How to Use Organic Maps Offline: Routes, Stops and Car Displays

If you are staying with Google Maps, use our Google Maps offline download guide. The instructions below belong to Organic Maps; downloading a region in one app does not prepare the other.

Download the maps before you travel

Start while you still have a reliable connection.

1. Install or update Organic Maps using a download link on the official Organic Maps website. If you intend to use Android Auto, read the Google Play requirement below before choosing a version.
2. Open the app’s map-download control and select the countries or regions needed for the journey.
3. Include the regions between your stops, not just the regions containing your start and destination. Leave room for a practical detour.
4. Wait for each download to finish. Check available storage if another region will not download.
5. Open the destination area and search for an important public place before leaving the connection.

A saved pin is useful for finding a destination again; prepare the underlying map coverage as well. For a trip across several regions, check every leg before departure rather than waiting for a download request where there is no service.

For a distant place, download its map and open that area, or include the city or country in your search. A missing result can also mean that the place has not been added to OpenStreetMap; repeatedly changing the search wording cannot supply missing map data.²

Build a route and start navigation

Choose a destination from search, bookmarks or the map, then tap Route to. Choose the travel mode, inspect the route, then tap Start to navigate.³

Check the mode before judging the result. A route intended for driving is a different request from a walking or cycling journey. Look over the roads or paths, the destination entrance and any route warnings before setting off.

Route From previews a different starting point; navigation starts from your current location. Use a remote starting point to plan a later journey, then return to your actual position when you are ready to navigate.³

Location permission and a usable GPS signal are separate from having the map downloaded. If the map is detailed but your position is missing or uncertain, check location access and move to a suitable open place while stationary. Downloading another copy of the roads is not a positioning fix.⁴

Choose an alternative route

Organic Maps introduced the shortest route alongside the fastest route in June 2026. The September 29 update improved alternative routes and their estimated arrival times. It also preserves the selected alternative when navigation recalculates.⁵, ⁶

Compare the alternatives actually offered for your journey. Check distance, estimated time, road or path suitability and any warnings. A shorter route is not automatically a better choice for a particular vehicle, walk or cycle.

Choose the route before starting. Treat the displayed arrival time as an estimate, not a promise about traffic, a closure or conditions on the ground. An offline route choice does not establish that a road is currently open.

Add stops and choose their order

Build the start-to-destination route first, select another place, then tap Add stop. On Android, the September update makes Add Stop append the new stop after existing stops and before the destination.³, ⁶

The September update adds a setting to optimise the order of intermediate stops on both Android and iOS. This is a different decision from choosing an alternative road between the same places.⁶

Before starting navigation, open Settings → Routing options → Route optimization and choose whether to allow reordering. In British English the control is labelled Route optimisation. Leave settings, return to the route and inspect the sequence before tapping Start.⁷, ⁸, ⁹, ¹⁰, ¹¹, ¹²

On iPhone, this control is disabled during navigation or an active ruler route. Set the preference while planning; do not try to change it while driving.¹²

Use the choice that matches the trip:

• Keep a required sequence: leave optimisation off when appointments, opening times or the purpose of the journey require a particular order. Check the displayed sequence after adding stops.
• Allow a different sequence: turn optimisation on when the intermediate visits are flexible, then inspect the proposed order and route.
• Review either result: an optimisation setting is not a guarantee of the best possible schedule, suitable opening times or the quickest journey under live conditions.

For example, a fictional trip with a morning museum booking and a later lunch reservation needs that sequence preserved even if another order looks shorter. Two flexible sightseeing stops create a different planning problem.

If you are arranging the journey in Google Maps instead, follow our Google Maps multiple-stops guide.

For Google Maps rather than Organic Maps, see the separate avoid ferries guide.

Keep these four checks separate

Use Organic Maps with a car display

Check the phone and car combination before relying on it for an unfamiliar journey. Phone navigation, projected navigation and a vehicle’s built-in mapping system have different prerequisites.

Android Auto

For Android Auto, Organic Maps directs users to install its Google Play version. Google currently lists Android 11 or later, an active data plan and a compatible car for wired Android Auto. Follow Google’s current Android Auto requirements for the connection you use; wireless projection has its own phone, Wi-Fi and car requirements.¹³, ¹⁴

Download the Organic Maps regions on the phone first, then check that Organic Maps opens through the actual car connection while parked. Offline map routing does not establish that every function of Android Auto or its connection works without internet.

CarPlay and supported head-up displays

On iOS, the September update adds maneuver instructions to supported car head-up displays and the CarPlay dashboard. “Supported” matters: this does not promise directions on every instrument cluster, head-up display or car screen.⁶

Check the result in your own compatible car before travel. Seeing the app on CarPlay does not prove that a separate head-up display receives its maneuver instructions.

For a voice problem in Google Maps instead, use the Google Maps voice and language guide. Its available controls differ from Organic Maps settings.

Check voice and common problems

On Android, Organic Maps uses the system text-to-speech engine for spoken instructions. Use Settings → Voice Instructions → Test Voice Directions to check Android speech before travel. The test control’s full wording can include “TTS, Text-To-Speech”. Prepare the engine and voice you intend to use, and test the actual route mode and audio connection.¹⁵

Start with the part that is failing:

The download, search, positioning and voice help pages explain these separate checks. Start with them before considering a disruptive change such as reinstalling the app or deleting downloaded material.¹⁶, ², ⁴, ¹⁵, ¹⁷

Test the phone before leaving service

While stationary, temporarily turn off Wi-Fi and mobile data on the phone, open a downloaded area, search for a public destination and preview a route in the travel mode you need. Check the selected route and stop sequence. Restore connectivity afterward and fix any gap before departure.

Before departure, check current roads, businesses and paths, and test the car connection separately. Turning off Wi-Fi can interrupt wireless projection.

Google Maps offline downloads do not provide walking or cycling directions, live traffic or alternative routes. If those Google Maps limits prompted the switch, use the preparation above to check whether Organic Maps meets your actual journey’s needs. Keep the apps’ downloads and settings separate.¹⁸, ¹⁹