Google Maps is a very handy application to have on your Android or iOS device, especially when you’re traveling to an unfamiliar location. However, there may be instances when you find that you have no signal in certain areas consequently cutting off your access to Google Maps as well. Luckily, you can save specific Google Maps offline, so that should you find yourself in such an unfortunate predicament, you’ll still be able to find your way around. In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to access Google maps offline on Android or iOS device.
How to Access Google Maps Offline
Before we get started make sure that you have the most updated version of Google maps on your Android or iOS device. At the time of writing this post, Android was sporting the 8.1.1 version while iOS is carrying the 3.1.0 version.
1. Open up the Google Maps app on your smartphone and tap on the profile icon (on the top right corner of the screen.)
2. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to view the Offline Maps section. Click Save map to use offline. This will then take you to the map that needs to be saved.
3. Pan and zoom the map to get the exact area you want covered and then click Save.
4. In the Name offline map pop up box, type a name for the map and click Save.
Alternatively, if you are on a particular map, you can type “OK Maps” in the Search box to pull up the Save page and then click Save to save the current map on your screen.
You can also search for a particular location such as the Eiffel tower, scroll down that page and click Save map to use offline.
To access the offline map, you’ll need to open up the Google Maps app, and tap on your profile icon again.
You can download and save up to 6 maps depending on the storage space available on your device. There is also a restriction on the maximum area that you can download. Google Maps will ask you to zoom in to a smaller area if you have surpassed that limit. The maps saved on your device will remain there only for a period of 30 days after which it will be urged.
There are some limitations to using Google Maps offline. Features such as satellite, terrain, indoor maps and 3D buildings cannot be accessed in offline mode. Similarly, directions and navigation won’t be available offline either.
Saving Google Maps offline not only comes in handy when you’re travelling to places that are not likely to have a good reception, or where the internet connection is slow or unreliable, but also helps you save you costly roaming charges when you’re travelling in a different country.
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