I really like the turn-by-turn directions on my Apple iPhone but since I have the device hooked up via Bluetooth to my car audio system, it constantly interrupts whatever music I’m listening to with its warnings about upcoming turns and instructions to turn left, turn right, etc. I don’t need the audio component, just the directions from Apple Maps. Is that even possible? Makes me want to unpair my iPhone 5 from my Ford hands free setup, but I don’t want to have to fuss with it if a call’s coming in. Help!
Oh I share your pain. I have exactly the same problem but for me it’s worse because my hands free bluetooth setup in my Toyota is an aftermarket one, so the stereo doesn’t know when the bluetooth audio is active. This means that if I’m listening to an audio book — which I do just about every time I’m driving more than a half-dozen miles — then the turn-by-turn directions interrupt the audio book and cause me to miss entire sections. Super, super frustrating.
Now I know, this is a total “first world problem” in the grand scheme, but it’s still annoying and I can’t help but think that if everything were designed a bit better, there’d be a set of very specific preferences I could set in the iOS directions navigational system, but while there’s not something that’s super detailed, it turns out that there are some preferences that can let you do things like, yes, turn off the speaking component when your phone’s telling you how to get somewhere.
Hurray!
To start, here’s how the nav system shows directions. You’ve doubtless seen it dozens of times before:
Nowhere on here is a little ‘curl’ on the lower edge of the page, a gear icon that would suggest settings are just a single tap away.
That’s because the settings are located in Settings, not in the app itself. Let’s check it out!
Tap on “Settings” and scroll down until you see Maps:
Tap on “Maps” and…
There’s the setting you seek. Simply set “navigation voice volume” to “No Voice” and you’re good to go. Or, alternatively, if you like voice navigation but want it louder, change its setting here too.
While we’re on this screen, note that you can also change your preferred distance from miles to kilometers and even force map labels to always be shown in English even if you’re in a region where another language is the default. Handy, that.
Swipe down a bit and there’s another default setting which can be darn helpful if you’re a city dweller and are more likely to be on foot than in a car:
Me? Alas, I roam far afield so driving is indeed my preferred mode of transport.
Now you can easily see how to turn off the voice in the navigational system on your Apple iPhone. Good luck!
ps: The directions in the first image? That’s the result of me asking Apple Maps to direct me from the coffee shop I wrote this article in North Boulder, Colorado to the White House in Washington DC. It’s quite a drive, I better get started…