want to change the navigation voice in waze. using the default and it’s fine but i’ve seen people mention celebrity voices and other options.
not finding them in the obvious place in settings. either they’re not available in my region or i’m looking in the wrong spot.
where exactly is the voice setting in the current version of waze? and are the special/celebrity voices still available or did waze remove them? i remember these being more prominent a few years ago.
also: can you use a custom voice or is it limited to whatever waze provides? asking because i’ve seen mods for this but wasn’t sure if they still work.
The limited-time celebrity voices being gone permanently once the promotion ends is worth noting. If you see a celebrity voice you want, download it immediately rather than planning to get it later. Several popular ones have expired and aren’t recoverable even if you have old references to them.
the voice preview before downloading is useful. some voices sound great in the clip but become annoying after an hour of navigation. worth previewing a few before committing to a download.
The offline functionality after download is a practical feature for driving in areas with poor cell coverage. Once the voice file is downloaded, you can navigate offline with full voice guidance. The map tiles also cache locally, making Waze useful in areas where streaming data isn’t reliable.
waze voice settings location in the current version: open waze > tap your profile icon (top left) > settings > voice and sound > waze voice.
you’ll see a list of available voices. tap one to preview, then select to set it. if you have a voice installed, it shows as downloaded. new voices need to be downloaded before use.
celebrity and special voices: waze has cycled these in and out over the years. some celebrity voices are no longer available, others come back seasonally. what’s available depends on your region and the current waze version. the selection changes without notice. if a voice you’ve heard about isn’t showing, it may be region-restricted or no longer offered.
if the voice options seem limited: check that the waze app is fully up to date, as voice packs are sometimes tied to app versions.
custom voices: waze doesn’t officially support custom voice uploads. third-party voice mods existed for rooted android devices but are increasingly unreliable with current waze versions and aren’t officially supported. the risk of using them includes navigation prompts being wrong or missing.
the voice settings also include separate controls for alert volume and music volume ducking (how much waze lowers music volume for prompts).
For people who drive long distances regularly, the voice selection matters more than casual users realize. A monotonous default voice over four hours of driving is noticeably more fatiguing than a voice with varied intonation. Worth spending five minutes browsing the options and picking one that’s comfortable for extended listening.