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How to change Google Maps voice and language
When you start a trip using Google Maps, you will notice a steady female voice begin to give you directions vocally. This is great for focusing on the road, as you don’t always have to be looking at your phone. However, if you don’t like the voice, is there anything you can do about it? Let’s talk about how to change the Google Maps voice and language.
Read more: How to change the Google Assistant voice
QUICK ANSWER
To change the Google Maps voice and language, open Google Maps and go to Settings -> Navigation settings -> Voice selection. In the case of English speakers, you can also change the accent.
JUMP TO KEY SECTIONS
How to change the Google Maps voice language (Android)
Changing the language spoken by the Google Maps voice will allow you to hear directions the way you want. To do so:
Open the Google Maps app on your Android device. You will find your profile picture at the top far right of the Search here bar; press this.
This will open a popout menu. Select Settings.
In Settings, scroll down and select Navigation settings.
Under the Sound & voice section, select Voice selection.
Here, you can select whichever voice language you like. That said, there are no gender variations.
How to change the Google Maps voice language on iPhone
Google Maps on Apple’s iOS devices doesn’t work the same way as Android. It doesn’t have its own voice engine and, therefore, defers to iOS’ default text-to-speech and language settings. To change the voice language of Google Maps, you will need to alter your entire device’s language.
- On your iOS device, go to your device settings.
- Go to General.
- In General, go to Language & region.
- In Language & region, select iPhone Language. Here, select a new language.
Can you change the Google Maps voice?
Yes, but only to a limited degree. The only way to change the Google Maps voice is as detailed above. On Android, you can change the language, but not the gender. One tip here is if you are an English speaker, you have five different accents to choose from:
- US
- UK
- Australia
- India
- Nigeria
They will all retain the same female Google Maps voice, but with a slight accent.
The Google Assistant has its own voice and is considered separate. The Google Assistant has access to more voices, and you can change the gender of that one.
Read more: How to see elevation in Google Maps
FAQs
“]Check to make sure you haven’t muted audio directions. Also, check to make sure the volume level of your device is loud enough for you to hear.
You cannot add extra voices to Google Maps for navigation. However, you can change the Google Maps voice, as detailed above.
Karen Jacobsen is the voice of Google Maps.