What to Know

To change the Apple Maps voice volume, open Settings, tap Maps, then select Spoken Directions.
Tap the white bar at the bottom of the screen to adjust the volume while navigating.
Disable the Apple Maps voice by tapping the speaker icon once you've started a route.

Loud volume in Apple Maps often startles me as I’m driving. However, if you have kids in the car, prefer loud music, or struggle to hear the lower volume, adjusting this setting can be important. Whatever your situation, choosing an appropriate volume setting can help you avoid having to look at your phone screen so you can better focus on the road ahead. Here’s how to change the volume setting for the Apple Maps app.

Apple Maps Volume Too Low? Adjust the Volume in Settings

While you can adjust the volume of Apple Maps by pressing the up and down volume buttons on your iPhone, this also affects media, which means you'll also be turning your music volume up and down too. Instead, you change how loud or quiet the Apple Maps voice is by going into your iPhone Settings. To learn about more ways you can use the Apple Maps app, check out our Tip of the Day newsletter. Now, let's find out how to turn up Maps volume on iPhone:

Open the Settings app, and tap Maps.
Scroll down, and tap Spoken Directions.
Choose between Softer, Normal, and Louder Volume.

If you've already set a destination and started turn-by-turn directions, you can change the volume in the Apple Maps app as well.

How to Turn Up Maps Volume on iPhone

Changing the volume of the Apple Maps voice from the Maps app is easy, and arguably more convenient if you've already started navigation.

Once you've started navigation, tap the white bar at the bottom of the screen.
Tap Voice Volume.
Choose between the Softer, Normal, and Louder volume options.

You can also turn off the Maps voice entirely or enable it only for important instructions.

How to Turn Off Maps Voice

If you don't need exact turn-by-turn directions, you can set Apple Maps to only speak alerts or turn it off entirely. Here's how to turn off the voice on Apple Maps:

Start a route as usual in the Apple Maps app, then tap the Audio icon.
Tap one of the three buttons. The top button will leave the Apple Maps voice on. The middle button will set audio to Alerts Only, meaning only important instructions will be announced. The bottom button will turn off spoken directions on Apple Maps.

If you found this tip helpful, you may also want to check out how to reverse image search on iPhone.

FAQ

What should I do when Apple Maps is not talking? If Apple Maps is not talking, you might have accidentally turned the voice off. To fix this, start a navigation route, then tap the Audio icon. Select one of the top two options to enable the Apple Maps voice, or to turn it on only for important turns and instructions.
How to change the Apple Maps voice? The Apple Maps voice is the same voice you have selected for Siri. If you're not happy with the voice that Apple Maps uses, you can find out how to change Siri's voice.