How To Use Google Maps Offline (Android)

Google Maps provides amazingly detailed routes and makes navigation very simple. You can easily get to any area without finding yourself lost. However, the issue with Google Maps is that it requires an internet connection. If you are traveling to a place where data roaming is not available (or too expensive), this may not be an option.

Downloading the World’s map in that app does not seem like a feature coming anytime soon, but Google does offers you the ability to download a map of a specific area (square km max). If you are going to a place that will not have access to the internet, then this feature can be extremely handy.

In this tutorial, we are going to show you how you can download maps of a specific area and use it offline in Google Maps.

Note: Due to Map licensing issue, Google doesn’t offer this feature in all the countries. So, you cannot download maps of some specific countries. If you would like to know if your required country supports this feature or not, you can checkout offline map availability on Google support website.

Download the Map for Offline Use

If you don’t have the Google Maps App, then you can download it from Google Play Store. Launch the app and in the search field above, enter the location of which you would like to download the map.

Once located, again tap on the search field and this time enter “ok maps” and hit “search”. You will be immediately asked, if you would like to save the map. Here you can zoom in and zoom out to specify how much area you would like to download.

The maximum limit is set at “50km x 50km or 31.7 miles x 31.7 miles”, if you will zoom out more than this, you will be prompted to zoom in to fit the limit. When you are done, click on “SAVE” on the next page, and give the offline map a name.

Tip: If you need to download more area of the map than the maximum limit, then you can also download more than one map to fill the missing part.

Access the Downloaded Map

You can easily access the downloaded map in “Your Places”. Slide out the main menu from the left side and then, click on “Your Places”. All your offline maps will be saved here, you can just click on the required map and it will open up.

Use of the  Downloaded Map

Downloaded maps are very different as compared to the normal maps. They are actually just plain maps with no special functionality. All you can do is zoom in and zoom out in the specific area and checkout places (updates to the area will not be shown).

You will be unable to use features such as, Navigation, 3D buildings, indoor maps and Terrain. Furthermore, the map is only available for 30 days, after that you will be required to update it or you will not be able to access the offline map.

This restriction is probably added to make sure people are updated with the current situation of the area and don’t get lost due to misdirection from the outdated map.

Note: Google offline maps are saved as cache, and when you access them, it will just show the cached data. The maps can also be used as an “accelerator” when you have a live, but very slow data connection.

Alternative Way to Save a Map

If you are not comfortable with the command “Ok maps”, then there is an alternative method to save a map as well. When you search for any location, tap on the location name located at the bottom left corner to access all its details.

Here, tap on the menu button located at the top right corner of the screen (three vertical dots). From the menu, tap on “Save offline map” and follow the instructions mentioned above to save and use the map.

If you have any questions or would like to add any further information, let us know in the comments below.

Karar Haider
Categories: Web
Tags: Google