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
- Swipe down from the top of the screen.
- Touch and hold Location .
- If you don't find Location :
- Tap Edit or Settings .
- Drag Location into your Quick Settings.
- If you don't find Location :
Note: These steps may vary depending on your device.
Allow Waze to use your phone’s location
- Swipe down from the top of the screen.
- Touch and hold Location . If you don't find Location :
- Tap Edit or Settings . Then drag Location into your Quick Settings.
- Tap App location permissions.
- Under ”Allowed all the time," “Allowed only while in use,” and “Not allowed,” find the apps that can use your device's location.
- 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
- Swipe down from the top of the screen.
- Touch and hold Location .
- If you don't find Location :
- Tap Edit or Settings .
- Drag Location into your Quick Settings.
- If you don't find Location :
- Tap Location Services Google Location Accuracy.
- Turn Improve Location Accuracy on or off.
Android 11 & lower
- Swipe down from the top of the screen.
- Touch and hold Location .
- If you don't find Location :
- Tap Edit or Settings .
- Drag Location into your Quick Settings.
- If you don't find Location :
- Tap Advanced Google Location Accuracy.
- Turn Improve Location Accuracy on or off.
For more instructions about Android location management, click here.
Additional steps for Xiaomi devices:
- Open your phone's Security app
- Tap Manage Apps
- Tap Permissions
- Tap Auto start
- 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.