Photo: Google
The experience with the Google-owned Waze traffic navigation app on Android Auto has been quite a nightmare lately, and it’s mostly due to the Android 11 update that seems to break down the GPS connection.
More specifically, devices updated to Android 11 can no longer connect to GPS to determine users’ locations on the map, and therefore Waze isn’t able to determine where they are.
But now there are reports that Waze also freezes on Android Auto after setting up a route, while others claim that the app gets stuck on the screen reading “Proceed to highlighted route.”
“I just installed Waze but have had no luck using it with Android Auto. With the exception of one successful trip, it hasn't worked at all. Usually when I open the app it doesn't display a map, just a colored background, and it is unable to generate directions. A couple of times I've generated directions but as soon as I start driving it just freezes,” the owner of a Google Pixel 2 running Android 11 explains on reddit.
Previously, it was discovered that the GPS bug was caused by the incorrectly configured permissions for the Waze app on Android 11, so the workaround was to just give it permanent access to the location.
However, these users claim that not even setting the Waze to “always” access the location brings things back to normal.
In the meantime, the Waze listing in the Google Play Store is full of comments from people who are no longer able to use the app because of GPS errors.
“This app used to be great, but for the past week or so it has become totally unusable. And, based on the numerous other reviews, my experience is not unique. It is constantly searching for GPS (when, by the way, all other apps on my phone have no problem whatsoever getting GPS location data), it can't figure out which way I'm going, so the map is always turning around showing me going the wrong direction. It's literally useless at this point,” one user explains.
The good news is that a fix for Waze is almost here, and Google plans to publish it as soon as this week. It remains to be seen, however, if all these problems are resolved by the new update.
But now there are reports that Waze also freezes on Android Auto after setting up a route, while others claim that the app gets stuck on the screen reading “Proceed to highlighted route.”
“I just installed Waze but have had no luck using it with Android Auto. With the exception of one successful trip, it hasn't worked at all. Usually when I open the app it doesn't display a map, just a colored background, and it is unable to generate directions. A couple of times I've generated directions but as soon as I start driving it just freezes,” the owner of a Google Pixel 2 running Android 11 explains on reddit.
Previously, it was discovered that the GPS bug was caused by the incorrectly configured permissions for the Waze app on Android 11, so the workaround was to just give it permanent access to the location.
However, these users claim that not even setting the Waze to “always” access the location brings things back to normal.
In the meantime, the Waze listing in the Google Play Store is full of comments from people who are no longer able to use the app because of GPS errors.
“This app used to be great, but for the past week or so it has become totally unusable. And, based on the numerous other reviews, my experience is not unique. It is constantly searching for GPS (when, by the way, all other apps on my phone have no problem whatsoever getting GPS location data), it can't figure out which way I'm going, so the map is always turning around showing me going the wrong direction. It's literally useless at this point,” one user explains.
The good news is that a fix for Waze is almost here, and Google plans to publish it as soon as this week. It remains to be seen, however, if all these problems are resolved by the new update.
Google News