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China - I have TMobile and endless data and so I want an online map, not an offline map. Any ideas?

Posted by (Pacific Northwest) on

Leaving tomorrow for China and I've decided to download a map for walking around. I use Google maps a ton to keep me from getting (too) lost in Europe and I think it might be helpful in China even though I'm mostly on a group tour.

So I've tried to download an app or two to my android phone and apparently I am out of storage space for something that large.

I have TMobile so I don't need the maps to be offline - I can walk around using my data no problem.

Is there an app for this? I can't find one - they're all offline. I realize I could just use Google - or could I?! Is it blocked? I think it is, I've read it is...but there are recent little postings on various websites that indicate people do use Google maps over there.

Anyone know?

Posted by
402 posts

Last summer in China, our tour group's phones were blocked by the Great Firewall. Two of us using T-Mobile had no such problem, and were able to use Gmail, etc. Never figured out why :-) T-Mobile's speed, however, was very slow once outside the big cities. Using Google Maps was painful, at best.

For that reason, I now create custom offline maps, as many others do.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tech-tips/smartphone-app-for-maps-pre-planning-and-real-time-routing-guidance

The storage for an app is minimal. If there is no room for new apps, it's time for some housekeeping by deleting unused apps and data. If an app can be stored on a SD card (and if there is one on your phone/tablet), move it there. The storage for maps is massive, and they are stored on the SD card of my phone/tablet. A device's storage capacity is a critical purchase criteria.

Posted by
2684 posts

Thanks - it's not the app I can't store, it's the map itself. I'm only going to Beijing, Shanghai and Xi'an - thanks for that very helpful input - maybe I'll be okay then. I don't need to transit around a lot by myself but when I do, I really like to be able to see where I am.

My travel partner has an old ATT iPhone but doesn't use it when we travel but I'm going to try to download Maps.ME or Apple maps for offline use but I really like to use live tracking of myself - I've got my routes sketched out on a paper map, but, without fail, what looks so simple on a map becomes more complicated when I try to walk it. It's always true in Europe for me and I'm thinking it might be even more true in China.

I really really appreciate your input - leaving in a few hours!!

Posted by
28247 posts

In Europe, at least, CityMaps2Go Pro provides live tracking offline (via GPS satellite). But the base map is stored on your device. The only problems I've had are in historic districts with narrow streets with relatively tall buildings, where it seems that accessing the satellite is difficult. Even there I can still use the map itself.

Posted by
2684 posts

Thanks - I just dowloaded that map for my 3 cities - didn't take up much room:)

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