How to download Google Maps to navigate offline
Getting lost in a strange place, surrounded by unfamiliar landmarks and people — or worse, being surrounded by nothing and nobody — can be scary. It’s even worse if you’re in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language and can’t ask for directions. Luckily, the Google Maps app for Android and iOS is a perfect travel companion that rarely gets lost.
While Google Maps holds the top spot on ourfavorite travel apps, you’ll want to take a few minutes to download offline maps for any areas where you live, work, or travel. Offline maps provide basic navigational details when you’re in an area with poor or nonexistent data coverage. This tutorial will walk you through downloading and using offline maps in Google Maps.
Life’s easier with these Google Maps features
How to download offline maps in Google Maps
You can download offline maps for your hometown and anywhere you may travel. These maps provide basic navigational details, meaning you won’t haveStreet View access, traffic updates, public transport navigation, bicycle routes, or Google’s Busy Areas feature.
Additionally, you need free storage space on your device to download the maps. The bigger the territory, the more space you’ll need. However, you can download maps on your microSD card if your phone supports it, or you can quickly free up storage spaceon your phone. With that out of the way, let’s look at how to download Google Maps for offline use.
We’ve used an Android phone for this tutorial, but the steps are the same for iPhone users.
Open theGoogle Mapsapp while connected to the internet.
There is a size limit to the amount of map area you can download. Not in terms of data but physical map area. If the selection rectangle shrinks when you pinch to zoom out, download as much as possible and repeat the process to download additional maps. Downloading multiple overlapping maps is the easiest way to save offline information for a large area. Plus, you can download as many offline maps as your storage allows.
How to configure offline maps
After downloading your first offline map, adjust some ancillary settings to maximize the offline maps feature. Offline maps expire after a year, meaning you can’t access them afterward. So, updating them occasionally is important. Here are some options that come with offline maps.
Rename your offline maps for easy access
Labeling your offline maps makes it easier to manage them later. Perhaps you want to delete ones you no longer need to free up your storage.
Set up auto-update to keep your offline maps up to date
While Google Maps lets you update maps manually, allowing automatic updates to downloaded maps makes more sense. To activate automatic updates, navigate to theOffline mapspage and take these steps:
That’s pretty much it. Your maps will automatically update. No more worrying if a map is the latest and most accurate.
Tweak your network settings to save data
Update your network preferences to ensure offline maps only update when you want them to. While on theOffline maps settingspage, follow these steps:
Update offline maps storage preferences
If you have a phone with microSD expansion, Google allows you to save offline maps to your expandable storage. To allow microSD storage for offline maps, go to theOffline mapspage and follow these steps:
Google Maps deletes your existing offline maps after updating the storage preferences. So, you’re better off leaving offline maps on your internal storage unless you’re running out of space.
On the Offline maps page, tap thegear icon.
While on the Offline maps settingspage, you’ll notice a setting we haven’t touched on:Automatically download recommended maps.After activating the feature, Maps automatically downloads maps that Google thinks you could use. It uses frequently visited places and your home and work addresses to determine which maps to download.
We haven’t touched this setting because any option you don’t have direct control over is never as reliable as it needs to be. If you want offline maps for your work or home neighborhoods, download those maps manually through the process described above.
How to delete unused offline maps
You’ve now downloaded and configured offline maps to your preferences. When you’re done with your trip or move to a new town or city, you may not want those unused maps using up storage. Most offline maps are under 100MB, so keeping them for future use is smart. However, here’s how to delete them if you’re running low on storage.
Getting lost is no longer an excuse for avoiding traveling
Getting lost in a new city or state may not be fun, but can sometimes be adventurous. As long as you know you’re safe, getting lost can lead to discovering new places and getting to know your country better. However, you don’t have to risk getting lost in a dangerous place when offline maps can act as a safety net. Besides, you canplan your trip using Google appsso that you can focus on enjoying yourself.
But what if you get lost in a foreign country with a different language and didn’t download offline maps after arriving? UseGoogle Translateor say, “Hey Google, be my interpreter.”
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