Let’s say you want to use Bluetooth for every application and phone call. Except Waze. This article will show you how to use Bluetooth for everything except Waze.
But first, what’s the issue? My new Nissan Murano has a lot of nice technology embedded in it. It’s far more advanced than the Acura MDX I traded in. The audio system allows the driver to select FM, AM, CD, Sirius and Bluetooth. I like to listen to Sirius or FM. My phone is set to always have Bluetooth on when I’m in the car in case I get any calls.
The issue is that, by default, when Bluetooth is turned on within the phone, everything goes through Bluetooth. That includes all applications including Waze. This results in a complete loss of audio for Waze whenever I’m listening to the radio. The solution is to turn the audio system to Bluetooth and hear nothing but Waze prompts and alerts or turn off Bluetooth on the phone and be able to hear the prompts using the phone’s speakers, and hearing the FM or Sirius radio over the car’s speakers.
I’m guessing a lot of people run into this issue, or at least there’s a lot of Nissan owners that do. Ideally, you want the FM or Sirius audio to be interrupted by anything on Bluetooth. My car doesn’t work that way.
This inconvenience was annoying. I started to think about this. There had to be a way around it because Waze is owned by Google and they’re smart guys. There must be a setting to use Bluetooth for everything except Waze.
Waze isn’t the best documented app in the history of smartphones. Luckily, most of the app is intuitive so most don’t need anything other than to figure out the basics from the app itself. It’s only when you have an issue like what I described that you wish there was a good place to find this type of information. My Google searches didn’t uncover anything.
So here’s how you get around this issue.
Get into settings. If you were never there before, tap the little magnifying glass at the lower left corner of the display. Now tap the gear on the upper left of the display. You’re now in settings. Now tap sound which can be found under advanced settings. At the very bottom is a setting called Prefer Bluetooth. If you’re here because you are having the problem I described, it’s likely turned on. Turn it off. The photo that accompanies this article is a screen shot of where this option is located.
Turning this setting off solves the issue. You will now be able to listen to Sirius or FM Radio through your car speakers, get phone calls through Bluetooth and hear Waze through the phone’s speaker. Now, your phone will use Bluetooth for everything except Waze.
While you’re here, check out our article on The Best Car Mounts for Waze Users. Using Waze while it’s on your passenger seat is never a good idea. The article discusses some excellent mounting options for your phone.