Google map works without the Internet. Google Maps apps now have the ability to save offline maps

Mobile card terrain is an indispensable thing when traveling. And in order to use it without the Internet while roaming, you must first download the data to your tablet or smartphone.

Select an area to use without Network

First of all, select the coverage area that you will download to Google Maps for the next trip. This procedure is the same whether you are using an Android or iOS device. For a selected map area, you can download up to 1.7 gigabytes of data. Since maps weigh a lot, it is recommended to download them via a stable Wi-Fi connection.

Open Google Maps on your device. Through the search, find the desired location and move it to the desired distance. Then, through the application menu, go to the “Downloaded areas” option and click on the “Select area” button. You will automatically be offered to download exactly the area that was before your eyes. You can further adjust it, after which just click the “Download” button. Google Maps will also notify you approximately how much the selected area will weigh and where it will be downloaded (to the device memory or memory card).

To check that the map is working correctly, disconnect from the Internet after downloading the map and try zooming in on different areas of the territory. The map and names of streets, as well as important objects, should be zoomed in and displayed without problems.

Save maps to a memory card

Owners of Android devices onto which additional memory can be inserted via an SD card can download maps not to the device itself, but directly to external memory. To do this, while in the “Downloaded Areas” menu, click on the gear icon to go to settings and then to the “Data storage” option.

In the dialog box you will be given the choice: “Device” and “SD card”. Just select the external memory and click the "Save" button.

How to use cards without the Internet

Without an Internet connection, Google Maps provides us with incomplete functionality. We cannot create walking or cycling routes, or find out information about public transport; naturally, information about traffic jams and so on cannot be loaded. However, with the GPS module turned on, you will be able to track your position on the ground, which will allow you to get your bearings and not get lost in a new city.

Of course, the accuracy of determination on the ground without an Internet connection may not be so ideal. But the error is not so terrible.

In order to protect yourself from updating maps via the mobile Internet while roaming, this feature can be disabled. In the “Downloaded areas” settings, follow the “Enable data saving” link and then activate the “Wi-Fi only” option. Thus, without a Wi-Fi connection, only previously downloaded areas will be available. If you are in a home cellular area, you can disable this option.

Manage downloaded maps

At the end of your trip, previously downloaded maps can be deleted, which is especially important when you used the device’s built-in memory for downloading. To do this, through the Google Maps menu, again go to the “Downloaded areas” item and in the section of the same name, select one of the downloaded maps.

You will be shown the area that was loaded and the opportunity to update the information on this map or delete it from memory. Here you can also set a name for the downloaded map to make it easier to navigate the downloaded maps in the future.

You can also configure the application so that the downloaded maps themselves are periodically updated as needed. To do this, by clicking on the gear icon from the “Downloaded areas” area, the “Automatically update downloaded areas” setting must be active.

Just recently we wrote about it, and now we will continue to work on useful things, resulting in another step by step instructions for novice Android users - how to use Google Maps offline.

Note: This article is intended for new Android device users or those who want to refresh their memory.

Before you begin

There are several requirements to take advantage of the recommendations in this manual. As you guessed, you need a smartphone or tablet running on Android, and the latest version of Google Maps must be installed. Most likely, Google maps are already installed on your gadget, otherwise, you can always download it for free latest version applications from Google Play Store.

Pros and cons of Google Maps

Google Maps is a powerful navigation tool, but it also has its downsides. The fact is that Maps works great with a constant Internet connection, which cannot be said without it. Many years ago, Google started working on this issue, and now you can download all the necessary data to navigate around the area. The downloaded map image will be exactly the same as when working online.

The Download Map feature allows you to cache an area the size of a typical big city. Before we tell you how to save a specific map area for offline use, let's discuss some difficulties that you may encounter along the way.

First, Google Maps offers offline maps for a limited time - 30 days. The fact is that Google is constantly improving its maps - during this time, streets may be added or removed, or several business centers will appear, in any case, after this time you will have to download and save the desired area of ​​the map again. Well, if you are going on a long hike without an Internet connection, then Google Maps offline is unlikely to be useful.

Secondly, Google Maps offline mode has limited search and navigation functionality. Of course, in offline mode you can find out how to get to your destination and record your route. However, you will not be able to reverse your route created at home if you have Internet access. We hope that you remember the way home, or at least know how to use a map without navigation.

And finally, you can only download six offline maps. The idea is that for most cases this is more than enough, and you won't need a lot of free space to download maps. This means if you're going on a long trip, then you may have to stop halfway to remove the first set of maps and load the remaining maps to get to your destination. Not fun at all, is it?

