How to use Google Offline Maps: Navigate without an internet connection.

How to use Google Offline Maps: Downloading a map

The way that the Offline feature works is by downloading the actual map for a locale directly onto your smartphone. Obviously you’ll want to do this before you set off, as a large map could eat into your data plan and of course the reason you’re downloading it is that you might not have a signal where you’re going. Google has limited the size of the map you can install on your device, but as this currently stands at 120,000 square kilometres, so you should be good for most trips.

To download a map you’ll first need to open the Maps app on your smartphone or tablet, then search for the area, city, desolate wasteland that you intend to visit. When you find the place you’ll see its name in a white area at the bottom of the screen. Tap on this and the area will slide up, revealing more details about the locality. To save it to your device simply tap the three dots in the top right corner of the screen and you’ll see the option Download offline area appear if you’re using an Android phone or Save Offline map for iOS users. Tap this, confirm your selection, and the map will be installed on your handset.

How to use Google Offline Maps: navigation

As Android is a Google product, the advanced offline features have been implemented on this platform first, with no doubt similar to follow on iOS. To get started open up the Maps app and tap on the blue circle in the bottom right corner. This brings up the search option where you can enter your start and finish points. At the moment the offline mode will only allow you to have driving navigation, so walking or public transport are out, and as you might have already worked out there will be no traffic information available either. Once you’ve entered the route details tap the blue circle with the arrow in it and you’ll now be able to drive to your destination without the need of an internet connection.

iOS users are currently limited to viewing only, as navigation and route calculations are still to be introduced. To find the locally stored maps on your iOS device tap the three lines menu option again and then tap Your places and scroll down to offline maps. Now you can use the information in much the same way as a paper map, albeit without the need to unfold it out to something resembling a blanket. Keep an eye out for updates to Maps on iOS, as the navigation feature will surely arrive pretty soon.