OS Maps app on Android. Is it any good?

FYI – the latest version of the Android app lets you see/use routes you’ve created on a PC

Good to know, its always been an annoyance with me. Cheers 🙂

Appears to work too but about five months too late to retain my custom

That’s good, cheers scotroutes. Can I pre-download an area on to the phone for when I go out of reception yet?

I’m unlikely to keep ym OS subscription for another year… I’ll probably just spend the money saved on OS tiles in Viewranger.

You can download maps to your phone but it is a rather awkward application to use for this. You download a screens worth at a time but not just any screen, you have to be zoomed in to quite a limited area.

The OS app looks nice but the functionality has been a big disappointment to me

I’ll probably just spend the money saved on OS tiles in Viewranger.

That will make two of us

Sounds like it’s still a way off being ready for public release.

OS must be loving all these paying alpha testers they have

There is no need to point and laugh Stoner, I’m feeling peed off enough already. There is a reminder in my calendar ‘Cancel OS subscription’

I just hurt because I fell for it too.
Frankly a scam.
Disgraceful for such a core national brand to bring such a crap product to the market.

I have no personal gripe with plyphon, I applaud his efforts, but there is no way that app and desktop suite should have made it to release for a fee.

And christ knows what the apps is trying to do when framing for offline downloads. Offers nothing over BCN.

I want OS maps on my mobile and I want them available offline. I have been using my now aging Memory Map 1:50000 for years but Memory Map want £15 just for me to keep using them on a new device

Why do you need to pay? Changing between android and iOS?

I’ve recently got a new phone and just moved the map files from my old phone to my new one (both Android) and the memory map app finds them with no problems.

Maverick. OS and many other types of maps including opencyclemap, off line caching, cheap.

Thank me later.

I thought Maverick wanted a hefty payment to load any new maps after Feb last year.

I just hurt because I fell for it too.
Frankly a scam.
Disgraceful for such a core national brand to bring such a crap product to the market.

I have no personal gripe with plyphon, I applaud his efforts, but there is no way that app and desktop suite should have made it to release for a fee.

And christ knows what the apps is trying to do when framing for offline downloads. Offers nothing over BCN.

Im just catching up with this thread- what are your exact issues?

The reason you have to “frame” you offline download is because the map data gets very big, very quickly. A lot of users have 16gb iPhones or similar size Android devices (Without SD cards to expand) – we don’t want to frustrate users with these smaller capacity phones by them not being aware how large map data can be and then suddenly filling up their device with no way to remove the data without deleting the whole chunk when they’re out and about.

Currently with Explorer mapping you can zoom out and get around 200mb of mapping (depends on the area on the data size)

16gb devices get full very quickly with just a handful of apps and high res photos/videos, and a very very vast majority of users have these phones.

Then give a choice or add a warning of what the file size will be. The area I can download is frustratingly small for me as a user (until my year is up). I have a 32GB phone with a 64GB SD card just so I can have large maps and other useful offline stuff.

Yeh – i mean. Another reason is the data connection concern. People might forget they are not on wifi or download whilst out a about, and suddenly they’ve pulled down a 2gig portion of the UK and shot over their limit facing a hefty bill.

It’s a situation that could potentially cost someone money if they’re not paying attention on one end, and a situation that annoys people like yourself on the other end.

edit: Just to make sure you’re aware – once you have downloaded an area, you don’t need to go into “my maps” to view it every time. Just select the Explorer/etc map stack and it’ll display every saved chunk regardless of connection.

A lot of users have 16gb iPhones or similar size Android devices

I have to assume these users are happy with online mapping or they’d have chosen a device with more capacity. Even if this is not the case there is nothing to stop them downloading only small areas. I’m being forced to download many silly little tiles with no way of being sure I haven’t missed a bit OR to use a different app. I’ve chosen the latter.

People might forget they are not on wifi

Then put in a default setting of ‘only download on wifi’ with a switch or allow a mobile data cap in settings. There are plenty of answers but all I’m reading are excuses why the app hasn’t been made more useful

I posted this above in an edit also:

Just to make sure you’re aware – once you have downloaded an area, you don’t need to go into “my maps” to view it every time. Just select the Explorer/etc map stack and it’ll display every saved chunk regardless of connection.

Viewing the maps isn’t my issue it’s the downloading that I think is poor

It’s a fair statement and certainly not a unique criticism – it’s on our radar !

In 2005, I could create a route here http://gmap-pedometer.com/ that would automatically follow paths/trails/roads according to activity type. For free.

OS Maps: click every bend in every track….

There are any number of free apps that allow me to view OS mapping for free. Some have added functionality. I already own a few OS maps:

If I’m paying a sub, I expect something for it over and above the map data that I already possess…

So OS sell me the ability to look at maps on my phone with…..no additional functionality (nothing worthwhile anyway). That’s an affront to decency that is.

Offline map cache? Not in original version. But in plenty of free apps.
cache size limit? offline map file location? I will tell the app how big a file size and where to store it…
Sharing routes between PC & android? Only 6months into a 12month sub….
Route making with Route snapping? Only in “National Parks” apparently – anyone tried it, does it work? For every where else? Probably after another £40 of subs?
Route cards next to useless. CSV download? Share with Google sheets?

So I have paid £20 for only 12 months use of an app and online resource that offers me nothing over a free one. From the source of the mapping I really was expecting something much much better.

There wont be another £20 coming from me anytime soon.

Sorry plython. I know you’re at the sharp end but as I said in the first threads 11 months ago, OS approach to this has been bitty, badly joined up, and woefully short on functionality.

and OS MapFinder on Android? Out back with a shotgun for that one. 52Mb app that runs badly. Why does it even still exist in the playstore?

Tried a few different apps and they’re all pretty basic and not very good.

Best seemed to be Anquet. You can buy the UK (or smaller sections if you want) in Landranger or Explorer maps, costs a bit, especially if you want both scales and in High Res, but they’re yours once you have them. The software is better than most and you can run Android and PC at the same time.

They do appear to be slowly working on things and do send out software updates from time to time.

ViewRanger is the one I’ve settled on but choice really depends on what you want.For me I was won over by

1. Offline mapping
2. Route planning that is simple and the routes are shared across PC, Android, etc
3. Routes I create can have waymarkers that pop up a little message on my Android watch so I can mostly follow a route with the odd glance at my wrist

OS Maps user here too. Not got round to using much in anger unfortunately but am familiar with the issue around ‘framing’ the maps for offline download. It would be so much easier to be able to choose (for example) an offline area as per the corresponding paper map number.
RM.

I really wanted to get behind this, I really like the OS, its history & being a properly British institution – I’ve got loads of the paper maps & use the 1:50000 on my Garmin but this app is a real let down, come on OS you can do better than this.

All gone quiet on this – did OS Maps ever sort out the issues?

Watching with interest

I use their OS Map iPhone App whenever I’m in the hills, excellent VFM and works really well. Barely get the real map our of my bag now. Offline download works really well, so don’t use any data allowance / need coverage.

List the issues and I’ll let you know. I’m an occasional user so have watched developments with interest.

Works very well on iPhone. My biggest gripe is they “upgraded” the search so its now hopeless retruning dozens of streets etc when you are searching for a town and geographical features like mountains aren’t found. A perfect example is searching for “Snowdon” 😐

List the issues and I’ll let you know.

It just seems some of the previous posters don’t consider it debugged.

Remember this thread is 9 months old

As an update, you can now sign up for a 7 day free trial of the app (which then downgrades to a free account when up) which is a great way to see what’s up.

I don’t want to fall foul of the rules of STW and be promoting it too much so that all I’ll say on the matter for now 🙂

Remember this thread is 9 months old

Hence asking for updates.