Tag Archives: Maps offline

Save data and storage with new offline features on Google Maps


Along with snacks, good tunes and cries of “are we there yet?” spotty connectivity is often a feature on road trips. From today, it will be easier to prepare for those long stretches of wifi-free road while still saving on device storage and data, with the launch of  SD card support and “Wi-Fi only” mode for Google Maps on Android.


Now, in addition to saving an area of the maps for offline use later, if you have a device that supports SD cards, you can opt to save your downloaded maps to an external SD card (if your device supports them) and free up storage space for important stuff like your holiday snaps or road trip playlists. Now you’ll never have to choose between snapping more food photos or the ability to navigate offline.


You can also choose to save on mobile data by taking Google Maps completely offline. Once you’ve switched to  “Wi-fi only”, the Google Maps app will work completely offline — no Wi-Fi needed! You will still be able to use other apps and the rest of your phone as you normally would. And you might even save on battery life too. If you need to see what the traffic is like or update your offline maps, you can easily switch back to online mode by changing your setting or finding the nearest Wi-Fi.
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Posted by Sanket Gupta, Product Manager

Find your way. Even when the internet can’t find you. Google Maps is now available offline in India

You just landed at Delhi airport and need to get to your next appointment fast, but you don’t know where you’re going, your connection is spotty, and the directions are taking way too long to load. Gah!   
Travelling doesn’t need to be this stressful. From today, Google Maps can help you find directions and get where you’re going, even when you don’t have an Internet connection with the launch of new offline functions in Google Maps.

You can now download the map of an area to your phone, and the next time you find there’s no connectivity—whether you’re on a holiday in Goa or looking up for your next destination from an underground parking —Google Maps will continue to work. Once you have saved that area for offline access, you can get turn-by-turn driving directions, search for specific destinations, and find useful information about places, even when you don’t have an internet connection.

Before you head off, download maps of Delhi in Google Maps by searching for “Delhi”, and then tapping "Download". You can also go to "Offline Areas" in the Google Maps menu and tap the “+” button. Once you’ve downloaded your map, Google Maps will still work even when you’re somewhere with spotty service or no connectivity at all. When a connection is found, it will switch back online so you can easily access the full version of Maps, including live traffic conditions for your current route. Google Maps will only download areas to your device when you are on a Wi-Fi connection.


We first previewed these new capabilities during Google I/O in May, and starting rolling out these features globally last week. Today we’re gradually rolling out the first set of these improvements with the latest version of Google Maps on Android (coming soon to iOS) in India. Over time, we’ll be introducing even more offline features to help you find your way—even when you can’t find a connection.

Posted by Sanket Gupta, Program Manager, Google Maps