Waze Is Finally Adding Traffic Lights to Navigation

Friday, 12 June 2026 at 18:19

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Waze has been testing traffic light display on navigation routes since December 2025. It's now showing up for significantly more users, with a Reddit thread this week confirming multiple people seeing the feature for the first time — some within the past week or two.

Google Maps and Apple Maps have had this for years. Waze is catching up.

Key Points

Traffic lights are appearing in Waze navigation for a growing number of users — the feature was spotted in testing in December 2025 and is now rolling out more broadly
Not available to everyone yet — the rollout appears to be server-side and gradual, with no confirmed timeline for universal availability
Reddit users in the US are reporting seeing traffic lights on their routes this week for the first time, with others noting they've had it for a couple of months
Google Maps added traffic light display back in 2022 — Apple Maps has had it for several years — Waze has been the notable holdout among major navigation apps
No official announcement from Waze about the feature — typical for Waze's gradual rollout approach

Why Traffic Lights in Navigation Actually Matter

On busy urban routes, traffic light positions are obvious — you can see the signal ahead and time your approach. On long straight roads with infrequent signals, a traffic light appearing unexpectedly at speed is where accidents happen. Knowing a signal is coming 200 metres ahead changes how you approach it.

For driving in unfamiliar cities, the benefit is even clearer. Local drivers know every light on their daily route. Visitors and commuters trying new roads don't. Having the signal marked on screen — especially with Waze's existing speed limit and hazard warnings — completes the picture of what's ahead.

How to Check If You Have It

Open Waze and start navigation on any route. If traffic lights are enabled on your account, small traffic light icons will appear at signal positions along your route line. If you don't see them, the rollout hasn't reached your account yet — there's no setting to manually enable it.

Waze uses a gradual percentage-based server rollout for most new features rather than a simultaneous global push. If you don't have it yet, it's coming — the December 2025 test has clearly progressed into a meaningful rollout.

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