Is there a forum for Maps.me?

[MikeHunt555]

I've used Maps.me for sometime, but have always struggled how to navigate, what all the map legends are, etc.

I can find youtube guides, but they don't seem to talk you through options. There's annoying music but no dialogue.

 

[MoodyBlues]

I'm not at all familiar with Maps.me, but a quick search yielded their contact page and their support page. Take a look at their FAQs and knowledge base and see if they're any help, and/or contact them.

 

[Dannydet]

use Google Maps instead, the APP, not a website.....

 

[MoodyBlues]

Some people prefer non-Google apps, @Dannydet. Just sayin'.

 

[tommo47]

I've never tried Maps.me, but have used an alternative to Google Maps, although I use Google Maps extensively and have no hang-ups about it.

I have used Magic Earth for a number of years now and find it an excellent app, totally free including world wide maps, and very easy to use. It is certainly worth giving it a try.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.generalmagic.magicearth

 

[Hadron]

I have used Maps.me, though I'm currently using an open source fork of it (better privacy, though the Play Store version still beats Google in that respect). It's a nice app, and OSM data is sometimes more accurate and detailed than Google (and sometimes not).

So I can attempt to answer questions about it, if you make them specific (I don't really have time to write a general guide). I've only really used walking navigation with it, but have used that in many parts of the world.

 

[tommo47]

For walking, particularly hill walking, my go to app is:-

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.osmand.plus.

Although I find the user interface is not quite as friendly as Google Maps or Magic Earth, it has an excellent route/track creation tool for cross country hiking. I have used it many times in the North Wales hills and the Pennines.

As with Magic Earth, I can certainly recommend a trial. I've used it for at least eight years with no problems at all.

There was a free version as well as a 'paid for' version but I usually go for the paid version which I did in this case. One benefit was regular map updates.

 

[steiny180]

Mapfactor Navigator Free Offline GPS navigation is my go-to GPS navigator. Have a look at it...

 

[MikeHunt555]

I have used Maps.me, though I'm currently using an open source fork of it (better privacy, though the Play Store version still beats Google in that respect). It's a nice app, and OSM data is sometimes more accurate and detailed than Google (and sometimes not).

So I can attempt to answer questions about it, if you make them specific (I don't really have time to write a general guide). I've only really used walking navigation with it, but have used that in many parts of the world.

I have real trouble trying to unerstand how to plan a route. Sometimes it says 'from' then it says 'to'.
It doesn't seem easy as to which one is which.

Also searching for places isn't easy. I live in Thailand, large places are often OK.
Trying to find a village depends on how the translation has been done. Searching in Thai doesn't often help.

If there was a video guide explaining it with dialogue it would be much more helpful.

 

[Hadron]

I personally hate video guides, genuinely detest them, so I'm not the person to ask about those. Partly it's my age: it feels illiterate, and too many people in the tech field work too hard at being "interesting" or imposing their music choice on you as well. But also I can read a lot faster than they can talk, and because of the work involved video guides are never updated and so it's easy to find out of date information when you search for them. Give me a well-written set of instructions rather than someone who fancies themselves as an "influencer" any day.

The "from" and "to" thing can be a bit confusing. If you want to know the route to a destination from your current location select the place you want to go to and click "route to" and it will plan your route. If however you want to plan a route in advance from somewhere else (not your current location) to your destination the process is: select your starting point, click "route from", select your destination, click "route to". It will then show you a route from the chosen starting point to your chosen destination.

The app's searching isn't the best. I find the trick is often not to be in a hurry: type the name and then wait, don't press "enter" as that ends the search.

 

[MikeHunt555]

I personally hate video guides, genuinely detest them, so I'm not the person to ask about those. Partly it's my age: it feels illiterate, and too many people in the tech field work too hard at being 'interesting' or imposing their music choice on you as well. But also I can read a lot faster than they can talk, and because of the work involved video guides are never updated and so it's easy to find out of date information when you search for them. Give me a well-written set of instructions rather than someone who fancies themselves as an 'influencer' any day.

