How to set Waze as Default Navigation app on iPhone

Can I set Waze as the default navigation app on my iPhone? Yes, you can set Waze as default on iPhone. Here's how to do it.

One of the most important apps on any mobile device will have to be the navigation app. You need the maps app on your device to locate your destinations, search for places, and for almost just about anything and everything.

When it comes to using maps on an iPhone, you are usually left to make use of Apple Maps – the default pre-installed first-party maps service. But, not everyone is a fan of Apple Maps as it has its own set of problems or maybe even features that might be missing on popular map apps such as Google Maps and Waze.

While we all know how good Google Maps is, not everyone knows about Waze. You see, Waze is a great map app to use when you are traveling on road. The app has features such as the ability to see where police checkpoints, and road speed limits, see where potholes are, and even see if there’s an accident on the road or a road blockage. Because of such features, a lot of people want to make use of the Waze app and eventually want to make it their default maps app on their iPhones.

In today’s guide, we will be taking a look at how you can set the Waze app as the default maps app on your iPhone.

Let’s begin.

Now, the big question a lot of users have been asking around is how they could set up Waze as the default maps app on their iPhones. This is because there’s simply no option on the iPhone to choose a default app. You have to stick with the default first-party apps. But, there is a way that you can follow to use Waze as your default maps app on your iPhone.

Set Waze as the Default app on iPhone using Google App

Since this is an iPhone there is not much of any actual way to really set up default apps. However, this workaround should be helpful for anyone who wants to keep Waze as their default navigation app. Let’s get started.

Pre-requisites:

Here is what you will need to install on your iPhone before we dig into the steps of setting Waze as the default navigation app on your iPhone.

Make sure to download both apps on your iPhone and ensure that you have signed into both apps with the necessary accounts. Now, follow these steps to set Waze as your default navigation app.

how to set waze as default on iphone
  1. Launch the Google app on your iPhone and sign into the app.
  2. Now, tap on your Profile photo at the top right corner to open the Settings menu.
  3. Select Settings and tap on General.
  4. Now tap on the Default apps option and select the Waze app.
  5. This is how you can set Waze as the default navigation app on your iPhone.
  6. Also, give your iPhone a restart just to ensure that the settings have been properly applied.

Even after you’ve set Waze as your default navigation app, most of the apps including the first-party apps on your iPhone will still make use of Apple maps for navigation. So, in such situations, it’s ideal to launch the Waze app and navigate from the app itself. However, when it to making use of voice commands with Siri, you will have to tell Siri to use the Waze app for navigation. For example,

  • Siri, start Waze and begin navigation to Home
  • Siri, start Waze and navigate Drive to Work

Use Waze with Apple CarPlay

Earlier, users were limited to using Apple Maps for navigation with CarPlay. However, things have changed and now you can use Waze on your apple CarPlay. However, you will have to set it up. Here is how you can set it up.

how to set waze as default on iphone
  1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
  2. Now, select general and then tap on CarPlay.
  3. Make sure to select your car from the app.
  4. Simply tap on the Apple maps app and move it to another home screen.
  5. On your main home screen, simply add the Waze navigation app. 
  6. You should now be able to easily tap and use Waze for navigation while driving around.

Conclusion

This concludes the guide on how you can set up Waze as the default for navigation on your iPhone. Again, as stated above, the default option that gets set via the Google app is not system-wide and a lot of apps will still launch Apple Maps when it comes to navigation. In this case, it’s best to ask Siri to launch or use the Waze app followed by voice commands.

If you have questions or queries, feel free to leave them below.

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AUTHOR.

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Joshua D'souza

Enjoy games, 90's hip-hop, and tech. Loves exploring the infinite world of laptops and food. Every ready to provide assistance in anything that rocks his boat. Will gladly enjoy capturing memories through various lenses. Worked previously at PiunikaWeb as an author and researcher.

1 thought on “How to set Waze as Default Navigation app on iPhone”

  1. I use Google calendar on my iPhone 12 Pro Max. When I clicked on the location of an event that I needed to get to, it would bring up the Waze app. Somehow, recently, it stopped working. Thanks for reminding me how to get it working again.

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