I’m still a little confused about the subscription basis thing. Can I really pay £20 a year and not only access all the mapping online but download it to my phone, cache it, and use it even where there’s no data signal?

Sorry if I’m being thick, but I can’t find the place on the site where that’s explicitly stated. I know I can do it with individual Explorer sheets that I buy, but if I subscribe to OS Maps, can I do that?

Why can’t I download to my PC, I have no need for it on a device ?

Edit: Just to add that although I’ve subscribed to Get-a-Map I like the idea of downloading a map that’s ready to use right away off line.

I think you can just use it an a web-based app at http://www.osmaps.co.uk – but unless I’ve missed something, you have to be online to access the mapping.

As far as I can see you can’t download it to either a PC or a mobile device, you can just access the mapping while you’re online unless you’ve paid for a paper map in which case you can download that sheet in digital form.

OS says in that blog post that the map price has only gone up £1 so that – quote – ‘The mobile download has been added without extra cost.’

So it’s free. But only if you buy one of the new series paper maps. Though it’s all so badly explained that I may be completely wrong.

Sorry BWD, just edited my post. 🙂

Do you remember those paper maps they used to do? They were great they were, no need for a mobile data signal, no need for a mobile phone or a tablet or a PC, you could have them downloaded – slowly – to your letterbox and use them instantly. Brilliant idea, wonder what happened to them? I can feel a Kickstarter project coming on…

Just registered and looking on line. Also downloaded app to my Android smartphone.

For the area where I live the mapping seems to be somewhat lacking (rural Aberdeenshire). Some small unclassified roads and several tracks don’t appear. Not suitable for tracking routes. Opencyclemap is better.

Am I the only dinosaur who has no need for any type of App in my life?

No.

There’s Ton too.

Oh yes, of course. Thanks scotroutes.

😆

The rest of us dinosaurs are busy getting down with the mammals.

Seriously though – you obviously accept that computers are a “good thing” or you wouldn’t be using one to read this. Why should all of the best things about them be left behind when you leave the house?

OK OK I take your point and confess to having used a gps for the last 15 years, always in conjunction with a paper map. What else do I need ?

The GPS is just a single-purpose computer running one App. Although I favour a stand-alone GPS too, I can certainly see the advantages of a multi-purpose computer (like the one on my desk) but more mobile and that just happens to run a phone “App” as well as a few others.

Advantages?

Cinnamon girl I’ll explain it from my point of view. Your mileage may vary

I really like the way that my phone shows me an OS map with a dot showing where I am. Ironically I’m now a way better navigator without a phone. The catch 22 of being if your a bit rubbish with a map is all the time you are wrong about where you are on a map you can’t learn to relate the map to what you are seeing. Now I’m out always knowing exactly where i am and I’ve got better things like judging the scale

Do you remember those paper maps they used to do? They were great they were, no need for a mobile data signal, no need for a mobile phone or a tablet or a PC, you could have them downloaded – slowly – to your letterbox and use them instantly. Brilliant idea, wonder what happened to them? I can feel a Kickstarter project coming on…

One day we’ll have a thread on who has the most maps in the house. I won’t win but it lots and i still buy them. But its great leaving the house with paper maps printed with the route on. I’m never right on the edge and they are so cheap that I can push them in a pocket and not care if they only last one trip

I’d like tracking in the app.

My missus is always raving on about how they’ll never find my body.

I’ve got “Find My Friends” but the latest “upgrades” have broken it and it doesn’t work for us anymore.

I’m still a little confused about the subscription basis thing. Can I really pay £20 a year and not only access all the mapping online but download it to my phone, cache it, and use it even where there’s no data signal?
Sorry if I’m being thick, but I can’t find the place on the site where that’s explicitly stated. I know I can do it with individual Explorer sheets that I buy, but if I subscribe to OS Maps, can I do that?

This x100. I can’t find the answer to this anywhere (which I expect means I already know the answer). If the answer’s yes then I’m definitely buying. Otherwise there’s no point for me.

