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This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Megaera Lorenz, PhD. Megaera Lorenz is an Egyptologist and Writer with over 20 years of experience in public education. In 2017, she graduated with her PhD in Egyptology from The University of Chicago, where she served for several years as a content advisor and program facilitator for the Oriental Institute Museum’s Public Education office. She has also developed and taught Egyptology courses at The University of Chicago and Loyola University Chicago.
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When you navigate to an address using Apple Maps, you'll usually hear a voice that gives you step-by-step directions. If you don't hear audible directions, it might be because the voice direction settings were disabled or changed, or because your phone’s volume is down or off. In this article, we’ll explain how to get Maps talking again so you can navigate with ease.
Quick Steps
- Open Apple Maps and enter a destination.
- Choose your route and tap Go to start navigating.
- Tap the speaker icon on the upper right side of the map and select an audio option.
- Expand the route card and tap Voice Volume to change the audio volume.
- Adjust your phone’s volume if needed to hear the directions.
Steps
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Start navigating with Apple Maps. Open the app, which looks like a colorful street map, enter a destination, and tap Go to start the trip.[1]- You won’t be able to adjust the voice directions settings until you begin your route.
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Tap the audio icon on the map. Once you start navigating, a blue audio icon will appear on the upper right side of the map. It looks like a speaker. Tap it to open a menu of audio options.- If spoken directions are turned off, the icon will look like a speaker with a diagonal line through it.
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Select the audio option you want. You’ll see three different options in this menu:- For full audio (all directions are spoken), choose the speaker symbol with two curved lines coming out of it.
- If you only want to hear traffic alerts, tap the speaker with an exclamation point in a triangle in front of it.
- To completely turn off spoken directions or alerts, tap the speaker with a line through it.
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Change the volume in the route card. If you want to adjust the volume of the spoken directions, tap the ^ at the bottom right corner of the screen to expand your route card. Then, tap Voice Volume.- You can select from Softer, Normal, or Louder.
- While this will adjust the relative volume of your voice directions, they’re still affected by the volume of your phone speakers! Make sure your phone audio is up high enough so you can hear the voice directions.
- Even if your phone’s ring/silent switch is on silent, you’ll still be able to hear the directions as long as your volume is up high enough.
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Open Settings. This app icon looks like a gear that you can find on one of your Home screens or by searching.[2]- You have to do this before you start a drive in Apple Maps.
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Scroll down and tap Apps. If you’re using iOS 17 or earlier, skip this step and find Maps in the main Settings menu. -
Tap Maps. It’s in the M section of the Apps menu. -
Scroll down and tap Spoken Directions. In earlier versions of iOS, you may need to select Driving & Navigation instead. -
Tap to choose an option. You can set your Apple Maps voice to Softer Volume, Normal Volume, or Louder Volume.- In earlier versions of iOS, there is an option to turn off the volume completely in Settings.
- If you have trouble hearing the voice directions over your music, tap to toggle the switch next to Pause Spoken Audio.
- You can also toggle on Directions on Radio to hear spoken directions over your car’s radio, if your car supports it.
Expert Q&A
Video
Tips
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Want to hear your directions in a different voice or language? Go to Settings > Siri and select your preferred language and voice. These settings will be applied to Apple Maps and all other apps that use Siri.[3]Thanks
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About This Article
1. Start navigating with Apple Maps.
2. Tap the route card.
3. Tap Audio.
4. Tap Low Volume, Normal Volume, or Loud Volume.
