TLDR

Android users can the old voice back, including street names, by downgrading to v26.31.02.954292984, released on July 31st, 2026. Instructions found below, starting at "Prerequisites". (Also, yes, I like putting my punctuation outside of quotes. sue me.)

Introduction

Hey all!

Like many of you, I despise the new AI voice that Google has forced upon us, and was especially disappointed that they stripped the ability of the old voice, currently labeled "English (US)" in the app, of its ability to read street names.

However, if you are an Android user, there is a (albeit roundabout) solution! Just downgrade to an APK version before the change.

It took me a while to download/check, but it took less than half a day to find the latest version without the new voice: Google Maps v26.31.02.954292984, released on/around July 31st, 2026.

Prerequisites

Before you go off downloading and installing it, there's a few things you should do first:

1. Disable auto-update for maps: Play Store > (search) Google Maps > 3 dots top right > un-check "Enable auto update". Self-explanatory.
2. Uninstall all current updates: Settings > (search) Maps > 3 dots top right > tap "Uninstall updates". Was the only option on my phone. This reverts it back to the factory original app, which we'll reinstall our APK updates onto.

While having a separate computer isn't necessary to install this APK, it does make it a little easier in my opinion. It's still technically possible to verify the APK on the phone itself (e.g. using a terminal emulator app from F-droid or other), this step is way easier on a non-android system (Unix/Windows). The installation instructions will assume you have a separate computer.

Installation

While the link to the APK download I used can be found here, I strongly reccommend that you verify the SHA256 checksum and digital signature yourself, unless you're like me and live life on the edge (don't care that much about potentially downloading a virus).

After the verification, it's pretty easy (suck it, Apple):

1. Transfer the file over. USB, Wifi (ex. LocalSend, my goat), bluetooth, whatever. Just remember where you put it on the mobile device.
2. Open the "My Files" app, find the APK, and tap on it. Tap "Update" on the subsequent prompt.

That's it!~ Enjoy your new (old) shitty-AI-voice-assistant-less version of Google Maps.

Postscript

I've seen others talk about the Incognito workaround, and although the method shown here is more time-consuming, I believe it'll be more useful to users wanting to get back the original voice. It should also be a more permanent fix than using incognito, since previous APKs are essentially locked, and we disable updates as part of the installation.

If Google ever does manage to listen to half of its entire userbase and decides to give back the old voice's ability to speak street names and you want to bring your app back up to date, it should be about as easy as re-enabling automatic updates in the Play Store and tapping "Update".

I should probably also mention that the only phone I've tested this on is my own, a Samsung Galaxy S20 FE. I'd imagine it wouldn't make a difference to what I've put here, but I guess y'all can let me know if there are problems (not that I'm going to try a deep dive into why or anything, lol).

Anyways, that's about it. Happy downgrading!

All of a sudden when I search during a journey, it won't show the additional time unless I click on the item? Makes it much more difficult to make a decision if I have to click on every option.

My Google maps has changed in the last few days so that it only shows one option for the route. Before it would have had both toll and no toll options showing on the map and you can choose between them.

I haven't changed any settings that I'm aware of so just hoping for any tips or advice if possible. I'm on Android if that makes a difference.

Thanks in advance!

I’d really appreciate it if anyone knows how to fix it. 😞

The workaround I’m currently using is to open the list, edit it, and find the place there, instead of searching for the place first and adding it from there.

This takes more clicks and is much more annoying, but it’s the only way to prevent it from getting stuck on the map as a bookmark that you can’t remove.

My G'Maps stopped loading properly two days ago. Today I removed and reinstalled, but now it won't load maps at all. Anybody else have this issue?