Waze is one of the most popular navigation apps, thanks to its powerful features and community of users. It’s compatible with Android Auto and CarPlay. Plus, it works on virtually any smartphone, including budget Android devices and iOS, making it widely available to Apple and Google users.
One of Waze’s fun functions is its ability to record your voice so that you hear directions in your voice when driving or customize the voice directions with the one of your choice. The steps you’ll follow are straightforward and can be done from the Waze app.
Recording your own Waze voice directions
You first need to install the Waze app on your phone to change voice directions and replace them with your own. If you don’t have it, download it from the App Store or Play Store. Then, make sure you’re sitting in a quiet environment, as you’ll need to record your voice using your smartphone’s microphone.
- Open the Waze app on your Android phone or iPhone.
- Tap the menu icon in the upper-left corner of the screen.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Voice & sound.
- Tap Waze voice.
- Select Add voice and tap OK.
- If a prompt appears asking you to grant the app authorization to use the microphone, select While using the app.
- You are taken to the Voice recorder screen, where you select each item to record a custom voice and create your personal voice pack to use for driving directions.
- Tap each voice command and record your voice using your phone’s microphone.
- Select the one to record and tap the microphone button to start recording.
- When you’re done, tap the stop button.
- Tap the play button to listen to the recording.
- If you like the recording, tap Save. Otherwise, tap the microphone icon again to re-record it.
- Repeat the process for each voice direction.
- From the Voice recorder screen, you’ll see the phrases you recorded and can replay or delete them.
- When you’re done, tap Done in the upper right corner of the screen.
- Give it a name and tap Add.
Congratulations, you’ve created a custom voice pack to use for driving directions! Before you close the screen, tap the circle next to the newly created voice pack’s name to set it as the default voice to use for driving directions.
Recording your own Waze Voice pack to share with friends
If you created a fun voice pack or want your friends and family to listen to your voice while they drive, you can share your custom voice pack with other Waze users so that they can use it for driving directions. To make it even more fun and customized, add the person’s name to the recording in the new voice recording and adapt it to each Waze user.
- Open the Waze app on your Android phone or iPhone.
- Tap the menu icon in the upper-left corner of the screen.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Voice & sound.
- Tap Waze voice.
- Under the Voice recorder section, locate the voice pack you’d like to share.
- Tap the share icon to the right of the custom voice pack.
- Tap Share.
- This creates a link for you to share your voice pack with other Waze users for them to use for voice directions. Note that the link is public, and any Waze user who has it can use it, so be careful when using the voice recorder.
- The Waze user must select your custom voice pack as their default voice in their Waze app settings.
Make Waze navigation more personal
With this feature, you can easily create a custom voice pack and share it with any Waze user so that they can use it for voice directions when driving. However, keep in mind that although it’s fun to create a new voice pack with your voice, some of the voice directions used in the default voices are more functional, as they can artificially pronounce street names, just like in Google Maps or other apps like Google Assistant or Siri. If you don’t mind that, you’ll have plenty of fun customizing your default voice pack for Waze navigation.
