# How do I get live location updates in a vehicle? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 21, 2025, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151 "2025-07-21T15:03:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151/21 "2025-07-21T20:29:20Z")
Why is Google Maps separate from Waze? Why not just merge them? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151/22 "2025-07-21T22:40:03Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Very counterintuitive. Maps sort of needs location to do its job. > [@gnoitall](#): > > It still needs your permission. > > Some people have Maps installed but don’t use it (e.g., it came preinstalled). Those people would appreciate location access being denied. > > Opt-in is a commendable approach to application permissions. Exactly this. A lot of smartphone apps _want_ access to your location information, but very few of them — map/traffic apps, weather apps, etc. — actually _need_ that information in order to function properly. Most of the rest want that information to serve up “personalized” information, which often is just targeted ads; it also allows them to see and commercialize data about where you are and where you go. So, yeah, it’s a _minor_ inconvenience to have to grant location access to your map app, and if you don’t understand what “location access” is in the first place, it can lead to frustration. ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151/23 "2025-07-22T02:30:46Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > But can you report them like you can do in WAZE? When Google Maps alerts us of an event ahead, it ask if it’s still there when we pass, when the wife’s phone is connected to the vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151/24 "2025-07-22T03:23:01Z")
I do a lot of driving around the country on work trips and always use both Waze and Google Maps at the same time (typically google maps on CarPlay display, Waze on phone on dash mount). If they differ in arrival time I will look at both, and depending on which I trust more in that instance, switch to that one being displayed on CarPlay. Waze will pop up alerts on the CarPlay display even if it’s running in the background as well. Frequently only one or the other knows about police, accidents, etc. Their routing is often different, and more than once Google Maps knew about a closed road that Waze didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151/25 "2025-07-22T03:56:48Z")
I did use maps a little today, but it wasn’t a long trip. I did get turn by turn directions, but the speed limit display was higher than the actual posted limit. I’ll be taking a slightly longer trip tomorrow, so I’ll do some more investigation. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151/26 "2025-07-22T11:36:52Z")
Now _that’s_ interesting. I had more or less decided they were keeping the two UIs alive for consumer inertia reasons while using the same data and services under the hood. it seems that thinking is wrong. I have both on my Android device, but only use Maps connected to the car via Android Auto. In a quirk I did not expect it seems like Android Auto only wants to allow one app in each of the broad categories like nav or music or messaging or … Obviously only one can be be displayed on the car at a time, but I meant only one can be selected from. There’s a separate config screen on the phone to identify which app goes in which slot. So it’s quite a process to switch from e.g. Maps displayed in the car to Waze displayed in the car. Color me _very_ surprised when I discovered all this. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151/27 "2025-07-22T13:03:52Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > it seems that thinking is wrong. Not really, they serve two differnt types of users. The WAZE app is more biased towards crowd sourced real time road conditions. There is a lot of user input capibility in the app related to road conditions and it seems to be more accurate as to real time issues on the road. The Google Maps app is much more robust, as it gives you more detailed information on businesses along the route. If you just want to get to where you are heading then WAZE is the app for you. If you want to ask more detailed questions about where you are going then Maps is the app you will use. If you don’t like adding information into WAZE about accidents and tires in the road, then Maps is more suited for you. I do think that Maps picks and chooses information from WAZE to share in Maps. But google has other location applications as well. When I did a snit at Uber/Lyft I picked up a google engineer and discussed with him the problems I was having. He explained to me that google also provided custom apps to various driving services, not just Uber and Lyft but for delivery and trucking companies. He also told me that google had much more information available that detailed high rise information and underground infrastructure that users of WAZE and Maps would never see, unless google decided to make it available. In WAZE and Maps we are just seeing the free information (with ads). Oh, and my one question to the google engineer was, why are you taking me down a dirt freaking road, doesn’t google know its a dirt road? And he said yes they do, but that information is not deemed to be neccesary to tell the customer at the time. Damn you google I said and he just laughed and then explained more about googles hidden capibilities. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151/28 "2025-07-22T13:15:20Z")
Yeah, my GPS in my 4Runner sucks, so I had an extra tablet, link it to my phone and use Google Maps. Works great for me. I just open Chrome\>Google maps and put in my destination. Bingo. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151/29 "2025-07-22T13:16:55Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > When I did a snit at Uber/Lyft You win the typo of the day award! 😁 Seriously, thanks for the rest of the insider info. I will give Waze a fresh try; its target use cases seem closer to mine. OTOH … Even way back when I always found Waze’s cartoonish UI to be offputting. The users aren’t 5yos used to Fisher Price toys. Don’t insult me with a Fisher Price UI. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151/30 "2025-07-22T13:19:17Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I just open Chrome\>Google maps and put in my destination. Bingo. “Google Maps” is a distinct app. It’s not the same thing as navigating a browser to `https://www.google.com/maps`. Lotta similarity, but not the same. You might try both ways and see which you prefer. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151/31 "2025-07-22T13:30:18Z")
