Allow Waze to use your GPS

To navigate with Waze, you need to turn on your phone’s location, as well as allow Waze to use your phone’s location.

On Android

Important: Some of these steps only work on Android 10 and above. Learn how to check your Android version.

Turn on your phone's location

1. Swipe down from the top of the screen.
2. Touch and hold Location .
   • If you don't find Location :
     1. Tap Edit or Settings .
     2. Drag Location into your Quick Settings.

Allow Waze to use your phone’s location

1. Swipe down from the top of the screen.
2. Touch and hold Location . If you don't find Location :
   1. Tap Edit or Settings . Then drag Location into your Quick Settings.
3. Tap App location permissions.
4. Under ”Allowed all the time," “Allowed only while in use,” and “Not allowed,” find the apps that can use your device's location.
5. To change the app's permissions, tap it. Then, choose the location access for the app.

Additional steps for Android 8.1 and below:

1. Tap Mode
2. Choose High accuracy
3. For more instructions about Android location management, click here.  

Additional steps for Xiaomi devices:

1. Tap Manage Apps
2. Tap Permissions
3. Tap Auto start
4. Turn Waze to on

Note: These steps may vary depending on your device.

If you followed these steps and are unable to navigate with Waze, or are receiving a GPS error message, follow the instructions for how to fix a GPS issue.

On iOS

Allow Waze to use your phone’s location

1. Tap
2. Tap Settings
3. Tap Privacy
4. Tap Location Services and select Waze
5. Make sure that Always or While Using the App is selected – Learn more
   Note: On phones with iOS 14 and above, Waze needs your precise location to give you turn-by-turn directions and reminders to leave.
6. Turn on Precise Location

Got questions?

I see an error message in Waze

If you encounter an error about Waze and your phone's location settings, do the following:

1. Tap
2. Tap Settings
3. Tap Privacy
4. Tap Location Services
5. Turn off Location Services
6. Restart your phone – Learn how
7. Repeat steps 1-2, then turn Location Services back on

If this doesn't resolve the issue, sign out of your Waze account and then sign in again. 

Tip: Before signing out, make sure you've added an email to your Waze account so you can reset your password if needed.

Waze is still unable to find a GPS signal

Follow the steps in this guide.

If the problem persists, contact Apple or your local cellular provider in order to check the GPS function on your phone.