• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Help GPS app that can access offline maps on external storage?

P

phonedysphoria

Newbie
Are there any GPS maps out there that can access offline maps on external storage? I'm trying to find an app like this to save on data usage and also to maintain GPS use in areas without reception.

If I don't have enough internal storage left, is there a way to download the map to external storage then have the GPS app access external storage? If so, all I would have to do is get a huge memory card or USB drive, and my internal storage problems would go away.

If all this is possible, what kind of external storage would you recommend?
 
Last edited:
Here is a good, free app with offline maps that does navigation. Here makes the maps for most car manufacturers navigation units. It will also allow you to store maps on an SD card. Maps are available for over 100 countries and, for the US, you can either download a map for the entire US (just under 5 GB) or individual states (maps for states vary from about 125 MB to just over 500 MB. And, to be clear, you can download multiple maps for the states/countries you need -- so you can download a few states rather than having to download the entire US map.
 
glc said:
I use Map Factor Navigator.
Click to expand...

As I understand it, a major advantage of Here is that the voice directions include street names, rather than simply saying "Turn left in 1000 yards."

Also, what are the in app purchases that Map Factor uses? Are they to get features you need or merely things like extra voice files?
 
Thanks for the helpful suggestions about the GPS apps! It looks like I may be able to avoid buying a standalone GPS.

Just to be clear, can I use any of these GPS apps with maps that have been downloaded to a storage device like the ones in this video?:


(skip to 1:35 in the video)

Because my device may be short on space, I want to be able to plug in the storage device, have the app read the map from the device, and then maybe unplug it when I reach my destination. That way I can use most of my internal storage for other apps.
 
I don't know where you are located, but I live in Illinoos USA and I only downloaded the
Illinois and Wisconsin maps. IL - 150M WI - 82M.
You do not have to download all the maps, just the ones you need.
I spent an afternoon trying out half a dozen navigation programs before settling on Navigator.
Try it out. It costs you nothing but a little time.
 
I downloaded NAVMII before we went over to the continent last week, and downloaded maps of Germany, BeNeLux and France (to cover our journey) - all free!
You only need a GPS connection.
It can provide a route if you type in your destination (with voice instructions), and can also show such things as 'revenue cameras'.
There is the option for extras if you pay, but as a tight-fisted Yorkshireman I don't bother with such things!
 
phonedysphoria said:
Thanks for the helpful suggestions about the GPS apps! It looks like I may be able to avoid buying a standalone GPS.

Just to be clear, can I use any of these GPS apps with maps that have been downloaded to a storage device like the ones in this video?:


(skip to 1:35 in the video)

Because my device may be short on space, I want to be able to plug in the storage device, have the app read the map from the device, and then maybe unplug it when I reach my destination. That way I can use most of my internal storage for other apps.
Click to expand...

Yes, it should work with HERE. One note, HERE does traffic information for major cities if you allow it data, but as long as maps are downloaded it will only use data for traffic. And to be clear, you can turn data off if you do not care about traffic updates -- it will work using no data.
 
I've tried a lot of the free offline GPS apps. GPS apps should have a handful of basic features: 3D view, spoken street names, address numbers instead of just intersections, and directions that make sense. For some reason most of them are missing one of these key features. A lot of them have a tendency to route you off of freeways and on local streets where Google Maps would keep you on the freeways.

I use Magic Earth by Route 66. It ticks all the boxes above and has a clean, uncluttered interface to boot. And it allows you to save maps to an external SD card...I've never tried it with USB storage though.

I had Map Factor for a while but I've found that the UI is a mess, it doesn't have address numbers, and it crashed my phone.

edit: I also have OsmAnd Maps on my phone, which is a great app except that it doesn't have 3D view while navigating. That's a cardinal sin for GPS apps as far as I'm concerned, so I usually end up using Magic Earth when I travel.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the suggestions. By the way, the reason I haven't actually been able to try out one of the apps myself is because I don't actually have the phone I plan to run the app on right now. No official store sells the Nexus 5 anymore, and the return policies of unofficial sellers are hardly impressive. I can't just buy the phone, try these GPS apps, and return the phone if it doesn't work out. I absolutely have to know. So don't be offended that I keep asking questions and seem unwilling to test out specific apps. I even tried running an Android emulator by the way, but it didn't have the Play store, and I don't know a legal way to get Play store on the emulator yet.

Another issue that came up is the rumors of the Nexus 5 (2015) that I've been hearing. If indeed a 2015 version is about to come out, what's the point of buying the older model? I obviously can't commit to a phone that hasn't been released, so I have to wait until Google gives us all something official at least.

Regardless though, it's clear I will need a GPS. Do any of the apps you all have suggested have the names of businesses in the area like restaurants, stores, etc, or do they just let me go to a particular address without telling me what's at that address? If so, are they updated? Google Maps stays updated by letting users manually add the names of businesses and locations. How do these GPS apps do it? Say a store went out of business last week, and a new store moved in. Can I expect to get these updates on a regular basis?
 
Nexus 5 is discontinued now, does it have to be that phone? Nexus 6 is still current and should be available. However just about all Android phones have GPS, except absolute cheapo. You can certainly try playing with emulators on PC, but they don't usually have GPS capabilities, so can't actually test any sat-nav apps for real, as well as might not having Play of course. Android-x86 running on PC usually has Play included, but again no GPS capabilities.

Can't really recommend you the best GPS app myself, because I don't know where you are. But if you're ever in China, Autonavi is good, has local business names, lots of information, and works completely off-line.
 
Last edited:
mogelijk said:
As I understand it, a major advantage of Here is that the voice directions include street names, rather than simply saying "Turn left in 1000 yards."

Also, what are the in app purchases that Map Factor uses? Are they to get features you need or merely things like extra voice files?
Click to expand...


I tested HERE in Singapore. While it does speak out street names, there are some issues with it:-
1. Street names in English are fine, but those in non-English language (eg Chinese, Tamil, Malay) are not pronounced clearly.
2. Sometimes it reads out street names that are after 2 or 3 turnings ahead, and not the immediate turning ahead. This might cause some confusion.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom