Try these Waze tricks to set custom voices and plan routes

Drive to friends & family. If you have a contact with a saved address, you can start navigation to that person’s location without retyping the address every time. Open Waze, then go to the end of the menu to find the Drive to friends & family option. You’ll need to grant Waze access to your contacts for this to work. It’s a small time saver if you frequently visit a friend or relative and want to skip entering addresses manually.

Waze lets you personalize how directions are spoken. You can change the voice packs in Settings > Voice and sound > Current voice, and you can also pick a mood for your avatar and a sidekick that alters your car icon and voice. A fun capability is recording your own voice prompts for navigation. You can record up to 39 prompts, each up to six seconds long. If you’re up for it, you can create a totally custom driving soundtrack by having a family member record the prompts.

Waze can plan a departure or arrival in advance. When you search for a destination, choose Leave later instead of Go now. You can pick an arrival time in 15‑minute increments and see estimated traffic for that time. You can also connect your calendar so events with locations show up as planned drives. This is handy for keeping your day organized when you have several meetings or errands.

There are niche codes you can type into the search bar to access diagnostic tools or tweak certain features. For example, entering certain codes can unlock a special avatar or clear the text‑to‑speech cache. These are not everyday options, but they can help you fix small issues or customize your experience if you know the right shorthand. It’s worth noting that these are intended for troubleshooting; using them improperly could lead to unexpected results.

For most people, the biggest practical gains are time saved entering addresses and a more personalized driving experience. If you often drive to a relative’s home, the Drive to friends & family feature can reduce setup steps. If you enjoy a playful edge to your navigation, the voice customization and recorded prompts add a personal touch to daily commutes. The plan-a-drive option is particularly useful for busy days when you want to see how traffic might affect your schedule in advance.

To start using these tweaks, update Waze if needed and explore the menus described above. If you want to try voice customization, go to Settings > View profile > Mood, then experiment with different voices and avatars. If you’re curious about the calendar integration, open Plan a drive and link your calendar so events with locations appear as planned trips. Remember to review privacy settings if you share contacts with Waze, as those contacts can be exposed to navigation prompts.