How to use Google Maps offline

Well, we've come to this key moment Our article today is about how to use Google Maps offline.

First, you need to make sure that you have a stable Internet connection, preferably WiFi, since you will have to download approximately 80 MB of data or more, which is approximately how much one map area takes up.

Launch the Google Maps application and navigate to the area you want to save for offline use.

Click on the search bar at the top of the screen.

Now you can zoom and scroll the area you want to save, and then click the Download button. If the selected area is too large, the following message will appear at the top of the screen: “Area too large. Zoom in on the map”, and the Download button will become inactive.

When everything is done correctly, a window will appear in which you need to enter the name of the loaded map area and click Save.

Now your map area is saved and you can use Google Maps offline.

What's next?

Once your maps are uploaded, Google now gives you 30 days until they become out of date. After this time has expired, you can always reload the saved map (offline map), to do this, log in Menu/Your places/Setting up offline maps then we find the desired card and click the map menu and Update.

Do you need to make a trip within your city using Google Maps offline? Navigation works offline, just create a route when you have an Internet connection, say before leaving home. Google Maps will automatically download the information it needs to show you the route to your destination. It will even download the area of ​​the map it needs, so you don't have to download the map manually. Once your route is set, Google Maps will provide you with the information you need, at least until you arrive at your destination, or until you turn off Maps on your device completely.

Please remember that you will not be able to initiate navigation using Google Maps in offline mode, downloaded maps of areas in order to simply view them. But still, if your smartphone or tablet is equipped with a GPS sensor, then you have a powerful tool in your hands to find your way, and you don’t need access to the Internet at all.

What do you say: Will you use Google Maps offline for travel, or trust another navigation application?

Stay tuned, there is still a lot of interesting things ahead.

Until recently, Google maps and Yandex maps belonged to the so-called online navigation – that is, they worked exclusively using the mobile Internet, which was necessary for plotting a route and guiding along it. Accordingly, even the ability to download maps in advance to the gadget’s memory, which appeared a certain time ago in Yandex Maps, still did not make navigation autonomous. Google didn’t even have map downloads...

And now, users of Google maps on mobile gadgets have access to detailed offline maps, address search, full route guidance, and other things without an Internet connection. useful information – for example, opening hours of organizations, their contacts, etc. To take advantage new feature, you need to enter the name of the area, city or region you are interested in in the search bar on Google maps, then select “Download map”. And in the main menu of maps, a “Downloaded regions” item has appeared, where you can delete regions and add new ones.

Details of how the Wheels offline mode works were found out from Evgeniy Grebennikov, manager of the Google Maps service in Russia:

– What does the user get from the appearance of the offline navigation function?

– Actually, everything that is its well-known advantages! The most obvious thing on the surface is that now you can safely use navigation while roaming without worrying about the “golden” megabytes (although to this day there are also local tariffs in which the Internet is secondary and megabytes are expensive). You will also be able to use navigation in places where the Internet basically does not work and there is no mobile network coverage - and there are still plenty of such places in Russia, despite the fact that our mobile Internet is actually one of the fastest, highest quality and cheapest in the world.

If you previously found yourself in an area where there was no cellular network coverage, the navigation simply disappeared. And in an area with slow GPRS or slow and overloaded 3G Internet, navigation could slow down and freeze, waiting for data to be pumped, forcing you to stop on the side of the road, waiting for it to resume. But now this problem is gone - with the advent of offline maps, you immediately begin to build a route, leave and move without delay using voice prompts, even if the phone is in airplane mode. And as soon as you find yourself in the coverage area of ​​cellular networks, your route will also be automatically adjusted taking into account traffic jams and other current road factors.

– While Google maps laid out a route and guided along it only when the mobile Internet was connected, manufacturers of offline navigation used this fact as their main advantage. Now you have invaded their holy of holies... What should the market of paid navigation software expect? Will he disappear?

- Well, I won’t give such global forecasts - it will disappear, it won’t disappear... But their life will definitely become much more complicated. Because we offer “in one bottle” the advantages of an always-working offline solution and the obvious advantages of online navigation: prompt updating of maps and effective feedback, which allows you to add information, for example, about congestion, predict them in real time, take them into account when laying and operational adjusting the route.

An additional item “Downloaded areas” will appear in the usual side menu of Google maps:

– How are maps downloaded? Will there be a list of regions, like in paid navigation programs?

