La offline browsing it is one of the main functions of Google Maps, Google's famous geographic Internet service, available as a website and app, on both Android and iOS. This function is very useful for example when you go to a place where signal coverage is poor or absent, or on holiday abroad to save the mobile data included with roaming or to avoid purchasing an extra SIM if you goes to a country not covered by its offer.
In this article we will explain to you how to download offline maps on Google Maps, thus helping you solve a problem that affects more people in our country alone than you might think.
Index- 1. How to download offline maps
- 2. Why do I need to download maps?
- 3. On which phones can I download the maps?
- 4. Are there any limits for downloading maps?
- 5. Other useful options
I also advise you not to miss these other articles recommended by us, also related to this topic:
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- Check the route of ships, ferries and cruises in real time
- Best travel sites with low cost offers
- How to find low cost flights, the best flight comparators
How to download offline maps
La choice of offline maps on Google Maps and their next download, they are two very simple operations. All you need is the Google Maps app (Android or iOS) and a Google account (in the link just provided you will find all the instructions explaining how to create it). For the rest, here are the steps to take:
- Open the Google Maps app on your phone.
- Tap your account icon at the top right.
- In the screen that opens, tap on "Offline maps".
- Tap the “Select your map” option.
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- Drag the tile to the area you want to have an offline map of.
- Press the “Download” button to start downloading the map.
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The new downloaded map will be available on the page Offline maps. By default, the app assigns the name "Map 1", "Map 2" and so on to the map, but you can change it at any time: tap the three dots icon next to it, tap "Rename", then type the name you wish to give to the map and press "Save".
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Why do I need to download maps?
You may need to download maps whenever you are on holiday o when you go anywhere outside your city, perhaps at the weekend on the occasion of a trip out of town or on weekdays for a specialist visit or to accompany your child to a new friend, this is because you live in an area where the signal coverage from your telephone operator is not exceptional, to put it mildly, and you find yourself more often than not dealing with one limited or no connectivity at all.
As mentioned in the introduction, downloading offline maps on Google Maps becomes an almost indispensable function abroad, both if you go to a European Union country covered by roaming, and if you are planning a trip to a non-EU country not covered by your telephone offer.
In the first case, helps you save data traffic, so as to have it available for other needs, for example to carry out research on places to visit or restaurants to eat at. Outside the European Union, however, it allows you to save on the purchase of an additional SIM, dedicated exclusively to browsing the Internet.
Furthermore, it becomes a very important function to help your parents reach a certain destination if their telephone offer does not include any gigabytes for an Internet connection. How many times have you had to help your father or mother get to an out-of-town clinic or a fair, knowing that both of their telephone offers do not allow them to use mobile data?
If you are looking for an affordable rate, I recommend you take a look at our article on the best virtual operators and their rates.
On which phones can I download the maps?
Google Maps is available on the Google Play Store and App Store, so you can download offline maps on both Android smartphone than on iPhone. From this point of view, there is no difference between the two operating systems.
However, remember that if you download the maps on an Android smartphone, they will not be automatically available on your iPhone, even if you are using the same Google account on both phones. In this case, data synchronization is not available, as is the case with saved places and many other useful Google Maps features.
Are there any limits for downloading maps?
No, you can download the map of your city or region, as well as the map of Spain or another state. In short, Google Maps does not impose any limits on the size of a map download, you choose which geographical area you are most interested in having available offline for future navigation.
The only real limit corresponds to the amount of internal memory available on the phone. Each downloaded map has its own weight in MB, which thus impacts the availability of internal memory. The more maps you download, or the larger the area you select for download, the greater the weight associated with maps available offline.
If you need to download a significant amount of maps, and your smartphone does not have enough space for downloading, we invite you to read our guides on how to free up space on Android and how to free up space on iPhone or our guide on best micro sd to buy.
Other useful options
After you no longer need a map, you can delete it in order to recover some space, perhaps useful for downloading a new one. To remove a map, go to the "Offline Maps" screen, tap on the three dots icon next to the one you intend to delete and press the "Delete" option.
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By default, Google Maps automatically updates offline maps and can independently download other recommended maps based on your movements (for example the Home map includes the area where you live).
To save space and data, Google only updates recently used maps, but you can choose to disable both updates and automatic downloads simply by moving the lever from right to left next to “Automatic offline map update” and “Automatic download of recommended maps”.
To access these settings, simply press the gear wheel icon located at the top right of the "Offline Maps" screen.
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And that's really all there is to it. In this article we saw how easy it is to download one or more offline maps with Google Maps, and how important this function is in everyday life.
How to download offline maps on Google Maps
