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Waze Bugs Like This One Make It Hard to Resist a Switch to Google Maps

A bug that shows up occasionally breaks down an essential Waze feature, eventually making the application useless.
Waze turn-by-turn guidance freezes for no reason 7 photos
Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
Waze on CarPlayWaze on CarPlayWaze on CarPlayWaze on CarPlayWaze on CarPlayWaze on CarPlay
Like Google Maps, Waze requires a GPS connection to determine your location and then follow you on the map. When the navigation is enabled, the application can update the turn-by-turn instructions accordingly, as it always knows where you are.

GPS problems can occur due to a wide variety of reasons, but a new glitch that shows up totally out of nowhere proves Waze needs urgent fixes.

The application starts and updates the map correctly. Setting up a new destination also works as it should, and Waze provides turn-by-turn assistance properly in the first minutes of the journey.

Every now and then, however, the application stops offering correct navigation instructions, and the directions shown on the screen are no longer accurate.

At first glance, this seems to suggest a broken GPS connection. This was the first thing that I checked, but as the screenshot proves, Waze accurately determined my location. The application couldn’t update the turn-by-turn directions accordingly, despite everything else working properly.

The speed indicator is also showing correct information, and so is the trip panel in the top left corner. The ETA is updated in real time as I continue driving.

For some reason, only the navigation instructions are impacted, as they freeze at a random moment during the trip. The route is no longer highlighted on the map, as Waze thinks I stopped and therefore didn’t reach a specific turn. Oddly enough, it can still follow me on the map, but without providing up-to-date navigation information.

The issue happens randomly and occasionally, and I couldn’t yet figure out a pattern. It takes place both on iPhone and CarPlay.

Force-closing Waze typically restores the navigation, but this doesn’t always work on the first attempt. Doing the same thing twice or three times eventually brings Waze back to a working state.

The bug doesn’t seem to be related to iPhone settings, as Waze otherwise runs as expected for the rest of the time. But whenever the problem occurs, I’m left without navigation in the middle of the drive. It’s not hard to tell how inconvenient this can become, especially when driving in a region where I rely on turn-by-turn instructions to find an address.

Google Maps works properly all the time, with no such issues encountered whatsoever. This also seems to suggest the problem resides in Waze, so a temporary switch to Google Maps is pretty much just a matter of time.

The bug is happening on the latest version of Waze for iOS (4.93) on a fully up-to-date iPhone. The first time I noticed this behavior, however, was in Waze version 4.92 (shipped in February this year).
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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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