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Key Google Maps Feature Appears to Be Broken, No Word on Official Fix

Google Maps is without a doubt the preferred navigation app when getting behind the wheel, and the best of all is that it doesn’t always have to run on systems like Android Auto and CarPlay.
Google Maps Bluetooth options on iOS 1 photo
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Users can launch it on their mobile phones as well, and because not everybody has an AA or CarPlay-capable head unit, Google has added a dedicated option to run Google Maps on the handset but get navigation instructions via the car’s speakers.

It’s all possible with a Bluetooth connection as long as the phone is paired with the car’s audio system, but as it turns out, this isn’t always working exactly as expected.

A discussion thread on Google’s forums reveals that this has been a problem for Google Maps users for quite a while, with so many people explaining that despite the “Play voice over Bluetooth” option is enabled, the navigation instructions still don’t get routed to the car’s speakers.

In some cases, the voice navigation is muted completely, and a handful of users say that they’re not even getting it on their mobile devices when the Bluetooth connection is active.

Nothing seems to work right now, as reinstalling the app, re-pairing the mobile device to the car’s Bluetooth system, and toggling the aforementioned option on and off repeatedly still don’t restore the expected behavior in Google Maps.

The only way to go right now is to disable the “Play voice over Bluetooth” option in Google Maps and then get the voice navigation through the phone’s speakers. Needless to say, this isn’t necessarily the most convenient workaround since you could miss some instructions if the music in the car is too loud – when the instructions are offered through the car’s speakers, the music volume is automatically reduced when the navigation assistant tells you which way to go.

Google is yet to acknowledge the problem, so right now, users are all alone in their struggle to find a fix.
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About the author: Bogdan Popa
Bogdan Popa profile photo

Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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