Google Maps is a great tool for plan trips and locate yourself anywhere if you are somewhat lost or do not know the place. And while it’s especially helpful thanks to all the information offered from the internet, you can also use Google Maps offline. Or put another way: if you believe that wherever you go you will not have mobile coverage or internet connectiontry to download the maps from Google Maps before starting your trip.
With offline maps you will continue to locate yourself and you will reach your destination even if your mobile phone cannot connect to the network, or the connection is slow or unstable, and Google Maps cannot request data from its servers. The maps will be on your device. And, by the way, you will save money if you are abroad and you do not have a data plan from that country.
Among other things, at download maps from google maps, you will get all the information that usually accompanies the map. That is, you will get directions, you will see the available routes, you will find locations and areas of interest, etc. The data not available offline, for now, they have to do with public transport, bicycle and walking. And, of course, the state of traffic, alternative routes or lane indications.
Download maps from Google Maps
The offline maps from Google Maps, available for Android and also for iPhone, They are very practical for traveling on roads or areas where there is no coverage or it is not very good to say. Keep in mind that the maps you download will be stored on your device. So you should have enough space. And to download them, you should use a WiFi connection so as not to exhaust your mobile data plan. Otherwise, you can download maps in different ways.
The main consists of search for a location directly on the map or from the search engine. You can use an address, the name of a town or a place of interest. When you see the map below a technical sheet will appear with the name of the place with images, descriptions, suggestions for restaurants, bars and other establishments.
To download that map:
- Open Google Maps
- Touch the name or address of the main site you want to reach
- Click on the menu Further with three vertical points
- Select the option Download offline map
- You will have to confirm the download. Before, you will see a notice of how much the downloaded map occupies
Download your own map
The offline maps of Google Maps are associated with a town or a place of interest. But maybe you want information from a wider area. Come on, you want your own map of what you want to visit. To do this, instead of limiting ourselves to downloading what Google Maps delimits by default, we will expand the map to download.
To download a map of a specific area:
- Within the Google Maps app, tap on your profile image in the upper right corner
- Go into offline maps
- Tap on Select your own map
- Adjusts the displayed map to fit within the frame of reference
- When the area you want is within the frame, tap on Discharge
Use offline maps from Google Maps
After downloading maps from Google Maps, they will appear in the offline maps that we have seen before. That is, by clicking on the icon of your profile. As we saw before, you can download the maps you want, as long as you have enough space in your device’s memory. Maps can be deleted, updated or edited. On each downloaded map you will see the Date of Expiry.
To use those maps offline, just click on the icon next to your name. The map will open and a message will appear below indicating that access to that map will be offline. As we saw before, in principle you can use the maps normally. Of course, there will be details that will not be there, such as those related to walking, cycling or public transport or last-minute information such as traffic or alternative routes.
Finally, if you want your maps keep up to date, you can do the update manually or ask Google Maps to take care of it. if you are in offline mapsclick on the icon in the upper right corner and check that the option is checked Automatically update offline maps. And to avoid surprises, in download preferences make sure the option appears Wi-Fi only so as not to use your mobile data in vain.