How to Download and Use Google Maps for Android without internet

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How to Download and Use Google Maps for Android without internet

Lost in Nowhereland with no Internet connection as far as you can see? As always, Google Maps can help you find your way back, as long as you have an iOS or an Android device, even if you are offline. Google recently added a feature to Google Maps, which lets you save maps to your phone.
Yes, you can now check maps even when there is no Internet connection. The downside is that you will not have access to route information, addresses, navigation, traffic, and a host of other data that require an Internet connection. However, having map data for reference might just save you a lot of time. Here's how to use this nifty feature on iOS and Android. The steps are identical for both platforms.
 

What you need to use this feature

You're going to need an Android or iOS device. Unfortunately, this feature isn't available on other platforms. Google Maps version 3, which was released last week on iOS, added support for offline maps. Android users, be sure to update to Google Maps version 8 before following the steps listed below.

How to save maps offline?

1. To use this feature, first sign in to your Google account to use this feature.

2. Type "OK Maps" in the search bar and hit the search button. A dialog at the top of the map asks "Save this map?" with a Save button at the bottom of the screen.

3. At this point, you can zoom in or out, and move the map, to select the area you want to save. Everything that is on-screen gets downloaded, so if you zoom out to save the entire Delhi area, for example, then you can later zoom in to see the individual localities and streets.

4. Once you've selected the area, tap the Save button at the bottom of the screen. A dialogue box pops up and you are asked to enter a name for the map. Just enter a name and tap on Save.

5. Accessing offline maps is easy. Just tap the 'person' icon, which is next to the directions icon on the search bar. This will take you to your profile. Scroll to the bottom to see your saved maps. You can rename saved maps in case you plan to save more than one.

There are certain limitations to saving offline maps. Zoom out too far and you will see an error saying that the map area can't be saved because it is too large. We were able to save almost all of Delhi, but Google Maps deemed the area "too large" when we tried to save National Capital Region (NCR).
There's nothing stopping you from saving multiple maps to cover a large area, in case you're worried about that. Another limitation is that map data is available only for 30 days. You'll have to download maps again after this.
The good thing is that the saved map of Delhi occupied just 9.9 MB of space on our phones. That's good news for those who are running low on storage space.

How to Download and Use Google Maps for Android without internet

inShare46

How to Download and Use Google Maps for Android without internet

Lost in Nowhereland with no Internet connection as far as you can see? As always, Google Maps can help you find your way back, as long as you have an iOS or an Android device, even if you are offline. Google recently added a feature to Google Maps, which lets you save maps to your phone.
Yes, you can now check maps even when there is no Internet connection. The downside is that you will not have access to route information, addresses, navigation, traffic, and a host of other data that require an Internet connection. However, having map data for reference might just save you a lot of time. Here's how to use this nifty feature on iOS and Android. The steps are identical for both platforms.
 

What you need to use this feature

You're going to need an Android or iOS device. Unfortunately, this feature isn't available on other platforms. Google Maps version 3, which was released last week on iOS, added support for offline maps. Android users, be sure to update to Google Maps version 8 before following the steps listed below.

 

How to save maps offline?

1. To use this feature, first sign in to your Google account to use this feature.

2. Type "OK Maps" in the search bar and hit the search button. A dialog at the top of the map asks "Save this map?" with a Save button at the bottom of the screen.

3. At this point, you can zoom in or out, and move the map, to select the area you want to save. Everything that is on-screen gets downloaded, so if you zoom out to save the entire Delhi area, for example, then you can later zoom in to see the individual localities and streets.

4. Once you've selected the area, tap the Save button at the bottom of the screen. A dialogue box pops up and you are asked to enter a name for the map. Just enter a name and tap on Save.

5. Accessing offline maps is easy. Just tap the 'person' icon, which is next to the directions icon on the search bar. This will take you to your profile. Scroll to the bottom to see your saved maps. You can rename saved maps in case you plan to save more than one.

There are certain limitations to saving offline maps. Zoom out too far and you will see an error saying that the map area can't be saved because it is too large. We were able to save almost all of Delhi, but Google Maps deemed the area "too large" when we tried to save National Capital Region (NCR).
There's nothing stopping you from saving multiple maps to cover a large area, in case you're worried about that. Another limitation is that map data is available only for 30 days. You'll have to download maps again after this.
The good thing is that the saved map of Delhi occupied just 9.9 MB of space on our phones. That's good news for those who are running low on storage space.

How to Enable Guest Mode on Android

How to Enable Guest Mode on Android

Ever needed to hand your Android smartphone to someone else for a while? If yes, then there's a good chance that you were worried about how easily they could go through your personal data or end up changing preferences or even deleting information like contacts or messages.

Fortunately, Android 5.0 Lollipop ships with a system-level guest mode. This lets you quickly switch to a separate guest profile that doesn't have any of your personal data such as messages, installed apps or preferences. This is as good as a fresh install of Android 5.0 Lollipop and the moment you switch back to your Google account, all data saved in the guest mode is removed. This makes it a particularly effective way of letting someone else use your phone for a while.

Here's how to enable guest mode on Android 5.0 Lollipop.

1. Swipe down from the top of the screen to pull down the notifications bar.
2. Tap your avatar on the top right twice.
3. Now you'll see three icons - your Google account, Add guest and Add user.
4. Tap Add guest.
5. Now your smartphone will switch to guest mode. This may take some time and the phone may be slightly slow initially, but in our tests with a Nexus 5 it worked well after a few minutes.
6. When you're done with guest mode, you can easily revert to your Google account. Follow steps 1 and 2 above and tap the icon that shows your Google account. This will delete all data saved in the guest session as well.

If your smartphone doesn't have Android 5.0 Lollipop installed, you should check for a pre-loaded guest mode. Some brands such as Xiaomi, LG, Samsung and Huawei pre-load an app that enables you to use guest mode on your smartphone. Different brands name this app differently, so look in your phone's app drawer for apps with names similar to Kids' Mode or Guest Mode. Some Android phones have guest mode embedded at the system level. For example the LG G3 has a guest mode that you can access by going to Settings > General > Privacy > Guest Mode.