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.

Editor’s note: We used a Google Pixel 7a running Android 13 and an Apple iPhone 12 Mini running iOS 17.0 to formulate these instructions. Some menus may look slightly different depending on your device and software version.

How to change the Google Maps voice language on Android

Changing the language spoken by the Google Maps voice will allow you to hear directions the way you want. Here’s how to do it on Android.

1. Open the Google Maps app.
2. Tap on your profile icon. It’s in the top-right corner.
3. Go into Settings.
4. Select Navigation Settings.
5. Under Sound & voice, hit Voice selection.
6. You can now select your language. In the case of English, you get multiple voices from different countries.

How to change the Google Maps voice language on iPhone

Things are slightly different if you’re trying to change the Google Maps voice on an 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.

1. Launch the Settings app.
2. Go into General.
3. Select Language & Region.
4. Select Add Language.
5. Pick the language and language version you want to use.
6. The system will ask if you want to use your new language as the primary language. Pick the new language.
7. The system will do some work. After a short wait, it will take you back to the settings and show the new language as the primary 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.

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