How often do you open Google Maps mindlessly just to lose signal strength when you need it most? Poor reception may leave you trapped without instructions or a method to reroute, whether you’re in the middle of a large national park, coasting along rural roadways, or deep in the mountains.
You cannot use Google Maps to discover pit breaks, alter your route, or find your way back if you take a mistake turn in places with poor or no internet. Unless you have a strategy, you are stuck on the path you initially took.
Fortunately, there is a clever solution. Turn-by-turn navigation is still possible using offline maps, even if you’re totally unconnected. Here’s how to ensure that, even in the event of a service outage, you never get lost.
Do you want to know more techniques and tips with Google Maps? See three Google Maps features you should be aware of, as well as how to obscure your home on the map.
Methods for offline Google Maps downloads
To begin with, Google Maps will not be downloaded in its entirety. Rather, you should download a particular location before your travel, which might be a city, county, or region where you may not have service on your phone.
You must be signed into your Google account in order to download a map offline. To do this, launch the Google Maps app on iOS or Android and touch your profile image in the upper right corner. Tap Offline maps > Choose Your Own Map from the option that displays.
Google Maps’ offline map functionality
Several Google Maps locations are available for offline download.
Place the map you want to download within the rectangular boundary using your fingertips. To navigate the map with one finger, squeeze with two fingers to zoom in and out. You can see how much storage space the download will need on your phone as you go around the map. After you’re satisfied with the space, click “Download.”
To download the map offline, you may also enter a city or other location into Google Maps and then click the Download option that shows up in the pull-up window. However, this method is limited to iPhones.
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To download the map, you need to be on Wi-Fi. Go to the Offline maps page, touch the gear icon in the upper right corner, choose When to download offline maps, and then choose via Wi-Fi or mobile network if you want to download via cellular. You may see all of your offline maps on the Offline maps page when your map has finished downloading.
Selecting the map in Google Maps that you want to save offline
Only maps up to 250 MB in size may be downloaded; the size of Maine is approximately what will be seen on the chosen map.
You may now use Google Maps in the region you downloaded and just in that area, even when you’re not online. Because traffic and other road conditions are not taken into consideration, you won’t get very precise travel times or alternative route possibilities, but you will receive a rough estimate of how long your journey should take. instructions for walking, bicycle, and transit are similarly unavailable offline; only driving instructions are given.