You’re staring at your phone, frustrated because Google Maps keeps trying to navigate you to that apartment you left three years ago. It’s annoying. Seriously, having your commute data tied to a place where you no longer live messes up your "Time to Leave" notifications and makes the "Commute" tab basically useless. Most people think they have to dig through deep system settings or their entire Google Account history to fix this. They don't. Knowing how to change home and work in Google Maps is actually pretty straightforward once you stop looking for a "settings" gear and start looking at your saved places.
The logic behind Google’s interface isn't always intuitive. They want you to think of Home and Work as "Labels" rather than permanent data points. This distinction matters. If you try to change your address by searching for your new house and clicking some random button, you might just end up saving it as a "starred" place instead of your actual Home base.
Why your Google Maps Home address keeps reverting
Ever changed your address only to have it flip back a week later? It happens. Usually, this is because of account syncing issues or because you have multiple Google accounts signed in on one device. If you change it on your phone but your desktop browser is still caching the old location, things get weird. Google tries to be helpful by predicting where you are, but sometimes it just gets stuck in 2022.
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To really make the change stick, you have to hit the "Your Places" or "Saved" section. On the mobile app—whether you’re on an iPhone or a high-end Android—you’ll find a tab at the bottom labeled Saved. Tap that. You'll see a section at the top called "Labeled." This is the holy grail for your navigation accuracy. Home and Work live here. They aren't just addresses; they are specific system labels that trigger Google’s Assistant and commute algorithms.
The mobile shortcut that actually works
Open the app. Look at the bottom. Tap Saved. Now, see those three little dots next to "Home" or "Work"? Tap them. Select Edit Home.
It sounds simple because it is, but many users try to do this by typing "Home" into the search bar. While that sometimes works, it often just brings up a list of businesses with "Home" in the name, like Home Depot. Frustrating, right? By going through the Saved tab, you are telling the database: "This specific coordinate is my new ground zero." You type in the new street address, and Google usually offers a dropdown suggestion. Always pick the suggestion. If you just type it and hit enter without selecting their verified map pin, the geocoding might be slightly off, leading to those "You have arrived" announcements while you're still three houses down the street.
How to change home and work in Google Maps on your computer
Sometimes it’s just easier to use a keyboard. If you’re at your desk, the process is slightly different but arguably faster. Go to the Google Maps website. Click the "hamburger" menu—those three horizontal lines in the top left corner. Click on Your places and then Labeled.
You’ll see your current Home and Work addresses listed there. To change them, just click the "X" to delete the old one, or click the address itself to type over it. Honestly, doing it on a desktop is the best way to ensure your Google Account-wide settings update correctly. It forces a refresh across the cloud.
Dealing with the "Work" location shift
Work is trickier than Home. Why? Because many of us don't work in a single spot anymore. If you’re a freelancer or you go to three different job sites, Google Maps gets confused. However, for the sake of the "Work" label, you should pick the location where you spend the most time or the one that requires the most navigation help.
If your office moved across town, don't just "Add a stop." Delete the old work address entirely. If you keep the old one as a "Recent" or "Favorite" location, Google’s predictive engine might still suggest it during your morning routine. It’s better to have a clean slate. Wipe the old address, put in the new one, and let the cache clear out.
Troubleshooting the "Work" commute glitch
A common complaint is that after you change home and work in Google Maps, the "Commute" tab still shows the old route. This is a classic cache issue. Google’s servers are fast, but they aren't instantaneous across every single feature.
- Wait it out: Sometimes it takes 24 hours for the "Commute" algorithms to catch up.
- Clear App Cache: If you’re on Android, go to Settings > Apps > Maps > Storage > Clear Cache. Sorry, iPhone users, you usually have to just offload the app or wait for it to refresh.
- Check "Web & App Activity": If your Home address won't change, your Google Account might have "Web & App Activity" paused or restricted, which prevents the map from saving new personal preferences.
What about multiple work locations?
Google doesn't currently allow you to have "Work 1" and "Work 2" as primary system labels. It sucks. If you have a split schedule, your best bet is to use the "Home" and "Work" labels for your two most frequent spots and use "Starred Places" or custom labels for the rest. You can name a label anything—"Client Site," "The Studio," "Satellite Office." These won't show up in your automatic commute notifications, but they will show up when you start typing in the search bar.
The privacy angle: Why Google wants this data
Let’s be real for a second. Google isn't asking for your home address just to be nice. By defining these two points, you are feeding the Google Location History machine. This allows them to tell you when traffic is heavy on I-95 before you even leave the house. It’s a trade-off. Convenience for data. If you’re uncomfortable with Google knowing exactly where you sleep and work, you can always delete these labels entirely and just type the addresses manually each time. But for most of us, the time saved by shouting "Hey Google, take me home" into a car dashboard is worth the privacy trade.
Fixing the "Wrong House" pin location
Sometimes the address is right, but the pin is wrong. You’ve probably seen this: you put in "123 Main St," but the GPS tells you you’ve arrived while you're actually in the alleyway behind your house.
To fix this, you don't just change the address. You have to manually move the pin. When you are editing your Home or Work address, there is usually an option to "Set on map." This lets you drag the map around until the red pin is exactly over your front door or your specific office building entrance. This is a game-changer for people who live in large apartment complexes where the street address leads to a locked gate half a mile from their actual unit.
Steps to adjust the pin:
- Go to the Saved tab.
- Tap the dots next to Home/Work and select Edit.
- Tap the map icon or the "Set on map" button.
- Drag the map until the pin is perfect.
- Save it.
The role of "Personal Content" settings
If you’ve done everything right and Google Maps still isn't showing your Home or Work, check your "Personal Content" settings. Inside the Maps app, tap your profile picture in the top right, go to Settings, then Personal content. Make sure "Google Contacts" and "Location History" are toggled on if you want the most seamless experience. If these are off, the app might "forget" your labels or fail to suggest them when you’re using voice commands.
Finalizing your setup
Once you successfully change home and work in Google Maps, test it. Seriously. Close the app, reopen it, and type "Home" in the search bar. If the new address pops up with that little house icon, you’re golden. If it still shows the old one, you likely have a sync error. Log out of your Google account on the app and log back in. That usually forces the local database to pull the fresh info from the cloud.
The goal here isn't just to have the right text in a box. It’s about making your phone work for you. When these addresses are correct, your Assistant knows when to tell you to leave for your 9:00 AM meeting because of a wreck on the highway. It’s about reducing that micro-friction in your daily life.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Audit your labels: Open Google Maps right now and check the "Saved" -> "Labeled" section. Delete anything that’s outdated.
- Fix the pin: If your GPS always stops 50 feet short of your driveway, use the "Set on map" feature to move the pin manually.
- Sync check: If you use a work phone and a personal phone, make sure both are signed into the same primary Google account if you want your addresses to stay synced.
- Set a "Commute" time: After updating your addresses, go into the "Commute" settings to tell Google what time you usually leave and arrive. This maximizes the value of having those addresses saved in the first place.