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Workaround Fixes Google Maps’ Broken Navigation Guidance, You Won't Like It

Despite having the mobile devices connected to the speaker system in their cars via Bluetooth, some users out there just want to have the Google Maps navigation guidance offered via the phone speaker.
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This is precisely why the Mountain View-based search giant has introduced a feature called “Play voice over Bluetooth,” therefore giving users full control over how the whole thing works.

In other words, if this feature is disabled, then Google Maps should just send the navigation guidance to the phone’s speaker by default.

Only that, well, it doesn’t, as some users have been struggling with a problem that causes the directions to be sent via Bluetooth no matter what.

While Google hasn’t acknowledged the problem, so it’s not known if it’s a widespread glitch or not, it’s very clear that using Google Maps with voice directions sent to the car’s speaker system isn’t everybody’s cup of tea.

However, someone on Google’s forums has come across a workaround that’s not necessarily convenient, but at least, it gets the job done.

So what you need to do to force the spoken Google Maps direction to be sent to your phone’s speaker is to open the settings menu on your mobile device and go to Bluetooth options. Here’s where you need to locate the configuration for the Bluetooth profile used by your car. Tap the gear next to it (which allows you to set up the options per each profile) and make sure the setting called “Media audio” is disabled for the car.

Google Maps should now be instructed to always send the directions to your phone’s speaker, but on the other hand, the biggest inconvenience is that listening to music on Bluetooth is no longer possible either.

Unfortunately, no other workaround seems to exist right now, so until Google itself comes up with a fix, this is pretty much the only way to get the app to work the way you need it.
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About the author: Bogdan Popa
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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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