How to Use the Gaia GPS Smartphone App in Offline Mode

I'm often asked whether Smartphone GPS Navigation Apps like Gaia GPS can work when they're not connected to a cell phone network. Most Apple and Android Smartphones purchased in the past 2-3 years can operate in what's called offline mode without access to to WiFi or a cell phone network. This is because GPS signals operate on a different network that can be received by the GPS-chip in your phone, even when you're in power-saving airplane mode. You just have to activate the setting on your phone that allows your GPS App to access "Location Services" under the Privacy Setting on iPhones, or the equivalent on Android.

How to turn on location services for Gaia GPS on the iPhone

Offline Mode Preparation

For offline mode to work, you need to download the map you want to use for the area you plan to hike beforehand. It's faster to download this data while you're connected to a WiFi network, but it will also work over a cell phone network. You're not actually downloading the entire map, but the region you plan to travel through. When you start hiking, you'll load the region into the Gaia GPS app, so it will be resident in memory.

In Gaia GPS, this is an easy process. Open the app and navigate to the area where you plan to hike. Click on the rightmost "layer" icon on the top right and choose the map that you plan to use for your hike. I almost always use the USGS basemap although the USFS 2016 map has a little less clutter and can be easier to read (unless the clutter contains useful navigation information.)

Scroll to the area where you plan to hike and choose a map to use. Here's I've selected the USGS Topo base map.

Next scroll down to the bottom of the map list screen, and click on 'Download Maps." This will display a pick box on top of the area where you plan to hike.

Scroll down the map pane and click on "Download Maps". A pick box will appear on top of the area you want to hike.

Use your finger to resize the area covered by the pink box, click save, and give it a name.

Resize the pink box to include the portion of the map you want to use offline, save it, and name it.

That's all the prep you need to store a map for offline use.

At the Trailhead

When you get to the trailhead, start up the Gaia GPS app and load this map into your phone. You can be offline when you do it, since it's already stored on your phone.

Click on the Maps icon to open up your Map library, and click on the map you want to load for your hike.

Click on the leftmost icon on Gaia GPS screen and click on the Maps icon. This will display all of the maps you've downloaded for offline use. You can collect quite a few and download far larger areas if you need to.

Load the map you need and it will be displayed, ready to navigate for you in Gaia.

Click "Load in Main Map" and the area you plan to hike in will be displayed in Gaia, ready to use.

That's all there is to it.

See Also:

• Topographic Maps and Route Visualization
• Suunto M-3 D Declination Adjustable Compass Review
• Caltopo: A Great Online Mapping and Planning Tool for Hikers

from Section Hikers Backpacking Blog http://ift.tt/2r2Afkm