I’ve never used Waze, as Google Maps, linked to my car via Android Auto, has always worked great for me. On a recent road trip, Maps warned me of an accident/road closure an hour in advance, and also directed me to a five-minute detour around a construction site that was an estimated 20-30 minute wait time. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151/32 "2025-07-22T13:31:02Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > If you don’t like adding information into WAZE about accidents and tires in the road, then Maps is more suited for you. Yup. I _hate_ it when Google maps asks me to poke at my phone while I’m driving. If Waze does that a lot more, it is not the app for me. I don’t know if it’s still true, but Maps used to lean more towards simple routes, and Waze towards micro-optimization, like going down residential roads to shave a minute off drive time. But lately, I’ve been ignoring a lot of those micro-optimizations in Maps. (no, i didn’t want to turn left onto the big road to drive 50 feet yards. I’d prefer to turn at the light, where i will get a left turn signal.) So maybe that’s no longer a differentiator. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151/33 "2025-07-22T13:38:30Z")
On reasonably modern cars you ought not need to poke at your phone. Through either Apple Carplay or Android Auto your phone ought to be able to send the UI to the big screen in the car. Where all that actually optional poking is much easier. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151/34 "2025-07-22T13:44:22Z")
Huh, thanks. Google maps has been very helpful for me though. We are moving to a new town. I’ve never even been here before, but it’s the Colorado front range, so I’m not completely lost. I live in SE Denver for about 15 years. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151/35 "2025-07-22T13:49:42Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > On reasonably modern cars you ought not need to poke at your phone. My car (Chevy Equinox EV) has built in Google suite, and the Google Maps navigation is slightly different than when I use Android Auto and Maps on our other car. The built in version is more Waze-like than from my phone. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151/36 "2025-07-22T16:57:13Z")
Question about how phones work for this application. If you are in an area with no internet or cellphone service, what does it do? Just pause until conditions change? Is there any notification to the viewer that this is happening? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151/37 "2025-07-22T17:07:49Z")
If your phone is set up to download the map ahead of time\*, it’ll be fine. You don’t need an internet connection for the GPS to work. \*I’m not sure if you can make it do that automatically, but you can download an area (ie a city) and it will be able to work with that without needing access to the internet. > **[Download areas & navigate offline in Google Maps - Android - Google Maps...](https://support.google.com/maps/answer/6291838?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid)** > > Important: You can’t download offline maps in some countries or regions because of contractual limitations, language support, address formats, or other reasons. You can save an area from Google Maps ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151/38 "2025-07-22T17:17:10Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Through either Apple Carplay or Android Auto your phone ought to be able to send the UI to the big screen in the car. Where all that actually optional poking is much easier. That’s an interesting point. My car is too old to have either of those, and, in fact, lacks a “big screen”. (It has a screen that the infotainment center uses, but it’s not all that large, i suspect it has fewer pixels than my phone (so i wouldn’t want to use it for navigation) and i use the physical buttons in preference to poking the screen to the extent i can. (Which means that i almost never change radio stations while I’m driving. I can adjust the hvac and the volume with fixed, physical buttons and knobs.) I think that even with a big screen, i don’t want to be looking at it while i drive, though. And I’ve been a front seat passenger in lots of cars with large screens, including the enormous Tesla screen, so i know what I’m comparing to.) ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151/39 "2025-07-23T15:48:51Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Yes you can. There’s a button on the screen that appears when you’re doing turn by turn instructions, looks like a yellow triangle with a plus sign, you touch that to report things. > > I don’t know how to attach a photo or I would show a screenshot. [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/orPBz66.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/orPBz66) ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151/40 "2025-07-23T16:00:32Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > If you are in an area with no internet or cellphone service, what does it do? > [@Joey\_P](#): > > download the map ahead of time\*, it’ll be fine. You don’t need an internet connection for the GPS to work. Just to elaborate on this, the phone contains a standalone GPS unit, just like the dashtop GPS units that you can still buy. It doesn’t need cell service to receive and process the GPS satellite signals. But it needs cell service to continuously update the map so you can see where you are. So downloading the map ahead of time solves that. (The standalone units have the map data for the whole country already on board. I remember having to buy a map package if I wanted to use it in Europe.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-live-location-updates-in-a-vehicle/1021151.md?page=3)