You've finally reached your destination. The engine is off, the seatbelt is unbuckled, and you’re ready to walk inside. But then, that familiar, slightly frantic voice chirps from your cupholder about a "pothole ahead." It’s annoying. Honestly, figuring out how to turn off Waze feels way more complicated than it actually should be. Most apps have a clear "X" or a big red power button, but Waze likes to linger in the background like an overeager co-pilot who refuses to get out of the car.
It keeps eating your battery. It keeps tracking your GPS. If you don't shut it down properly, you’ll look at your phone two hours later and realize your battery dropped 15% while the phone was just sitting in your pocket.
💡 You might also like: The Heated Mouse Pad Hand Warmer: Why Your Cold Desk Is Killing Your Productivity
The truth is that Waze is designed to stay awake. Because it relies on real-time crowdsourced data, the developers want you "active" as long as possible. But when you're done, you're done. Whether you’re on an iPhone, an Android, or using CarPlay, there are specific quirks to making the app actually go to sleep.
The Sleep Mode Illusion
Most people think they’ve turned off the app when they just go back to their home screen. They're wrong. Swiping up doesn't stop Waze from sipping on your location data.
Waze has this specific feature called "Sleep Mode." To find it, you usually have to tap the "My Waze" or the magnifying glass icon. Once that side menu pops out, you’ll see a power icon at the very top. Tapping that puts Waze into a low-power state. It’s not "off" in the sense that the process is killed in your RAM, but it stops the active navigation and stops the voice prompts.
But here is the kicker: even in sleep mode, the app might stay "primed." If you want it dead, you have to be more aggressive.
How to Turn Off Waze on iPhone (iOS)
Apple's ecosystem is notorious for managing background apps, but Waze often finds a way to bypass the standard "quiet" rules because it is categorized as a high-priority navigation tool.
💡 You might also like: Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin: What Most People Get Wrong
If you are using an iPhone with FaceID, swipe up from the bottom and hold in the middle of the screen. This brings up the App Switcher. Find Waze. Flick it up and off the screen. That is the only way to be 100% sure the app isn't still pinging satellites.
- Tap the search bar in the app.
- Look at the top right of the menu for the power button.
- Tap it to enter Sleep Mode.
- Swipe up to the App Switcher and kill the app manually.
Don't just trust the "Sleep" button. I’ve seen Waze wake itself back up on iOS if it detects you’re still moving at driving speeds, especially if you have "Background App Refresh" toggled on in your system settings.
Why your battery is still draining
Check your Location Services. If you go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Waze, you might see it’s set to "Always." Change that to "While Using the App." If it's on "Always," Waze is basically never off. It’s watching you walk into the grocery store. It’s watching you sit on your couch. It’s creepy and unnecessary.
Android Users Have it Harder (and Easier)
Android handles background processes differently. Because Waze is owned by Google, the integration is deep. Sometimes, even after you close the app, you’ll see a notification in your shade that says "Waze is running" or "Waze: GPS in use."
To really how to turn off Waze on a Pixel or a Samsung, you should use the "Exit" button within the app menu. If that doesn't work, go to your "Recent Apps" (usually the square button or the swipe-up gesture) and hit "Clear All."
But let’s talk about Force Stop. If the app is glitching and won't stop talking, long-press the Waze icon on your home screen. Tap the "i" info circle. Hit Force Stop. It’s the digital equivalent of pulling the plug. It works every time.
Dealing with the CarPlay and Android Auto Nightmare
This is where most of the frustration happens. You unplug your phone from the car, but the navigation is still running on your handset. Or worse, the car's screen turns off, but your phone stays hot because the GPS is still firing at full blast.
When you use CarPlay, Waze essentially takes over the "audio focus" of your device.
- The CarPlay Fix: Before you turn off the car, tap the screen on your dashboard and hit "Stop" on the active route.
- The Unplug Sequence: If you just yank the cable, Waze often defaults back to the phone screen. You have to manually kill the app on the phone.
Honestly, the most seamless way to handle this is to get into the habit of ending the drive before you turn off the ignition. It signals to the Waze servers that your trip is over, which helps their data accuracy and saves your phone's lifespan.
Stopping Waze from Starting Automatically
Nothing is more annoying than getting into your car and having Waze automatically launch and start shouting directions to your "Work" preset when you're just trying to go to the gym. This usually happens because of "Bluetooth Auto-Launch."
Go into the Waze settings. Look for General. Find the toggle that mentions "Keep Waze on top" or "Auto-launch." Kill those. You want to be the one in control of when the app starts.
Common Misconceptions About Closing the App
A lot of people think that turning off the screen turns off the app. It doesn't. Navigation apps are designed to work while the screen is black to save power while still giving you turn-by-turn audio. If you can hear the "Red light camera ahead" warning, Waze is still very much on.
Another weird thing? Some users think that "Invisible Mode" turns off the app. It doesn't. It just hides your little avatar from other "Wazers" on the map. You’re still being tracked, and your battery is still being drained. It’s just a privacy setting for the social map, not a power setting for the software.
The Nuclear Option: Battery Optimization
If you find that Waze is consistently the top battery hog in your settings, you can throttle it.
On Android, you can set the battery usage to "Restricted." This prevents it from doing anything in the background. On iPhone, turning off "Background App Refresh" for Waze specifically will do the trick. You might lose some of the "Time to Leave" notifications (the ones that tell you when to head out based on traffic), but for most people, that's a fair trade for a phone that actually stays charged until dinner.
Practical Steps to Take Right Now
If you want to master the art of shutting down this persistent bit of software, follow this workflow:
- Audit your permissions: Go to your phone's system settings right now and ensure Waze is set to "While Using" for location, not "Always."
- Use the Power Button: Get used to tapping the magnifying glass and hitting the "Sleep" icon inside the app before you switch to another app.
- Kill the process: If you're done driving for the day, use the App Switcher (swipe up or hit the square) and flick Waze away to fully terminate the process.
- Check your notification tray: On Android, look for the "Exit" button directly in the Waze notification to close it without even opening the app.
- Disable Auto-Launch: Search the app settings for Bluetooth triggers and turn them off so the app doesn't start without your permission.
Following these steps ensures that Waze works for you, rather than your phone working overtime for Waze. It keeps your device cool, your data usage down, and your battery healthy for the long haul.