Here’s how to use Google Maps offline for navigation
If you are on holiday or travelling, it can be a godsend to have offline maps at your disposal. Outside the EU, data traffic is quite expensive and in some areas you may not have any coverage at all.
Of course, it could also be that your data bundle is not that big. Where Google Maps needed a connection to download maps years ago, you can now simply save them on your device in advance.
Your device uses GPS to determine your location. This technology does not use data, but allows your smartphone to determine your current location via satellites. If you use Google Maps without internet, you will lose access to live information about traffic jams, roadworks or general traffic congestion. Follow the steps below to get offline maps on your device.
How to download offline Google Maps
Time needed: 2 minutes
- Start Google Maps
Open the Google Maps app on your smartphone and tap your profile picture at the top right. Then tap ‘Offline Maps’;
- Choose your offline area
Select ‘Select your own map’ and map the area you want to make available offline. It is recommended to take a slightly larger area than you actually need, in case you deviate slightly from your route. NB: the maximum area you can download is slightly larger than the surface area of the Netherlands;
- Download the area
Press ‘Download’ and Google Maps will download the area for you. At the bottom you will see how much of your internal storage space the map will use. You can then use offline Maps in the entire area you downloaded.
Deleting your offline maps is just as easy as downloading them. In the ‘Offline maps’ menu you will always see a list of the maps that are currently downloaded. By tapping the three dots next to one of these maps, different options will appear. There you can also choose to delete the map.
It is also good to remember that you can use a downloaded map for a year without a connection. If you update it in the meantime, the period is automatically extended by one year. If you connect to a Wi-Fi network during the period of offline navigation, Google Maps will automatically update the map, so that you can go ahead for another month. Handy!
Learn more about Google Maps:
You are reading an article that previously appeared on our website. We have updated the information and republished the article.
Source: www.androidplanet.nl
