Imagine you are going for a hike or a bike ride in the mountains. You are trying to find your way back and there is no internet connectivity. A simple solution is to plan in advance and download the area’s map offline. While Google Maps has always allowed users to download maps offline, with the recent iOS17, you can now download and use Apple Maps offline on your iPhone. Here’s how.
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Prerequisites
To download and access offline Apple Maps, you need to have iOS17 on your iPhone. Hence, ensure you have upgraded your iPhone to the latest iOS version from Settings > General > Software Update.
Method 1: Search in Maps
This is the easiest and fastest way to download an area or city in Apple Maps offline. Simply search for the location in Maps and then download it.
1. Open Apple Maps on your iPhone
2. Type the location in the Search section below.
3. If the location or region is downloadable, you will see the Download button. Tap on it.
4. Adjust the square box if needed to reselect the area to be downloaded and tap on Download.
The map will now be downloaded, and you can access it without an active internet connection. However, ensure that you have enough space on your iPhone to save these downloaded maps since they can be quite large.
Method 2: Drop a Pin
Another method you can use is dropping a pin on the location you want to download in Apple Maps for offline usage. Here is what you can do.
1. Open Apple Maps
2. Navigate to the location and long tap on the area to drop a Pin.
3. Tap Download button below.
4. Adjust the area you want to download and tap on Download again.
Method 3: Offline Maps Settings
Lastly, you can directly go to the Offline Maps section through your profile and download your preferred location in offline mode to access them later.
1. Open Apple Maps
2. Go to your Profile below and tap on it.
3. Open Offline Maps.
4. Choose Download New Map.
5. Now, select your current location or choose a location from the Search section.
6. Select the area and adjust it, tap on Download.
And that is all you have to do to download the maps on your iPhone. As mentioned above, these maps will take up a significant amount of space based on the area you select to download.
How to Manage Offline Apple Maps
Now that you know how to download maps offline, here is how to manage them from Apple Maps. Some of the things you can do once maps are downloaded offline are edit the area, delete the map, optimize it for storage, and more.
1. Use Apple Maps Offline
You can quickly access downloaded maps in Apple Maps offline if you you have no network or internet connection on your iPhone. Here is how you can do it.
1. Open Apple Maps
2. Tap on your avatar or profile below and open Offline Maps
3. Select the map you want to use.
You can now search for any place nearby by simply entering it in the Search box. Or, you can type Airport Directions, and you will get the navigation to the Airport while you are offline. How cool is that!
2. Edit or Delete Offline Maps
You can also edit or delete the offline map you have downloaded. It is super simple. Here is how you can do it.
1. Open Apple Maps
2. Tap on your avatar or profile below and open Offline Maps
3. Choose the map you want to edit and tap on it.
4. You can then choose to resize it, view file size, and more. If you want to delete it, tap on Delete Map below.
3. Change Settings
You can also change certain settings of your offline maps, such as automatic updates, downloads, storage optimization, and more.
1. Open Apple Maps
2. Tap on your avatar or profile below and open Offline Maps
3. Under the Settings option, you can check the following changes you can make.
- Downloads- Choose whether you want to download on Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi + Cellular.
- Automatic Updates- You can enable this to keep your offline maps up-to-date if any changes are made in real-time, such as street name changes.
- Optimize Storage- Turn this on to save space on your phone that will automatically delete the downloaded offline maps you have not used in a while.
- Only Use Offline Maps- If you want to use offline maps even though you have an internet connection, you can enable this.
Go Off the Grid
Offline Apple Maps are still being rolled out in a phased manner and some of you may not have received it yet. Even after updating your iPhone to the latest version. All you have to do is wait for some time. Meanwhile, try this. Do you know how to share your location with your friends using iMessage or Find My apps? We will show six different ways to do it so you are never short of options.
