Summary
- Make sure you unmute guidance audio to receive clear directions while walking.
- Adjust guidance volume to hear directions better with street noise.
- Enable detailed voice guidance and Live View for more frequent updates and direction guidance, respectively.
Navigating with directional software is primarily designed for those driving cars. If you have Android Auto or Apple CarPlay in your car, you can easily see your route on the car’s infotainment system and better visualize the turns and what’s upcoming. If not, you probably have your phone shouting directions to you from the cupholder.
That isn’t necessarily a bad thing — as long as you have the right settings on. It’s far from ideal when your map app is shouting, “In 600 feet, turn right,” especially if you’ve never measured 600 feet in your life (like me) and have no idea if you’re about to miss your turn. Fortunately, there are adjustments you can make in your settings to help you navigate better, regardless of the mode of transportation you’re using.
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Google Maps is arguably the most popular navigation app out there — it can be used for commuting, cycling, driving, and walking. If you’re using Google Maps to guide you while you’re walking, you don’t want to stare down at your phone while trying to cross the street. These tips and tricks can make it easier for you to follow along with your directions to get you where you need to go.
Google Maps
Google Maps is the most commonly used navigational app for traveling. The popular tool helps drivers, commuters, walkers, and cyclists get to where they are going with features like scheduled departures, incident reporting, and slowdown warnings.
1 Unmute guidance audio
Make sure that your directions are coming through
When you’re driving, having Google Maps dictate every turn can be more distracting than helpful, especially if you’re using Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, where you can see the directions clearly on your dashboard. The constant voice interruptions might ruin the bass drop of music or an important part of your podcast. But, if you’re walking, particularly in busy areas, you likely appreciate the audible guidance to make sure you don’t miss a turn or cross a busy intersection in the middle of a green light.
You can keep this setting off if you want to look at your phone. But it will not announce directions without it.
On the Google Maps mobile app:
- Open the app.
- Tap your profile icon in the top right corner.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Navigation.
- Make sure Guidance audio, under Sound & voice, is on Unmute.
With this setting on unmute, you can get more guidance as you’re walking.
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2 Turn that volume up
Make it louder when you’re battling street noise
Whether you’re using headphones while you walk or just want to enjoy the sounds of the surrounding area, you need to have your volume up. This goes beyond just turning the volume up on your phone itself. There are settings within Google Maps that you can adjust to make it easier to hear, which is especially helpful if you’re walking down a busy sidewalk and still want to know what your phone is saying.
If you go back into Settings in the mobile app, tap Navigation again. Below Guidance audio is Guidance volume. There are three options: Softer, Normal, and Louder. Louder will be your best bet to hear on busy streets, and normal is a good choice if you’re going to be listening with earbuds.
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3 Detailed voice guidance
Increase the frequency of your updates
When you’re walking, reaching your destination takes longer compared to driving, which means there’s more time between the directions you receive. For example, Google Maps might say you have 0.9 miles to go, but it could take you 10 to 15 minutes to actually walk that distance. By turning on detailed voice guidance, you can increase the frequency of updates, giving you more instances where Google Maps is providing intel on how close you’re getting.
Typically, you receive a heads-up from the app when you are 0.2 miles away from a landmark, or 400 feet from a turn. Detailed voice guidance provides you with more detailed audio announcements and lets you know that you’re still going in the right direction, which can be helpful if you feel like it hasn’t spoken to you in a while. Detailed voice guidance is also a major advantage of Google Maps for blind and disabled users, who can get more information during their journey.
Turn on Detailed voice guidance in the Navigation menu of Settings and toggle it on at the very bottom of the menu.
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4 Live View
You can get the directional guidance you want
Available on both Google Play and the App Store, Google Maps provides seamless navigation from point A to point B with a detailed map overview and turn-by-turn directions.
Whenever you’re walking to a destination, you’ve likely checked your phone to confirm you’re headed in the right direction. While Google Maps does have a compass, it can be challenging to orient yourself if you’re unsure of your starting direction. This is where turning on Live View becomes essential. It allows you to tilt your phone in one direction and have the app follow suit. It basically turns your phone into a compass and shows you which direction you are going in and which way you should be going.
To activate Live View, just go into Settings and then Navigation in Google Maps. You’ll find Live View just above the Detailed voice guidance option. Toggle it on, and you’ll be able to move your phone in different directions to see exactly where you need to go right from the start.
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5 Play voice over Bluetooth
It may seem odd, but you have to toggle this on
If you want to use Bluetooth headphones or earbuds while walking and listen to Google Maps directions through them, you’ve got a couple of things to do first. Obviously, you’ll need to pair your headphones with your phone via Bluetooth — that part’s straightforward. But there’s another step: you have to make sure the voice directions are set to play over Bluetooth.
Just head over to the Navigation menu in Google Maps and look for the Play voice over Bluetooth option. Flip that switch on, and voilà, all your Google Maps directions will come through your Bluetooth device. You may also notice Play as Bluetooth phone call as an option — this will give you directions through a phone call, which allows you to listen to music or other audio without Google Maps interrupting.
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