Google Maps is the most popular navigation app, providing turn-by-turn directions and real-time traffic updates to help you reach your destination. The voice guidance feature gives audible instructions during navigation, telling you when and where to turn.
While voice guidance is useful, you may want to mute or disable it at times. Here are the steps to mute or turn off voice navigation in Google Maps.
Table of Contents
Mute Voice Guidance Temporarily
If you only need to mute the voice guidance temporarily, you can easily do so from the navigation screen in Google Maps:
- Start navigation to your destination in Google Maps.
- Once on the navigation screen, tap the “Sound” icon on the top right (it looks like a speaker).
- Tap on “Mute” to disable voice guidance. The speaker icon will show a line across it indicating mute is on.
- To turn voice guidance back on, tap the muted speaker icon again and select “Sound”.
This quickly mutes Google Maps voice guidance without changing any settings. It will stay muted for the current navigation session only.
Disable Voice Guidance Completely
To permanently disable voice guidance in Google Maps so it does not speak at all during navigation:
On Android
- Open the Google Maps app.
- Tap your profile picture in the top right corner.
- Tap “Settings”.
- Tap on “Navigation settings”.
- Under “Sound & voice”, tap on “Voice guidance”.
- Select the “Muted” option.
On iPhone/iOS
- Open the Google Maps app.
- Tap your profile picture in the top right corner.
- Tap “Settings”.
- Tap on “Navigation”
- Turn off “Guidance Voice”.
With voice guidance disabled, you will only see visual map guidance during navigation without any audible instructions.
Hear Voice for Traffic Alerts Only
To disable full voice guidance but still hear alerts relevant to your route like traffic, construction zones, or accidents:
On Android
- Open Google Maps and start navigation.
- Tap the “Sound” icon in the top right.
- Select the option labeled “Alerts only”.
On iPhone/iOS
- Unfortunately, iPhone does not have an option for alerts only. You can only enable or disable guidance voice fully.
With this enabled, Google Maps will only provide voice alerts for important events that impact your route. You won’t hear turn-by-turn directions.
Mute Voice During Phone Calls
If you receive a phone call while Google Maps is actively navigating, voice guidance will continue by default, which can be distracting.
You can change this behavior to mute guidance during calls:
On Android
- Open Google Maps.
- Tap your profile picture.
- Tap “Settings” then “Navigation settings”.
- Turn off “Play voice guidance during calls”.
On iPhone/iOS
- Open Google Maps.
- Tap your profile picture.
- Tap “Settings” then “Navigation”.
- Turn off “Play Voice Over Bluetooth During Calls”.
With this disabled, Google Maps will mute voice guidance whenever you answer the phone so you can focus on your call.
Change Volume of Voice Guidance
If you find the Google Maps voice guidance too loud or quiet, you can adjust the volume specifically for navigation instructions:
On Android and iPhone
- Open Google Maps.
- Tap your profile picture.
- Tap “Settings” then “Navigation settings”.
- Adjust the “Guidance volume” slider to your preferred volume.
This allows you to set navigation volume independent of your device’s overall volume.
Conclusion
Being able to mute or disable Google Maps voice guidance gives you more control over your navigation experience. Use the steps outlined above to:
- Temporarily mute voice
- Permanently disable voice guidance
- Hear traffic alerts only
- Mute guidance during calls
- Adjust voice guidance volume
Customize Google Maps to best suit your needs for every trip. Drive safe!
