading maps to use offline.
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