Use offline maps – how to prepare your hiking map

When hiking, the basic navigation logic is simple:

Red line = your route (the GPX layer stored in the map)
Blue dot = your current position (activated via the small location pin in the lower left corner of the map)

Your GPS signal usually works even without mobile reception. The problem only starts when the map itself has to be reloaded from the internet. This is exactly what the offline preparation is for.

Once the map has been stored in advance, your device can display the prepared map tiles even when there is no network available. In most cases, this also works in flight mode and can save a considerable amount of battery.

We have mainly tested the offline function on Android smartphones using Google Chrome. For this reason, we currently recommend using Google Chrome on Android for the offline map.

The function may also work on other devices, browsers or operating systems, but we have not tested these to the same extent yet. If you notice any malfunction there, we would appreciate a short message including your device, browser and a brief description of the problem. This helps us improve the offline function step by step.

Open the map of your planned tour before you start hiking — ideally on Wi-Fi, so that larger downloads do not use up your mobile data allowance. These are the steps:

1. Open the webpage of your planned tour on your smartphone. This is the page where all information about the tour is collected.
2. Scroll to the 2D map with the embedded track and tap the “Map download” button in the upper right corner. This opens a standalone version of the map in a new tab. This map is your central hiking map.
3. Zoom the map so that your track is just fully visible on the screen. This defines the area of the overall map that will be made available offline. If the “Prepare map offline” menu is open, collapse it via the arrow icon in the upper right corner of the menu while choosing the map area.
4. Open the “Prepare map offline” menu at the top of the map.
5. Use the dropdown menu to select the maximum zoom level to which the map should be stored.
6. Start the download, provided that the download size limit is not exceeded. If the permitted download size is exceeded, choose a lower maximum zoom level.
7. Wait until the download has fully completed.

After that, the prepared map area is stored on your device.

For practical hiking navigation, a medium to high zoom level is usually sufficient.

As a rule of thumb:

Zoom 15–16: useful for general orientation and overview
Zoom 17: a good standard setting for hikes
Zoom 18–19: very detailed, but with a significantly larger download

The higher the zoom level, the more map tiles have to be stored. The download will take longer and require more storage space.

If you see red tiles with the word MISS while offline, this is not a map error.

It means:
This specific map tile was not downloaded beforehand.

This can happen if you:

– move outside the prepared area,
– zoom in more deeply than the prepared zoom level,
– or open a map section that was not part of the download.

Within the prepared area, the normal map tiles should remain visible.

The offline function mainly stores:

– the prepared map area,
– the required map tiles,
– central map data needed to start the map view,
– important display files for the map.

This makes the route and your current position more usable even with poor reception.

The offline function is an additional safety and convenience feature. It does not replace careful tour preparation.

Please note:

– The offline map only works for the area you prepared beforehand.
– Your browser or operating system may delete stored website data under certain circumstances.
– After major changes to the website or after deleting your browser data, you will need to prepare the map again.
– Weather data, current overlays or external content may still require an internet connection while you are out on the trail.

We recommend testing offline mode briefly before your tour:

1. Open the map online.
2. Complete the offline download.
3. Activate flight mode briefly.
4. Open the map again and/or zoom within the map.
5. Check whether the prepared area is still displayed.
6. In most cases, the map can also be loaded offline again after the browser has been closed. Test this as well if needed.

If the map remains visible within the prepared area, the download has worked correctly.

Keep the map view or browser tab open during the hike whenever possible. If you take photos or use another app in between, you can return to the map afterwards.

If the map has to reload, it can still access the stored map data within the prepared area.

Your location is determined via GPS. The map itself consists of individual map tiles.

This means:

– Your location can continue to work even without mobile reception.
– The map must be stored beforehand so that it remains visible without internet access.
– This is why preparing the map offline before your tour is important.

Prepare the map offline via Wi-Fi before your hike.
Stay within the prepared area while hiking.
Red MISS tiles show that an area was not prepared.
The red route and your location dot remain the central orientation.