Waze automatically reroutes your route when it detects traffic, traffic jams, or possible shortcuts, without offering you an option to completely disable these last-minute changes. We’ll tell you what settings you should change so that these detours don’t cause you to lose your route. So, stick with this article and find out how to do it.
By adjusting Navigation settings such as avoiding difficult intersections, tolls, and unpaved roads, defining the vehicle type, disabling route suggestions, and manually controlling detours, you can minimize unexpected changes. Additionally, tricks such as adding intermediate stops or cleaning up the map interface can help you stay on your chosen route.
Why Waze diverts you from the route
It can be a bit of a chore at times, especially when drivers are about to take a detour, knowing you’re the one who needs to take it, only to find Waze recalculating, confusing you, and possibly even messing up your route. While Waze aims to speed up your arrival by constantly recalculating, the app allows you to customize dozens of settings to make rerouting less intrusive and respect your original route, so you feel more comfortable.
Waze monitors other users’ average speeds and traffic reports in real time to suggest faster routes, changing your route without warning before recalculating.
There’s no native option to “freeze” your route to prevent automatic changes; suggestions always prevail over the route you’ve selected unless you manually override them.
Recommended settings to improve the accuracy of your route preferences
- Avoid difficult intersections: In Settings, go to Active Navigation Avoid difficult intersections to prevent Waze from rerouting you around complex turns that often cause positioning errors.
- Avoid toll roads, ferries, and highways: From Navigation, locate Avoid, then enable Avoid toll roads, Avoid ferries, and Avoid highways based on your preference. This reduces alternative routes that seek to save time by using tolls or specific sections.
- Avoid unpaved roads: If you’re driving in rural areas, select Unpaved Roads in Navigation. Select Don’t Allow to prevent Waze from redirecting you to off-road areas in search of shortcuts.
- Select your vehicle type: In Navigation, tap Vehicle Type and choose between Private, Taxi, or Motorcycle. Each profile prioritizes different roads and speed limits, adjusting the algorithm for new routes.
- Turn off planned route suggestions: Under General, find Trip Suggestions, then turn off automatic trip suggestions.
- Manual detour control: Activate voice alerts and, at each prompt for a “fastest route available,” press Cancel to maintain your original route. Although cumbersome, this is the only guaranteed method to reject the change.
With all these options, you can enjoy a trip without sudden changes that could compromise your attention to the road and cause headaches if you supposedly have a better route for whatever reason, and it sends you down a path riddled with wild goats.