The most effective way to use Google Maps offline mode

Google Maps is considered one of the most popular mapping services and now users can use this service in offline mode.

Offline mode allows Google Maps to store maps directly in the smartphone's internal memory, allowing users to use the service in case of no connection or connection failure. This situation can often happen to people who travel or go on a trip.

However, Google's service is not as simple as Nokia's Here because users cannot currently download maps when selecting a region, country or continent. Google is trying to improve the service and Google Maps will soon have a more convenient offline mode.

How to enable Google Maps offline mode

Google Maps does not yet offer the ability to download «traditional» maps. Users can download a part of a country. For example, if they want to have a map of France stored on their device, they have to download multiple maps of the country's regions. To use it offline, users navigate to the region they want to download and then go to the left menu under «Offline maps». They will then see a list of all the regions they have downloaded.

Next, the “Choose your own map” option will allow users to save a new offline area. By zooming in/out on the screen, you can adjust this area when you want to download it to your phone. Google Maps will display the download size. Therefore, the larger the map, the more information it contains, the larger the download size will be.

In case your smartphone is equipped with a microSD card, you can store maps there by going to “Offline maps > Settings > Stored references”. Offline regions can also be renamed to your liking. This feature is quite handy to be able to identify different regions that we have downloaded on our smartphone. Offline viewing of maps will be valid for 30 days, an update can increase the usage time before you set off.

Google will provide options to save device data by limiting updates downloaded over Wi-Fi. A feature worth waiting for.

Why is Google Maps so popular?

In offline viewing, forget about traffic jams and traffic incidents as no alternative routes are provided in these cases. However, some other features still work, such as searching for an address with a brand name or a company address.

It’s not the best in the business, but Google Maps’ offline mode is still a handy solution. The advantage of Google Maps is that the service can be installed on all Android smartphones, which makes it more popular.

According to VnMedia