Google Maps Allows Offline Access
![](https://cdn.nextgov.com/media/img/cd/2015/11/13/111315googlemapsNG/860x394.jpg?1627543024)
Twin Design/Shutterstock.com
Users must pre-download maps of areas where they plan to travel.
Rejoice! Amid last night’s thunderclouds, the gods of Google Maps fashioned a new tool for humans. As of today, the abundant data can be accessed even inbarren lands without Wi-Fi access.
You remember what life was like yesterday. Walking in the woods or passing through another untrustworthy connection zone was a taste of hell, without turn-by-turn driving directions, destination search, and useful business information.
![](https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2015/11/Setup/4aac99010.gif)
Now, friends, if you have received the maps update on your Android device, you may use all the aforementioned functionalities—with or without Wi-Fi—by pre-downloading maps of areas in which you plan to journey. Thus spake Google:
You can download an area by searching for a city, county, or country, for instance, and tapping "Download" on the resulting place sheet, or by going to "Offline Areas" in the Google Maps menu and tapping on the “+” button. Once downloaded, Google Maps will move into offline mode automatically when it recognizes you’re in a location with spotty service or no connectivity at all.
Map data from hundreds of countries may be downloaded in this manner. Unchosen people (iOS users) will have to wait a few more months, but these gifts will soon be theirs, too.
Perhaps the Creators will one day deliver a way to access such services without Wi-Fi and without pre-downloading. Perhaps their Driverless Cars will offer such gifts. Not that I dare question their powers or express any desires beyond what they’ve given us thus.
(Image via Twin Design/Shutterstock.com)