The 'from' and 'to' thing can be a bit confusing. If you want to know4 the route to a destination from your current location select the place you want to go to and click 'route to' and it will plan your route. If however you want to plan a route in advance from somewhere else (not your current location) to your destination the process is: select your starting point, click 'route from', select your destination, click 'route to'. It will then show you a route from the chosen starting point to your chosen destination.

The app's searching isn't the best. I find the trick is often not to be in a hurry: type the name and then wait, don't press 'enter' as that ends the search.

Actually I take your point about video guides. What would be gòod was if it was detailed, and not a musical guide.
Yes, a written guide would be good, as long as it was detailed.

For now I'm giving Magic Earth a go. It seems (so far) to be straightforward.
I'm trying to find a way to import my bookmarked locations into it from Maps.me. I've exported them to a .kmz file.
I see there's a POI import option, but I'm not sure if that's the same.

 

[Hadron]

POI = Point of Interest. May be the same, I can't remember. I've imported bookmarks from Maps.Me to OSMand, but that was a year or so ago and can't offhand remember how (but it was almost certainly reading a kmz). There's nothing to lose by trying - worst case it doesn't recognise the format.

 

[tommo47]

For now I'm giving Magic Earth a go. It seems (so far) to be straightforward.
I'm trying to find a way to import my bookmarked locations into it from Maps.me. I've exported them to a .kmz file.
I see there's a POI import option, but I'm not sure if that's the same.

I think it is only for Points of Interest. When I started using Magic Earth I was quite happy to build up my Favourites as I went along, and of course there is the History list as well, so I've never tried to import any locations from other apps.

 

[coffent]

I have used Maps.me, though I'm currently using an open source fork of it (better privacy, though the Play Store version still beats Google in that respect). It's a nice app, and OSM data is sometimes more accurate and detailed than Google (and sometimes not).

So I can attempt to answer questions about it, if you make them specific (I don't really have time to write a general guide). I've only really used walking navigation with it, but have used that in many parts of the world.

I hoping you're still willing to answer questions. Mine's very basic: How do I search for a street address, such as 3600 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI? I've tried entering it as both "3600 Plymouth Road" and "Plymouth Road 3600", and in either case it finds three different "Plymouth Road"s in Ann Arbor, but none with a street number. (The three are different sections of the same Plymouth Road.)

 

[ocnbrze]

I hoping you're still willing to answer questions. Mine's very basic: How do I search for a street address, such as 3600 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI? I've tried entering it as both "3600 Plymouth Road" and "Plymouth Road 3600", and in either case it finds three different "Plymouth Road"s in Ann Arbor, but none with a street number. (The three are different sections of the same Plymouth Road.)

that address works fine in google maps. what navigation are using? maps.me?

 

[Hadron]

Actually I no longer have Maps.me installed, so can't test. The open source fork of it I was using (because I was a little uncomfortable with the then owners of the original app) became unmaintained and glitchy so I uninstalled it, and it's since disappeared from the F-Droid store completely - for what reason I don't know. And while the original app has changed ownership at least once since then I've moved on from it.

However I don't recall any special tricks for searching an address. But if the map data it uses doesn't include the number for building 3600 (I assume that's a building number) then the search won't find it. So I just tried testing that idea: Maps.me always used Open Street Map data, and I have another OSM-based app that I use (OSMand+), so I tried doing that same search in that app. It didn't have 3600 Plymouth Road, but it did have 3550, 3601, 3610 (3601 seems to be a store called "Plum Market"). OSMand did let me scroll through locations for Plymouth Road, which is how I found those - I don't recall whether Maps.me did that.

 

[coffent]

Thanks for the information. I tried 3601 Plymouth Rd (rather than 3600) and Maps.me found that. 3600 is a building housing two rental car agencies, etc., which Google Maps is able to find. I see now it's helpful to try other nearby street numbers in hopes that Maps.me/Open Street Maps lists those.

I'm interested that you use OSMand+; I think I will give that (or OSMand) a try.