How to Add Waze to Apple CarPlay

Once you download the app to your phone, it should automatically appear in your car

By
Jennifer Allen
Jennifer Allen
Writer
  • Swansea University, Staffordshire University
Jennifer Allen has been writing about technology since 2010. Her work has appeared in Mashable, TechRadar, and many more publications.
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Updated on May 29, 2024

With Apple CarPlay, you can use your iPhone and Apple Maps as a navigation tool while driving. Although, you may want to use a third-party navigation tool like Waze instead. Here's everything you need to know about how to add Waze to CarPlay, as well as some tips on how to use it. Instructions apply to devices running iOS 12 and later.

How to Add Waze to Your CarPlay Home Screen

Waze is a community-driven GPS and navigational app. It does a great job helping you avoid traffic jams, as well as find the cheapest places to buy gas. It's straightforward to install and add new apps to CarPlay.

  1. Install Waze on your iPhone by downloading it from the App Store.

  2. Connect your iPhone to your car's CarPlay system, either with a USB cable or wirelessly.

  3. Open CarPlay on your car's infotainment system. Waze should be available as an icon on the dashboard.

    Occasionally, apps need to be added manually. From your iPhone, go to Settings > General > CarPlay, choose your car's name, then select the + icon next to Waze to add it.

How to Use Waze in CarPlay

Waze involves minimal setup to get started. Here's what you need to know to use Waze.

  1. Open Waze on CarPlay.

  2. Switch to your iPhone, and then select Get Started on the Waze app.

  3. Agree to accept push notifications and to allow access to the microphone. 

What Can I Do With Waze? 

Waze works like other navigational apps, but it has some useful extra features included. Here's an overview of its basic features.

Speed Tracking

When looking at the map screen, the left side shows the speed at which you're traveling. It also tells you the speed limit of the road you're on.

Search for Cheap Gas

Want to find the nearest gas station? Most navigational apps provide that as standard. Waze goes one step further by allowing you to view gas stations nearby, along with current gas prices. Other Waze users update prices regularly.

Detailed Journey Times

Besides telling you how long your journey will take, Waze suggests better times of day within the hour to travel. It bases this report on other users' traffic reports and drive times and selects options at which the average traffic level is lower.

Report Tools

You can report accidents, hazards, or heavy traffic to forewarn other users about issues along their route. Reporting this information keeps the app up to date with what's going on while traveling. It will also help other drivers avoid delays.

What Can't Waze Do?

Waze is a useful navigation app. Still, it has some issues that Apple Maps doesn't have. Here's a quick look at its limitations.

  • You can't set it as your default navigation app: Because of Apple limitations, you can't set Waze as the default navigation app in your car. If you ask Siri for directions, it opens Apple Maps automatically. 
  • Limited POI details: Waze is a little rudimentary with its map details unless you zoom in extensively. So, it isn't as good as Apple Maps for at-a-glance browsing.
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