- The principle is different. What you see on the screen at the moment is what will be downloaded. You scale the map area as you need and download it. Even a region of Russia, even a separate city, even a separate street.

The boundaries of the downloaded map are determined by the user:

– What maps are available for download? Are there any restrictions?

– There are no restrictions, which will especially please tourists - you can download any foreign countries, their regions and cities. All will have voice guidance along the route in Russian.

The only caveat is that while offline route guidance is only available for the “By Car” mode, the walking mode will appear in the future. If you are walking, there are two options: either use the mode with voice prompts for the car, which will lengthen it somewhat (the car cannot drive through many courtyards, pedestrian areas, etc.), or simply use offline maps like a regular map - that is, find a shortcut purely visually and follow it, checking the smartphone screen, but without voice prompts.

– Will maps be downloaded to internal memory? Can I choose a download location? And is it possible to then transfer cards from internal memory to a flash drive? But what if the device’s internal memory is full or limited?

– While maps will be downloaded automatically to the internal memory, you cannot manually select a storage location or transfer them to a memory card. Yes, it is possible that in some cases downloading maps will fail due to lack of space - the user will have to either clear the memory of the content or delete some previously downloaded maps. But we are aware of the problem of full memory, as well as the low amount of pre-installed memory in many devices. It will be resolved - just wait a little.

– What are the volumes of downloaded maps?

– They are not too large - for example, a map of Moscow and the region takes approximately 150 megabytes. I repeat - if you do not have enough space in the memory of your smartphone or tablet, then you can download maps as needed. For example, if you are planning a trip to a neighboring region, you can temporarily delete the local card.

– The offline navigation function is a huge project. And its implementation will take some time – according to preliminary data, from two to three weeks. Updates to the map service will arrive on your phones and tablets gradually - for some earlier, for others later, but everything will work in the very near future.

– How can people who don’t follow the latest mobile software too much find out about a new service and may not even know that “something is being updated” on their phone?

- This is provided! If the maps have already been updated before the advent of the offline service, then when you next need to get directions or find something, you will see a large message pop-up on the screen inviting you to get acquainted with the new feature and, first of all, download a map of your region. Believe me - don't miss it!

Google Maps is deservedly considered the most popular mapping service in the world and allows users to navigate and build routes almost anywhere in the world. However, an Internet connection is not always required - there is a function for saving individual areas to the device.

Creating an offline map of a specific area in the Google Maps iOS application was available previously, but now you no longer have to enter the phrase “ Ok maps", it is enough to perform simple and understandable actions for everyone.

1 . Type the desired area in the application search ( locality, country);

2 . Pull up the tab on the search results page that appears at the bottom of the screen;

3 . Click the button …» in the top right corner, and then in the pop-up window, select the option " Download map";

4 . Select the scale of the area to save, controlling the size of the resulting offline map. The larger the selected area, the larger the size of the saved map.

5 . Click the button "Download" and wait for the download to complete.

6. To view all saved offline maps, click the “hamburger” icon on the main screen of the application and select a section Offline maps.

Naturally, offline cards differ significantly in functionality. Thus, without an Internet connection, the user will not have access to routes for pedestrians and public transport, information about enterprises, traffic jams, road works, etc. However, finding your way around an unfamiliar city and building a driving route is not difficult.

Google Maps has an offline mode, which is ideal for those times when you need to determine your location without an Internet connection. Millions of people use Google Maps every day, so downloading maps to your phone is a very useful feature. You can learn how to use these features by reading our guide.

How to Use Google Maps Offline

1. Open the Maps app while connected to the internet and find your desired location on the map.
2. After that, open the side menu by swiping from the left edge of the display to the right. Or click on the button in the shape of three lines, which is located in the upper left corner. In this menu, go to the “Downloaded Areas” section.
3. Now click on the “+” button at the bottom of the screen and then the program will ask you to select the area you want to use offline. Once you have done this, click “Download”. You also need to name the selected area.
4. Downloaded maps are naturally available in the “Downloaded Areas” section. Now there is no need for an internet connection if you are within these areas.

Of course, the functionality of saved maps has limitations, mainly regarding the size of the location. You won't be able to download a map of, say, all of Russia, as the maximum amount of data you can save is 1.5 GB.

Downloaded maps tend to take up quite a bit of phone storage space, so we recommend using a Wi-Fi connection rather than a mobile one. It is also worth noting that offline cards are stored on phones for 30 days, after this period they will be deleted.