As the holidays approach, millions of people are planning to go home and visit family. If you’re considering a road trip this year instead of flying, you’ll want to prepare properly. A playlist to get you through the long hours of driving, some snacks for eating on the road, and Google Maps to help you avoid those pesky traffic jams along the way. Turn-by-Turn directions can be a major help, allowing you to avoid tolls, skip bumper-to-bumper traffic, and get you where you’re going. However, if you’re driving through areas with low signal, you’ll want to prepare first.
Without a net connection, Google Maps can’t help you reroute, recover from a wrong turn or find a gas station. You’re stuck with whatever directions you started with. Luckily, there’s a smart work-around: You can download your map for offline use. With offline maps, you can still access turn-by-turn navigation even when you’re disconnected. Here’s how to make sure you’re never lost, even without service.
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Want to learn about other Google Maps tips and tricks? Check out how to blur your house on Google Maps, and take a look at these three Google Maps features you’ll definitely want to be aware of.
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How to download Google Maps offline
First off, you won’t download all of Google Maps in its entirety. Instead, before your trip, you’ll want to download a specific area, which could be a city, county or region where you’ll be spending time and might not have service on your phone.
To download a map in Google Maps offline, open the Google Maps app on iOS or Android and tap your profile picture on the top right (you must be logged in to your Google account for this to work). In the menu that appears, tap Offline maps > Select Your Own Map.
You can download multiple Google Maps areas offline.
Use your fingers to place the map you want to download within the confines of the rectangle border. Use one finger to move across the map and a two-finger pinch to zoom in and out. As you move around the map, you’ll see how much storage space the download will take up on your phone. Once you’re happy with the area, tap Download.
Note: Alternatively, you can type a city or other area into Google Maps and then hit the Download button that appears in the pull-up window to download the map offline, but this only works on the iPhone.
Read more: Google Maps Cheat Sheet: Most Useful Tricks
You must be connected to Wi-Fi to download the map. If you want to download over cellular, go to the Offline maps page, tap the gear icon on the top right, tap When to download offline maps and select Over Wi-Fi or mobile network. Once your map is downloaded, you’ll be sent back to the Offline maps page, where you can see all your offline maps.
You can only download a map that’s a maximum 250MB (what will appear in the selected map is roughly the size of Maine).
Now you’ll be able to use Google Maps even when you’re offline in the area you downloaded — and in that area only. You won’t get extremely accurate travel times or alternate route options because traffic and other road issues are not accounted for, but you will get a ballpark idea of how long your trip should take. Transit, bicycling and walking directions also are not available offline — only driving directions.
You’ll know you’re using your offline map when you see a little cloud icon with a line through it in Google Maps.
If you want more tips on Google, make sure to read which Google Home settings you need to change ASAP and our picks for the best Pixel phones.
