I stopped Waze from getting me lost by turning off its worst default settings

Published Aug 25, 2026, 7:00 AM EDT Jade Bryan is a Feature Author at Android Police with over a decade of tech reviews and news reporting experience, stretching back to the Symbian era and the early days of Android. He covers the breadth of the mobile industry, specializing in operating system deep-dives, app testing, and hardware analysis. In his spare time, you can find him tinkering with his Android devices and wearables, seeking ways tech can improve daily life. He also enjoys playing MMORPGs, traveling, or feeding stray cats and dogs. I prefer using Waze for city drives, mainly when navigating new routes and unfamiliar places. I also like how dynamic the navigation is compared to Google Maps. It adapts to traffic in real time and keeps trips shorter with frequent reroutes. While its rerouting feature is usually something to appreciate, it doesn't always make trips smoother, often creating a chaotic and frustrating driving experience. Thankfully, if you know what settings to toggle, you can find a reliable workaround and avoid wrong turns that ruin an entire trip. Waze dynamic reroutes work wonders But don't trust them all the time Waze's biggest advantage over other navigation platforms is its aggressive rerouting engine, focused solely on driving. It uses real-time, crowdsourced traffic data to suggest turns whenever there are roadblocks, sudden hazards ahead, or bumper-to-bumper congestion. For many years of driving with Waze, I trusted it completely whenever I explored a new city. It proved accurate in cutting down overall driving time in many situations, but that is not always the case. I started doubting Waze rerouting Alternative routes aren't always the fastest I often ended up in difficult alleyways, like one instance during a family drive in Cebu. I followed its rerouting prompt to stop at an intersection and turn left as soon as the traffic light turned green. As I drove, the road became narrower and narrower, to the point where several sections were completely clogged and reduced to single-lane bottlenecks by parked vehicles. While Waze claimed it would save time and bypass the original traffic jam, the trip took much longer because I had to drive cautiously and slowly. That was not an isolated incident either. Waze frequently tried taking shortcuts through unpaved roads, even though I had unpaved routes restricted. Eventually, I learned to be cautious with its rerouting suggestions. I now carefully weigh every alternative route it presents before unthinkingly following it. More than that, I found clever tweaks to stop it from pushing aggressive, unnecessary reroutes. Add a stop to lock your route Stick to your original itinerary Most of the trips and drives I map out on Waze only involve two points: start and destination. Over time, I realized that sticking to two points gives Waze control to aggressively suggest alternate detours mid-trip. While some of these suggestions can be helpful, the navigation algorithm is far from perfect. To stop it from throwing unsolicited reroutes at you, add extra waypoints or intermediate stops to anchor it to your initial path. This forces the app to stick to your original route while avoiding tight one-way streets or clogged residential corridors. It works especially well for city driving and long road trips alike. To do this, start your route on your phone or Android Auto display. Tap the ETA bar at the bottom to expand the trip overview, where you can add stops like gas stations, parking spots, or restaurants. You can also search for a specific landmark or address along your planned path and set it as an intermediate stop. It takes an extra minute to set up, but it works wonders in telling Waze to stay on the main road instead of darting into unknown roads. Revert to safer drive parameters on Waze A safer drive is always better than a shorter trip Beyond locking down your route, Waze's settings are the most direct way to stop rogue navigation recommendations. Tricky intersections are a major culprit. While cutting across a busy junction might shave off a few seconds on paper, Waze often throws you into chaotic, unprotected multi-lane turns. Instead of enjoying a quicker trip, you end up playing high-speed dodgeball in the middle of the highway. You can eliminate this headache with a single toggle. Open Waze on your phone, tap the search menu to access Settings > Navigation, tap Avoid difficult intersections, and set it to Always. In that same navigation menu, you can also manage unpaved roads. While it defaults to blocking dirt roads, you can set it to avoid long stretches if you prefer shortcuts. If you know the local area well and feel confident navigating rough terrain, you can adjust this based on your preferences. Set your vehicle type Get route suggestions tailored to your ride I rarely take my moped out for long-distance trips, but whenever I do, I make sure the vehicle type in Waze is set to motorcycle. The same rule applies when I am behind the wheel of a car. Leaving the app on the wrong vehicle type ruins your routing, as Waze might send a full-size car down narrow paths only meant for two-wheelers. Head into Waze settings before pulling out of the driveway to confirm your active vehicle profile matches what you are driving. I still hope Google brings Google Maps-style powertrain customization to Waze, allowing us to specify whether we drive a gas vehicle, hybrid, or EV. For now, configuring your vehicle type alongside your toll passes and license plate restrictions helps you avoid unexpected tollgates and local coding restrictions. Stop letting Waze treat your commute as an off-road adventure Google continues to polish Waze with new updates, but it still refuses to fix the app's biggest navigation flaw. Even today, it's frustrating that Waze will utilize alleyways, dirt trails, and blind intersections as viable route alternatives to shave off 20 seconds of your ETA. Although some can help cut trip time, you still need to drive like you're in a rally. Or worse, you end up at a dead end and make a U-turn. I hope Google adds granular controls to Waze's aggressive rerouting, and that could make a day-and-night difference in driving (and saving my sanity).