Android Auto is present in a multitude of cars, and offers us an unequaled solution to bring all the content of our mobile to the car screen. Sometimes when we are on the road we lose coverage or we may have mobile connectivity issues. In such cases, we would not have internet to follow our route on Google Maps but we have a solution to work around this problem.
Fortunately, Google Maps has a more than useful function that will allow us to follow GPS directions and know all the details of where we are going even if we don’t have internet connection at that time. Let’s see this trick to use Google Maps on Android Auto offline.
Google Maps lets you use maps without a network connection
The Google Maps service is very versatile and has many cool features and tricks. On some occasions I ran out of cover on a stretch of road. At this point, I panic, because losing the card could cause me to lose. But Is there a solution to avoid such incidents?: Download offline maps.
Google Maps added support for offline maps a while ago. In this way we have no problems continuing to see the route on the screen of our Android Auto. It is important to mention that we would need to download the map with the route we are going to do before leaving the house, because as you will have understood, it is impossible to do it without connection. My recommendation is that you do this using your home WiFi to avoid losing data from your mobile tariff.
How to download maps for offline use in your car
Performing this action will not take you more than a few minutes and the time it takes for your Internet connection to download this data. To do this, we enter the Google Maps application, click on our profile icon and then on “Offline maps”. We will see a new screen that will show the downloaded maps, but to start a new download we will touch “Select your own map”.
This is the route we need to follow in Google Maps app to download offline maps
As we can see in the screenshots below, when selecting the map we will have a box that will indicate the area to download. Try that it adapts to the whole area that you are going to travel by car, so that no detail is missed and you don’t get lost along the way. The size of the download will vary depending on the width of the selected area, however it will not fill the internal memory of your mobile.
Seville will take up to 35MB of your mobile’s memory, while Madrid needs 125MB
In summarythe steps to use Google Maps on Android Auto without an internet connection are as follows:
- Open the Google Maps app.
- Tap the icon with your Google profile picture.
- Click on “Offline Maps”.
- Next, tap on the “Select your own card” option.
- On the next screen, outline the area you need to download and click “Download”.
This, yes, using offline maps has some limitations. With them, you won’t be able to get directions if you’re using any other form of transportation other than a car. You also won’t have access to real-time traffic as well as alternate routes or lane changes. Offline maps do not allow you to fully use Google Maps, but they can save us when needed.
We can now use Google Maps in a car with Android Auto even if we don’t have an internet connection. You will be able to see the map on the vehicle screen as usual, without any obstacles allowing you to reach your destination. Next time you need to use GPS and you don’t have a connection, don’t worry, Google Maps will be there to adapt to every situation.
Cover image | Wikimedia Commons
