If you’ve recently updated Google Maps app on your Android device, then there’s one thing that you’ll really going to miss. The new 7.0 version does not allow users to download offline maps.
For now, it’s not clear why Google left out this much-used feature as it was a life saver in situations where network was not available. In previous Google Maps, users would just tap on “Make available offline” and voila, one could save a big portion of the map for offline use. In the new Maps, you can’t do this. But fortunately, there’s an easter egg that lets you do just this – but in a different way.
We don’t think that this would be the official way to save offline maps, but until Google comes with an official solution, here’s what you need to do.
How to Cache Offline Google Maps on Android
Step 1. Open Google Maps app and search for the area which you want to view offline. Zoom in until you see the area which you want to cache.
Step 2. Tap on the Search box at the top of the screen and type “OK Maps” in the field.
Step 3. Tap on the search icon.
You can now see that the app downloads the street data and it would be stored for offline viewing. Downloading large areas can take time, and that’s why it is a good idea to do this while you’re on a WiFi connection. Now, even when you’re offline, you can still launch Google Maps and zoom to the same level that you were at when you downloaded maps data.
This is surely not a convenient way but it can be regarded as a workaround. We just hope Google comes up with a better way to save maps offline. In the meantime, use the above method and enjoy!
