How to use Google Maps on your smartphone when you don't have a connection

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Google has found a way around those problems with their 'offline areas' feature, which allows users to download detailed maps to their phones, meaning they can search for places and get directions without needing to have a data or WiFi connection. It's fairly easy to do, but the downloaded maps can be fairly large - so make sure you're connected to WiFi and there's enough space on your phone before beginning. Open Google Maps, select 'offline areas' from the toolbar on the left and choose the map you want open image in gallery The newly-introduced feature could make it much easier to navigate the city Press the '+' button in the bottom-right, and choose the area of the map you want to download open image in gallery There is a size limit on what you can download, but the whole of central London easily fits within it Downloaded maps can be a maximum of 250MB or 120,000 square kilometres in area, so you won't be able to get the whole of the UK, but central London fit comfortably in the constraints. Name it and wait for it to download open image in gallery Make sure you're connected to WiFi before downloading The name should be fairly self-explanatory if you're downloading a whole city, but it might be a good idea to give them distinct labels if you download lots of small maps to save on space.