How To Use Google Maps Offline

Traveling to a new country can be scary, especially if you’ve never been there before. Getting lost in a foreign country can be worse, but thankfully with our smartphones, navigation is right at our fingertips.

However, we don’t always have internet readily available when we go overseas, which means that apps such as Google Maps will not work so well. Thankfully, Google is aware of this and that’s why they’ve created Offline Maps.  This is a feature in which you can save locations for offline viewing, so that when you don’t have internet, you’ll still have some form of navigation available to you.

This guide will take you through the process of saving maps for offline use and how to manage and organize them for your trip.

How To Save Google Maps For Offline Use

1. Launch Google Maps on your smartphone
2. Tap the hamburger menu to pull up the navigation menu on the left
3. Go to Offline Maps
4. To start saving maps for offline use, you can choose either Home or Custom map. Home will basically save the area around your home, while Custom map will let you choose an area to save.
5. You can move the map around and zoom in and out. Once you’re satisfied with the location, tap Download and your maps will begin downloading so that you can access it without an internet connection.
   
6. Once the download is complete, you’ll be able to see a list of maps that you’ve saved offline.

Google Maps will store your maps for offline up for up to 29 days. You can always opt to redownload it when you need it, or if you’re done with it, you can delete it. We want to point out that depending on how large of an area you want to download, the bigger the download size is, so make sure you have enough space on your phone before downloading.

How To Manage And Update Your Offline Maps

1. If you want to better organize your offline maps, tap the map you want to edit
2. Tap the Pencil icon, and you can rename it to whatever you want.
3. You can also tap the Gear icon where you will have the option to update your offline maps automatically or manually, and choose if you want to be able to download offline maps using only WiFi or WiFi and mobile networks.

Limitations Of Offline Google Maps

For the most part, an offline Google Maps will continue to work and function the same as if it were online. You will be able to pull up navigation, driving directions, and even search for locations. However, there are some limitations. For example, transit, walking, or cycling directions will not be available.

Also, if you’re driving, you will not be able to get information such as traffic information, alternate routes, or lane guidance. Google also points out that offline maps will not be available in some regions. They cite contractual limitations, language, and address formats as some of those reasons, so you might want to double-check before you go on your trip.

Finally, this functionality is not available in select countries, due to the licensing of the local data, or perhaps local regulations.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Android, Apps, Google, Google Maps, iOS