Plyphon is quite a unique name. Which is sometimes unfortunate.

@ plyphon – sorry, me again. Printing – print preview when landscape shows on the screen as portrait. Once you’ve done the settings, it then shows up again in portrait.

Again, another moan about margins. This time I used the setting for minimum margin and have ended up losing 2.1/2″ width and 1.1/2″ depth in the landscape setting. Some of those measurements include the faded areas. It’s obviously not cost effective.

I do consider the above to be important for users, can this be passed to the Tech team?

Thanks. 🙂

c_g, you really use a gps? Can’t say I’ve ever seen a need for one of them 🙂

thecaptain – yes, I do cos I ride on my own all the time. I’ve been grateful for it though particularly when I’ve been on the North York Moors, Cheviots, Wales etc. Sometimes I just use the compass.

I would love to be able to navigate by the sun and the stars. 😀

Love getamap, now love osmap on my phone, now just wish the 1:25 could be used on my garmin…
Well done OS!

Haha, of course i;m going to give my own app a positive review!

Also, Plyphon is from a name of a track by Autechre, not as unique as you’d think 🙂

@ plyphon – sorry, me again. Printing – print preview when landscape shows on the screen as portrait. Once you’ve done the settings, it then shows up again in portrait.

I’m going to collate some feedback from this thread and i’ll make sure this is included, cheers.

I’m still a little confused about the subscription basis thing. Can I really pay £20 a year and not only access all the mapping online but download it to my phone, cache it, and use it even where there’s no data signal?

Yes. I can’t confirm if downloading offline maps is live in Android as I don;t have access to an Android device, but it is on iOS.

Obviously, if you want location tracking you still need a GPS connection, but you can certainly download any portion of the UK and view that downloaded section even if your phone is in the darkest mines of Mordor*.

*We don’t currently offer mapping for Middle Earth.

If you still don’t believe me I’ll make some screenshots of the process lol.

Is it that you can only download mapping surrounding a route you’ve
planned? I’m on Android and can’t find a menu option for Download Map.

Explains why “free” OS mapping has disappeared from apps like Alpine Quest and Maverick recently!

Is it that you can only download mapping surrounding a route you’ve
planned? I’m on Android and can’t find a menu option for Download Map.

no you can download from anywehre you choose, as I said before this feature must not be live in Android yet. I don;t have a Android device so can;t check. It’ll be live at some point, though.

So if I have this right: there are two apps: OS Maps and OS Mapfinder, which essentially are completely different entities plus an online OS Maps web app, which allows you to access all the 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 maps of the UK online for an annual subscription of 20 quid or so.

The ‘OS Maps’ smartphone app and the ‘OS Maps’ web app are actually not connected currently, but the OS Maps (web) and the OS Mapfinder smartphone app are compatible and allow you to share routes across them and also to buy individual maps and download them to your phone for longterm use either as tiles or regions or national parks in a choice of scales.

Meanwhile, the new OS Maps app lets you download the digital version of paper maps from the new Explorer series, but this version, in turn, can’t be downloaded to the OS Mapfinder app?

The bit that really confuses me is that some people seem to be saying that in exchange for your £20 annual web-based OS Maps subscription, you can also download and store any of those maps on your device for use on or offline?

Sorry, just slightly confused.

The bit that really confuses me is that some people seem to be saying that in exchange for your £20 annual web-based OS Maps subscription, you can also download and store any of those maps on your device for use on or offline?

Yes for your subscription you can access maps online (from your computer) as well as from your phone/tablet and download them to your phone/tablet to use offline.

Yes for your subscription you can access maps online (from your computer) as well as from your phone/tablet and download them to your phone/tablet to use offline.

So which app are you able to download them to?

BadlyWiredDog – OS Maps is one product. And it comes in two flavours, web and native mobile. They are not currently integrated, but that is because this is the first release. As the product evolves, the two will become much more closely intertwined. You’ll be able to plot a route on the web version, and then load it up on the native app, for example. When you subscribe to OS Maps, you have a subscription to both flavours of the app.

