OS maps for my new phone???

[fernman]

Thank you both GWM and G&P, I shall check out BackCountry when I'm able. I see there's a trial version on their website that can be downloaded.

[fatmanwalking]

i have no idea if google maps has the requisite accuracy or level of detail required but:

one day i got lost and had no data on my phone, out of frustration I opened up google maps and low and behold it showed a map of where I was.

i vaguely recall allowing google maps to download an offline map weeks/months prior when i was at home [censored] about with it.

[fatmanwalking]

Edit:
I'm an idiot and completely derailed the conversation. I'll keep post intact but essentially I got on my high horse about open source and free mapping which turns out has nothing to do with what was asked.

The question in the original post was:

 
"Can I get OS maps free anywhere? Or with a low-cost app?"

 
These are not free maps, they're Ordnance Survey maps.

 

 
Original post:

Right so, hmmm...
 I've done a bit more looking into this topic and from what I can tell you can get what you need but it takes a few steps.
I've found there's a free app on android called locus map free which lets you install map files freely available from the internet. The app itself in my opinion makes it a little bit difficult to understand how to get decent free maps, but luckily there's a website with free downloads for it.

[fatmanwalking]

instructions

on your android phone open play store and install:

locus map free

once installed, and you accept the terms and conditions open your phone's browser to:

https://www.openandromaps.org/en/legend/elevate-mountain-hike-theme

you'll see something about elevate 4 and there's a small button that says:

locus

locus map free will open and start to download something, go back to the phone's browser and go to:

https://www.openandromaps.org/en/downloads/europe

on my phone i had to look for united kingdom and press the + button to open up all the download options, on my pc it's already opened up and showing the options, any way the one you want is:

locus Map+Pois

this takes a while to download.

when it's finished you need to look for the little icon in the top left of the screen, it has 3 lines going through it, then:

1: select maps,
2: select offline,
3: then select the map you downloaded.

[ninthace]

i have no idea if google maps has the requisite accuracy or level of detail required but:

one day i got lost and had no data on my phone, out of frustration I opened up google maps and low and behold it showed a map of where I was.

i vaguely recall allowing google maps to download an offline map weeks/months prior when i was at home [censored] about with it.

Google Maps on my phone are pretty much useless for walking.  No contours, no footpaths or bridleways and no named geographical features. They are OK for towns, cities and driving between them.

[fatmanwalking]

Google Maps on my phone are pretty much useless for walking.  No contours, no footpaths or bridleways and no named geographical features. They are OK for towns, cities and driving between them.

thank you for clearing that up for me ninthace I'm not yet ready to tackle anything epic but that's valuable info for the future. ta!

[ninthace]

Right so, hmmm...
 I've done a bit more looking into this topic and from what I can tell you can get what you need but it takes a few steps.
I've found there's a free app on android called locus map free which lets you install map files freely available from the internet. The app itself in my opinion makes it a little bit difficult to understand how to get decent free maps, but luckily there's a website with free downloads for it.

  Locus Maps claims from its website to be an OS partner.  The Wiki entry on Locus Maps says it uses OS Opendata.  The only mapping I could find listed on the OS Opendata site was the 250k map of the UK.  I am not clear therefore if Locus Maps can deliver 50k and 25k OS maps for free or not.  Can you confirm this?




Edit to add:
The Locus map website claims to provide 40k OS mapping https://www.locusmap.eu/amazing-ordnance-survey-maps-for-uk-travels/   This is not a format I am familiar with.

[fatmanwalking]

i really dont know
i had taken for granted that their use of the 10m topographical data that's available as a sign it was really good and accurate. now that i'm trying to browse the forum and signup to ask the site has gone down and i cant do anything. sorry about that.

[Bigfoot_Mike]

Isn’t 40k what Harveys uses on its maps?

[pauldawes]

Isn’t 40k what Harveys uses on its maps?

On some. They use a mix...some 25k, some 30k, some 40k

[vizzavona]

I go along with Whitstabledave....Why expect good maps for nought when most of us shell out good money for GPS's or and Phones.
It is possible to get older versions of the MM maps for much less that the latest versions....in Scotland there are not too many alterations to maps within a year and even looking at the latest versions the changes don't seem to have caught up with the O.S. folks. Alternately is the around £20 annual subscription not a good deal. I think that I have read somewhere that MM maps are also offering an annual subscription for their maps.

[fatmanwalking]

Nothing wrong with expecting good free maps.

 
 Just because you pay for it doesn't mean we all must, surely?


I've written software that was used by literally millions of  people and I gave it away for free. For a while I even gave away the source code freely. Random strangers on the Internet contributed for free too. People I don't even know fixed bugs for me. That's very much normal nowadays.


Open source software, open hardware, it's spread to many industries including farming even.


Now obviously people need to eat. So usually a service of some kind is offered or they take donations but ultimately you aren't being milked regularly for some subscriptions.

[WhitstableDave]

The question in the original post was:

"Can I get OS maps free anywhere? Or with a low-cost app?"

These are not free maps, they're Ordnance Survey maps.

[fatmanwalking]

Ahh I see.
I totally misunderstood.

Crap sorry. I've edited my post recommending the freely available non OS maps to reflect my mistake.

[watershed]

Hi,
   you used to be able to buy a one off payment of an area or region, with Viewranger.
That is how I got the maps I needed for my walking in Scotland. Namely at home in Shetland or walking in Scotland on the TGO Challenge.
I bought the Northern Highlands of Scotland (Northern Highlands, Orkney)
the Southern Highlands of Scotland (Southern Highlands & Hebrides)
and the North East Scotland


I may go for the years subscription if I ever do a big multi day walk South of the Border.
I got my maps in 2017 for about £15 pounds as a one off payment , discounted to anyone doing the TGO, I bought a few extra tiles to include the beginning of the WHW in 2019 for a couple of pounds.
Try this link.


https://shop.viewranger.com/product_details.php?item_id=589