The Waze app offers drivers and navigators alike accessible, convenient software that not only possesses standard GPS functionality but also handy alerts and notifications implemented to make your drive easier. It offers everything from road hazard and police warnings, to other fun, hidden features you should try on your next drive. Its user-friendly interface and handful of useful functions make it one of the best free Apple CarPlay apps users swear by. However, nothing is perfect and, in the case of Waze, a common issue app users run into is its sluggish map update times, which sometimes can span days. While some drivers may still prefer Waze, such issues may give other users reason to believe it’s worse than Google Maps and other GPS software.
Per the Waze Discuss wiki page, it’s normal for online map edits not to reflect on the app’s Live Map for client use immediately after being submitted. They, instead, update approximately every 24 hours, and sometimes may be hit with delays that can push back the wait time even more. Drivers are also incapable of editing routes longer than a mile from where they’ve just traveled, and it can take hours to days to be granted permission to do so. Thus, they may depend on a designated area manager to process greater changes. Those with the Waze client app engaged may record new routes, but it can take up to three days for it to appear in Waze’s map editor. Such lengthy wait times and more arduous processes may leave users questioning if it’s the best bet.
Waze’s map editor is disappointing
The Waze app map editor’s shortcomings when it comes to producing adequate update load times put a bad taste in some users’ mouths. Some app users have faced even more struggles with the service’s map editor beyond enduring agonizing update speeds. Some Reddit users reported that, after waiting for their edits to process, the app outright rejected their submissions. The frustration the measure has caused prompted some to jump ship and employ other navigation apps like Google Maps for their road trips. “I [switched to Google Maps] after I had a bunch of map fixes rejected — not for being incorrect – but because the editor said the current map was ‘close enough,'” one Redditor wrote. “The fact that the app is getting worse and fixes are actively being turned away was enough for me to give up entirely.”
On paper, the Waze map editor should be a quick, painless way for users to improve the app’s Live Map in real time. Whether it’s recording unmapped roads or editing routes, the editor should be able to handle updates to ensure users are traversing the most up-to-date maps possible. Thus, it’s all the more disappointing that, despite the app’s more convenient, functional features, such an important feature is sometimes slow and faulty.
