Losing your Internet connection while traveling can be frustrating, especially when you’re relying on your phone to tell you where to go. Whether you’re stuck in a subway car underground or have lost your signal while driving in a remote rural area, we’ve all be there at least once.
It’s a good idea to plan ahead for these types of situations by downloading maps for offline use in Google Maps. Once you’ve downloaded an area, you’ll be able to get directions and view points of interest for that region even without an Internet connection.
Still, there are some limitations to keep in mind. You can’t get walking, transit, or cycling directions while offline; only driving directions are available. If you’re not driving, using Google Maps offline can still be helpful for viewing nearby places when you’re stuck without a signal.
It’s also important to remember that these maps eventually expire because Google needs to update them to make sure they’re accurate. To see the areas you’ve saved and when they expire, open Google Maps, tap the menu icon, and select “Offline areas.”
Here’s how to download an offline map:
Launch the Google Maps app on your Android phone or iPhone. Make sure you’re signed into your Google account.
Search for the city you’d like to download.
Tap the bar at the bottom of the screen with the name of the place you’ve just searched for.
Tap the button that says “Download.”
Google will then show you a map of the area and ask if you’d like to download it. Tap “Download” again to confirm.
Google Project Aims to Make Street Art Immortal
Chilean artist INTI on Reynoldstown Crossing, Atlanta for Living Walls 2013.Joshua Gwyn—Living WallsFrench artist 3ttman in Summerhill, Atlanta for Living Walls 2013.Joshua Gwyn—Living WallsStreet artist eL Seed's It impossible, Cape Town, South Africa.
Kent Lingeveldt—Itinerrance GalleryStreet artist eL Seed's Lost Wall on the Star Wars film set in Onk el Jmel, Tunisia.
Ouahid Berrehouma—Itinerrance Gallery Abiding In The Broken Heart by DALeast in Malaga, Spain, 2013. Courtesy CAC Málaga French street artist JR's Women Are Heroes dominates the Morro da Providencia favela, one of Brazil's most dangerous, in Rio de Janeiro, August 20, 2008. Vanderlei Almeida—AFP/Getty ImagesThe artwork of Portuguese artist Alexandre Farto aka Vhils decorates the walls with faces that represent the people who live in Providencia, the oldest slum in Rio de Janeiro, Nov. 29, 2012. Luiz Claudio Martins Baltar—Flickr/Getty ImagesThe face of a woman who used to live in the demolished residential block is seen carved into a remaining wall by street artist Vhils and his team in Shanghai on March 1, 2012. Niu Yixin—EPAA piece by Mark Barretto, a Filipino artist currently living in Dubai, created during a return visit to Cavite, Philippines. Mark Barretto—Filipino Street Art ProjectFrench street artist C215's work on the Calada da Pampulha in Lisbon. Jos Vicente—Departamento de Patrimnio CulturalA piece of Roa's rodent series in the East End of London, Nov. 15, 2011.Matthew Lloyd—Getty ImagesCarnaval Latinoamericano by Charquipunk and La Robot de Madera in San Miguel, Chile. Managers Open Air Museum in San Miguel: Mixart Cultural CenterThierry Noir and Stik's historic collaboration on The Village Underground Wall in Shoreditch, London, February 2013.Thierry Noir and Stik
