Google Maps announcing every turn gets distracting when you only want the route onscreen. To turn off its voice, tap Sound, then Mute during navigation. There are also separate controls for keeping incident alerts, silencing directions during calls, and reducing extra walking announcements.
Mute voice navigation on Android or iPhone
This silences navigation audio while keeping visual directions running on Android, iPhone, and iPad. Start a route in Google Maps.
Tap Sound, the speaker icon on the right side of the navigation screen. Depending on your app layout, it appears at the bottom right or the top right. Then select Mute.
Keep alerts without hearing every turn
Choose alerts-only navigation when you want spoken directions to stop but still want incident updates. This option works on Android, iPhone, and iPad.
During navigation, tap Sound. Next, choose Alerts. Turn-by-turn directions stop, while incident announcements remain audible. On Android, these include traffic, construction, and crash alerts.
Ask Gemini to mute guidance
During navigation on a phone or tablet with Gemini available and configured, tap Gemini. Say “Mute guidance.”
For hands-free activation on Android, turn on Hey Google and set up Voice Match. During navigation, say “Hey Google.” Then say “Mute guidance.”
For hands-free activation on iPhone or iPad, enable Access your Assistant with "Ok Google" in navigation settings. During navigation, say “Hey Google.” After that, say “Mute guidance.”
Gemini availability depends on your country, language, and account. Where it is unavailable on your phone, use Sound > Mute instead. Gemini is not available in CarPlay, where your vehicle’s volume controls set how loud directions play.
Stop directions from interrupting phone calls
On Android, an enabled Play voice during phone calls setting lets navigation guidance speak over your calls. In Google Maps, tap your profile picture or initial. Open Settings. Select Navigation.
Turn off Play voice during phone calls. This affects guidance during calls only. For silence outside calls too, select Mute from the navigation screen’s Sound control.
Reduce extra walking announcements
Detailed voice guidance adds walking announcements. Turning it off reduces those announcements on Android, iPhone, and iPad where the feature is available. Ordinary spoken directions have a separate mute control.
In Google Maps, tap your profile picture or initial. Open Settings. Select Navigation. Scroll to Walking options.
Switch off Detailed voice guidance. If your app does not list this setting, skip to the next step. If directions continue, tap Sound during navigation. Choose Mute to silence the ordinary guidance that turning off detailed announcements leaves audible.
Silence Google Maps built into your car
This mutes Maps in supported cars with Google Maps built in, a separate system from Android Auto and CarPlay. Open Google Maps on the car’s home screen. Tap Settings at the bottom. Open Mute settings.
Select Mute. For audible traffic updates without spoken directions, choose Traffic alerts only instead.
Lower loud CarPlay directions
In CarPlay, Google Maps directions play at the level set by your vehicle’s volume controls. While Maps is speaking a direction, turn down the vehicle’s volume control. Complete silence depends on whether the vehicle allows guidance volume to reach zero.
For Android Auto, consult the vehicle manual for its navigation-volume controls. Some vehicles have separate navigation, media, and assistant volume settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will Google Maps stay muted for every future trip?
Your mute choice may not carry over to every future route or to your other devices. Check the Sound setting when you start another route.
Does turning off Bluetooth voice playback silence Google Maps?
No. Turning off Play voice over Bluetooth can move guidance to the phone speaker or another connection. To silence navigation, tap Sound. Then select Mute.
Does the Softer guidance-volume option turn voice off?
No. Softer lowers speech volume but does not mute it. Choose Mute to silence navigation audio, or Alerts to keep incident announcements.
How do I stop navigation completely?
On Android, tap Close at the bottom left during navigation. On iPhone or iPad, drag up from the bottom of the navigation screen. Then tap Exit. Both methods end the route and its voice instructions.