Is it possible to cache maps?

[Denis54]

I understand Android devices can cache maps so that you can see it when you are offline.

Is it possible to do something similar with the new iOS 6 Maps app?

I have not updated from iOS 5.1.1 yet.

 

[Weaselboy]

It will automatically cache maps along your preselected route. I read one article about a test from San Francisco to Los Angeles. They set out the route then went to airplane mode and it worked the whole way. So yes, it does cache.

 

[revs]

Yes maps in iOS 6 are cached. Its brilliant - I have just been abroad on holiday, and it had cached all zoom levels of the vector map for anywhere I had looked up previously.

So say you are half zoomed in on a city, Maps actually caches the lower zoom levels and the POIs too! Very useful on holiday with data roaming charges. So I panned around the place I was staying at a high-ish zoom level, then when i was offline i had all the closer zoom modes available. Seamless.

 

[TJ61]

It will automatically cache maps along your preselected route. I read one article about a test from San Francisco to Los Angeles. They set out the route then went to airplane mode and it worked the whole way. So yes, it does cache.

I wonder what is meant by "worked the whole way", as I'm pretty sure the GPS receiver does not work in airplane mode.

Regards,
Tom

 

[Denis54]

I am planing a trip to Prague and Moscow next spring. If I look at the maps of these 2 cities before I leave, will I have detailed maps of both cities even if I am offline?

Will the GPS show me where I am on the map?

 

[Weaselboy]

I wonder what is meant by "worked the whole way", as I'm pretty sure the GPS receiver does not work in airplane mode.

Regards,
Tom

Yes, good point. I am probably misremembering and they only had wifi and cellular data off. 🙂

 

[TJ61]

I am planing a trip to Prague and Moscow next spring. If I look at the maps of these 2 cities before I leave, will I have detailed maps of both cities even if I am offline?

Will the GPS show me where I am on the map?

I would not rely on the caching of maps, since it is all but an undocumented feature. There's no way to know how the cached maps you want may get overwritten or flushed at any time.

There are other options for downloading maps. One that I have is City Maps 2Go, which lets you download maps for off line use. It uses OpenStreetMap data for maps and POIs. I haven't used it much, but I see that it has Prague and Moscow. There's a free Lite version too -- don't know what it does/doesn't have.

Yes, good point. I am probably misremembering and they only had wifi and cellular data off.

Oh yeah, that would work for their test. I've been hoping to find a way to turn off cell radio and still have GPS to save battery, but that wouldn't do it.

Regards,
Tom

 

[Siggen]

Since you are at 5.1.1 you can jailbreak and install a tweak to do it.
Think it was maps enhancer. I did that when I went to turkey, and it worked splendid, while on wifi, i sat down and panned around the area at different zoom levels, and the tweak prevents maps from deleting the catch unless you go and manually do it in settings. Then we just kept my iPad in my brother's, wife's purse when we were out and about.

 

[revs]

I am planing a trip to Prague and Moscow next spring. If I look at the maps of these 2 cities before I leave, will I have detailed maps of both cities even if I am offline?

Will the GPS show me where I am on the map?

This is what I did - worked perfectly for me!

 

[takeshi74]

There are other options for downloading maps.

Such as nav apps that use locally stored map data.