We are very happy to announce that we enabled two important features for the drivers in the Philippines - Gas stations and TTS (text to speech) !!!
The Gas stations feature will allow drivers to update gas prices for stations nearby, providing the community of drivers the most accurate prices and let them filter stations by price from the settings menu.
To update the price at a station open the reports menu and select the Gas Prices icon.
and on behalf of barangay waze & the Pinoy waze community, we extend our deepest appreciation to you, Ori, Orit and the waze team and to all you guys behind the scene for this realization!
Toda Raba / maraming salamat po
Thanks for activating the Gas Stations and TTS using street names feature. This is very much appreciated by the Waze users here in the Philippines. I have a couple of feedback though.
I am an Adroid user running the latest Waze version Release 3.7.8.0.
The Gas Stations & Prices menu on settings menu seems to sometimes disappear. Restarting the application a couple time fixes this. Any ideas why this is happening?
For the TTS using street names feature, the voices of Tom and Samantha are not on my list. How can this be resolved?
Thanks and looking forward for your thoughts on the items I have mentioned above.
We thank Waze HQ for enabling Gas Prices and TTS for the Philippines!
Question on the Gas Prices settings. I do not have the option for Gas Stations & Prices under settings menu. I have tried the following versions: 3.7.8 and 3.7.9.905 without seeing that option on Samsung Galaxy S3 running Android 4.3. SpeedDzel and kazmuth confirmed that they have this option under settings.
Any advise when the TTS can be fixed? I know there is no ETA to fix based on the thread but somehow there might be an update by now already. Just curious how TOM and SAMANTHA will pronounce the local streets.
In order for the TTS to be enabled on your device you need a good GPS reception,
Once the system recognizes your location it will automatically enable the feature.
So please make sure you have GPS and Wifi or Data working good.
I have my GPS location set (very strong signal), data ison, with H+ full signal, and steady data stream. My Waze App (after re-installing several times, beta versions, latest public release, etc.) still doesn’t show Samantha or Tom. I am using the Samsung Galaxy S4 with Android Kitkat. Whatever I do, it doesn’t want to show.
Oh, for what it is worth, whenever I enter ##@tts, it ALWAYS says “TTS feature is disabled, please restart”. It doesn’t toggle. It creates the impression that it is on by default, and toggles off when entering ##@tts, however, no voice navigation with TTS is available neither before or after the command.
Unfortunately it still will not work Kazmuth…dozens of installs/uninstalls/re-installs/logins/logouts later, still the same. I just also read the post that it is a known bug and that they are working on a fix… Will just be patient until that day comes. Maybe it has to do with the new Kitkat OS for Android…
Just a bit scary at first because you will be back as baby wazer ;-). But multiple closing and opening of waze will bring back your status. I just lost my favorites because at first i did not know the command ##@restorefav in restoring favorites.
Just wanted to share the proper workaround for Android (thanks for the help Kazmuth!)
This was tested on a Samsung Galaxy S4 with Android Kitkat. This probably works on other versions of Android as well.
Enabling TTS for Android (Kitkat) users:
The shortcut (works for some users):
Close Waze (make sure it is not running in the background)
Go to Settings > More > Location > Mode > select High Accuracy
Restart Waze
In Waze, go to Settings > Sound > select ‘Samantha (including street names)’
NOTE: If High Accuracy is already selected, you will have to try the full method as described below.
The full method:
Turn off GPS
Go to Settings > More > Location > Mode > select GPS Only
Uninstall Waze
Re-install Waze and open it (make sure to install the production version, not a beta version)
when asked for location choose UNITED STATES
DON’T LOGIN yet, instead use “New users - start driving”
Click Settings > Sound > You will see you cannot select your voice option
Exit Waze (make sure it is not running in the background)
Switch on GPS
Go to Settings > More > Location > Mode > High Accuracy
Open Waze
Go to Settings > Account & Login > Login with your username or your Facebook account
After login is complete, click Settings > Sound> ‘Samantha (including street names)’ appears, check it (usually selected by default)
If after installing, you lost your favorites, you can restore them by doing the following:
Open Waze
Slide to Navigate
In the Search bar, enter the command: ##@restorefav
When done, your favorites will have been restored from a copy on the Waze servers
Before doing anything else, make sure to restart Waze so that also your Home and Work locations are restored.
Just curious how TOM and SAMANTHA will pronounce the local streets.