Allow Waze to use your GPS

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

Important: Some of these steps work only on Android 12 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.

Note: These steps may vary depending on your device.

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.

Note: These steps may vary depending on your device.

Turn your phone's location accuracy on or off

Android 12 & higher

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.
3. Tap Location Services Google Location Accuracy.
4. Turn Improve Location Accuracy on or off.

Android 11 & lower

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.
3. Tap Advanced Google Location Accuracy. 
4. Turn Improve Location Accuracy on or off.

For more instructions about Android location management, click here.  

Additional steps for Xiaomi devices:

1. Open your phone's Security app
2. Tap Manage Apps
3. Tap Permissions
4. Tap Auto start
5. Turn on "Waze"

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, refer to this article for instructions to fix the issue.

Need more help? Check out our Waze Community forum for more questions and answers about Direction and navigation