Using Google maps offline

Hi

Not sure if this is just a "wait and see" sort of question.

I have a new iphone (lucky me) and i have saved all of the places we have booked (hotels and tours) during the land portion. I know that I can use google maps offline at home, but I am not sure how the chips work. I have been given some directions to a site and they said not to expect a GPS to work given that it is patchy coverage. So does this mean that my Google maps will not work either?

Do i have to buy a phone chip when I am in the US just to use wifi ? I didn't need a new chip when I was in Asia and wifi worked on my Samsung.

Has anyone got recent experience? I suppose I will do screenshots and print outs of the written instructions anyway, I just want to know if I need to be looking for another map format.

Google Maps is not the only really good mapping app out there. There are lots of very good mapping applications that were designed to work off line. Check them out on Google. When we went to New Zealand, I had the entire country loaded into my phone for off line mapping. We are going to Norway this summer and I will load the entire country of Norway into the phone. Now the problem w spotty GPS coverage is another issue. I don't understand why there there will be spotty GPS coverage since this is all satellite based and not cell phone coverage based but if there really is spotty GPS coverage, no mapping app will work. They all need GPS coverage.

DON

Satellite coverage is decent in Alaska for gps. Cell coverage is not. Cell service is only available in port, Skagway service sucks, and if you’re not att or affiliate, your cell service is poor. WiFi is available in almost every bar and some restaurants for the cost of a drink, except for Skagway - don’t even try to go online unless you go to the crew WiFi store and pay for it.

Most European cell plans are on roaming in the US.

I use maps.me and rarely have issues with connecting offline in Alaska. Occasionally if in a narrow fjord it won't connect.

good WiFi coverage in the visitor center in Anchorage..

Are you talking WiFi or cell coverage?????? Cell is good all over Alaska compared to what it used to be...Depends on your carrier. AT&T, Sprint are all good...Most others have decent coverage also.

I use maps.me and rarely have issues with connecting offline in Alaska. Occasionally if in a narrow fjord it won't connect.

I have Maps Me on my phone too. You download the maps (when connected at home or where you have internet) for use when there is no cell coverage or wifi. I've never had an issue using it. You download maps by state or country - some states are broken up into multiple files if there's a lot to cover.

Another vote for Maps.me.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Do the maps take up a lot of space on your phone

Do the maps take up a lot of space on your phone

Mine shows 1.44MB, which is not a lot. I only download maps as I will need before a trip, then delete them afterwards.

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Do the maps take up a lot of space on your phone

I have a large external memory chip in my phone and I currently have 43 GB of 183 GB free. One reason that I have used so much of the external memory is that 43 GB of music stored on my phone, On various trips, I have offline maps for all of Italy, Croatia Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia / Herzegovina, and Greece stored on my phone at the same time in addition to my 43 GB of music. I have 2 excellent offline mapping programs on my phone and I always load the maps for each program so multiply the space taken by those countries by two. I could even load maps for all of Europe on the phone as this will take only 12 GB of my 43 GB free space. Of course, at the end of a trip I remove the maps I don't need any more.

In addition, I have moved as many of the apps that I can from the internal memory to the external memory chip.

I also have 64 GB of internal memory with 37 GB free.

If you have an iPhone instead of an android phone, you may have a bit of a problem because unless I am wrong, you can not add external memory to an iPhone.

Bottom line is that space for many maps in not a problem for me.

DON

Are you talking WiFi or cell coverage?????? Cell is good all over Alaska compared to what it used to be...Depends on your carrier. AT&T, Sprint are all good...Most others have decent coverage also.

I am not really sure what I was asking :o. All I know is that on my land portion of the trip, I have some directions to a lodge and the instructions said

• Cell phone service is limited in this rural area, so please do not rely on GPS!
   
   
   
   
  

and now I have had the helpful answers to my question it is that I am not really sure if it means that my offline maps will still be helpful. I know that roads in Alaska are fairly straightforward, but I am so used to getting lost wherever I go that I like to know I have all of my bases covered.

I have loads of room in my brand new phone so I will download maps.me which I have used before although on my old phone it drained the battery. I will take a portable charger to cover that eventuality.

Thanks for all of your comments.

I have iNav on my phone and iPad. It’s an electronic chart program used by ships to navigate around the world. It shows the ships position. I have the Alaska charts downloaded and can follow where the ship goes when underway. All US charts are free and upgrades automatic. It’s around $50.

I use the app Offline Maps.

I've experimented with Waze, Here, and Maps.me

I still use Offline Maps all over the US and Italy

We set the vocal directions to Italian hoping it would scream directions at me just like my mother-in-law.

I use the app

 

We set the vocal directions to Italian hoping it would scream directions at me just like my mother-in-law.

:'):'):')