Currently it seems downloading offline maps is only in the iOS Native App. I’ve no idea when it’ll come to Android, but it will.

Okay, so how do I go about downloading offline maps to the iOS version of the OS Maps app? I can’t find the bit on the OS Maps webpage where it says I can do this.

Can you post some screen grabs of how the process works please? I just can’t find any reference to it either within the iOS version of the app or on the OS Maps website. Sorry, I’m probably being incredibly thick 😐

Thing is, I can see how you can download the digital mapping given away ‘free’ with new series paper maps t the new OS Maps app.

And I can see that you can view maps using the OS Maps web app in a browser as long as you have a data connection on a phone.

And I can see how you can use the OS Mapfinder app to buy individual maps and tiles and cache them on your device where you can use them for navigation.

But I can’t work out how having a paid subscription to OS Maps on the web allows me to download maps I view there to the app. So either you can’t do that or it’s quite hard to work out how that happens. Or I’m stupid which also entirely possible.

Yes for your subscription you can access maps online (from your computer) as well as from your phone/tablet and download them to your phone/tablet to use offline.

How does that happen? Are you able to access that mapping from within the OS Maps iOS or Android app?

Obviously, if you want location tracking you still need a GPS connection, but you can certainly download any portion of the UK and view that downloaded section even if your phone is in the darkest mines of Mordor*.

*We don’t currently offer mapping for Middle Earth.

If you still don’t believe me I’ll make some screenshots of the process lol.

So how do I download that section of mapping to the app on my phone then without buying it outright using OS Mapfinder that is? I can’t work out how to do it, but you seem to be saying that I can. I’m not interested in Middle Earth, but if you can make some screenshots showing how the maps from OS Maps web app are transferred to OS Maps iOS app, that would be great, thanks!

Windows Phone app please.

I’ve just switched from ‘Getamap’ to the new OS Maps web site – how do I get it to show footpaths?

tillydog – bottom R of the screen is two circles and you need the L, OS Leisure maps then adjust scale.

Currently it seems downloading offline maps is only in the iOS Native App. I’ve no idea when it’ll come to Android, but it will

Good. If it comes soon I’ll be happy. If it doesn’t come soon I’ll be seeking a refund on my £18 and spending it on Viewranger maps instead!

From first look it doesn’t seem as if there are any built in maps I can save offline.

I browsed an area in the morning but by the time I had arrived in the Dales the app had forgotten the map tiles and couldn’t re download them 👿

tillydog – bottom R of the screen is two circles and you need the L, OS Leisure maps then adjust scale.

Thanks – The one that looks like a liquorice allsort?

That tells me:

Subscription required

You must be a paid subscriber to use this feature.

🙁

How does that happen? Are you able to access that mapping from within the OS Maps iOS or Android app?

Yes @BadlyWired you put your same username / password into the iOS app as you do the OSMaps programme on your PC. If you have an OSMaps subscription you get the iOS maps free/included

Yes @BadlyWired you put your same username / password into the iOS app as you do the OSMaps programme on your PC. If you have an OSMaps subscription you get the iOS maps free/included

Thanks. I’m still slightly bemused that this doesn’t seem to be explicitly stated anywhere on the OS Maps iOS app or on the OS Maps website. Or not that I can see anyway. No offence, but I think I’ll wait until the OS publishes something on their website or as part of the app help section saying that is definitely how it works.

Up to you but I’ve had an OS Getamap (now renamed/replaced by OSMaps) subscription for a few years and I got the iOS app access for free.

Why do you think OS isn’t shouting about this? On the face of it, all the OS maps you can eat on your mobile phone for less than 20 quid a year sounds like pretty good value even if the app seems currently a little limited in terms of functionality.

Does the mapping come up under the ‘My Maps’ section of the OS Maps app then or as an automatic option like the base map and aerial photography?