Relying on Google Maps for navigation is incredibly convenient—until you drive into a rural area, a tunnel, or a national park where your cellular data signal completely drops. Without an internet connection, a live map cannot load new tiles or calculate a route, potentially leaving you stranded. To prevent this, Google Maps allows you to download massive, high-detail map areas directly to your smartphone’s internal storage over Wi-Fi. These offline maps include all the necessary road data, business locations, and turn-by-turn navigation logic required to get you to your destination entirely without a cell signal.
How to Download an Offline Map
Because offline maps can be quite large (often taking up several hundred megabytes of storage space), it is highly recommended that you perform these steps while connected to a fast Wi-Fi network before you leave for your trip.
- Open the Google Maps app on your iPhone or Android device.
- Search for the general area or city you are traveling to (e.g., “Yellowstone National Park” or “London”).
- Swipe up on the bottom information card to reveal the location details.
- Tap the More button (the three horizontal dots in the top right corner).
- Select Download offline map from the menu.
- Google Maps will display a rectangular bounding box over a zoomed-out view of the map. You can use two fingers to pinch in (to cover a smaller area) or zoom out (to cover a massive region). The app will estimate how much storage space the download will require at the bottom of the screen.
- Once you have framed the area you need, tap the Download button.
How to Use Your Offline Maps
The beauty of Google Maps’ offline feature is that it requires absolutely zero manual switching. If you are driving and your phone loses cellular service, Google Maps will automatically, seamlessly transition to using the downloaded map data on your phone. You will still see your blue GPS dot moving along the roads, and you can still search for addresses and get turn-by-turn driving directions entirely within the boundaries of the downloaded area.
Note: While driving directions work flawlessly offline, transit, bicycling, and walking directions are currently not supported without an internet connection. Additionally, you will not receive live traffic updates or alternate route suggestions based on congestion while offline.
Managing and Updating Offline Maps
Map data changes constantly as new roads are built and businesses close. Google Maps requires offline maps to be updated periodically, or they will eventually expire and be automatically deleted from your phone.
- Open the Google Maps app.
- Tap your Profile picture or initial in the top right corner of the search bar.
- Tap on Offline maps.
- Here, you will see a list of every area you have downloaded. Tap on a specific map to view its details.
- From this screen, you can manually tap Update to refresh the data, or tap Delete to free up storage space on your phone if you have returned from your trip.
By default, Google Maps will attempt to auto-update these maps in the background whenever your phone is connected to Wi-Fi and charging, ensuring they are always ready when you need them.