How to Add Waze to Apple CarPlay

Apple CarPlay is an amazing feature that lets you get navigation from Apple Maps. In all honesty, Apple Maps are not perfect. Luckily, there is a much better app for navigation and live traffic reports, called Waze.

To learn how to add Waze to Apple CarPlay, and find out much more about this great app, keep reading. You’ll also find out everything about the requirements for this app, and get useful links to help you out setting it up.

Waze is there for drivers all across the globe, and it is only for private cars. Public transportation, bikes, etc. are not supported.

Waze and CarPlay Requirements

Since Waze is an online app that tracks the traffic and configures the best routes for you on the spot, you need a stable data connection on your iPhone. Other than that, you need to have an iPhone with iOS 12 operating system or higher.

That means that you need an iPhone 5s or a newer model. If your phone meets the requirements, download the Waze app directly from the Apple App Store.

It is also important to check if your car supports the CarPlay feature. More than 500 car models do, and it would be absurd to name all of them. Instead, click on this link and see if you can find your car (we suggest using the Find feature in your browser).

How to Add Waze to Apple CarPlay

If your phone and car meet all the requirements, you’re good to go. Make sure that you have installed the latest version of the Waze app before you continue. Follow the steps to add Waze to Apple CarPlay:

Connect your iPhone to Apple CarPlay. Open the Settings app on your device.
Select General and then tap on CarPlay.
Select your car (has to support CarPlay).
Find the Waze app on your phone. Drag its icon to the CarPlay Home window.
You can also replace Apple Maps with Waze. Move Apple Maps away from CarPlay’s Home window.
Exit the CarPlay settings so that the change takes effect.
Tap the Waze app on the CarPlay main window to launch it on display.

Additional Waze Info

That’s it; now, the Waze app will be your main navigation app for your car. You can use Waze alongside Apple Maps if you like. You can even add Google Maps if you want. Just use the same steps you used to add Waze to CarPlay, and you can have multiple map apps.

We wouldn’t recommend this since it will clutter your display and possibly confuse you. Waze is probably the best choice out of the three mentioned apps, as of now (January 2020).

Note that Waze is different when it is used through CarPlay. It is limited, and it serves mainly as navigation. To use the advanced features, use Waze separately. You should also know that Waze Carpool is not available on CarPlay right now.

Waze Carpool lets you easily find people for carpool so that you can share the gas expenses. That’s particularly useful for people who commute every day. Waze also shows you where to find gas at lower prices, but this feature is also not available within Apple CarPlay.

Waze also keeps track of your speed while you drive. Additionally, it informs you of speed limits on the roads you’re taking. You can get great suggestions from Waze when planning your trips. It will tell you the best times of the day suitable for traveling. It takes into account the average daily traffic to do so.

Waze also allows its users to report various traffic situations such as accidents, traffic jams, hazards, etc. With such reports, you can inform other app users about the situation you are in. That’s how the app keeps everyone informed; it is a community app for drivers.

Parting Advice

That’s how you add Waze to your Apple CarPlay. Hopefully, this great app will serve you well. You should know that you can’t set Waze as your default app for navigation on iOS devices. That’s due to Apple’s system limitations.

Siri will always resort to Apple Maps when you ask her for directions. Apple Maps is better for navigating at a glance since it has better details than Waze when zoomed out. The two apps work best combined.

Which navigation app is your favorite? Are you enjoying Waze? Let us know in the comments section below.