Mobile GPS without internet: how to record routes and navigate offline

Your phone's GPS works without data: you just need to know which app to use

Can you use the GPS of an Android phone without an internet connection? The short answer is yes, and the long one explains why so many people still buy a 140-euro Garmin when they have a smartphone forgotten in a drawer that can do the same. The phone's GPS module calculates position by satellite, with no SIM card or mobile data. What needs internet is the map on which that position is drawn. The solution is to download offline maps and use apps that record the route without a connection.

Which apps record routes without an internet connection

For running and cycling, sports tracking apps work without data. Endomondo, Runkeeper, Runtastic and Sports Tracker log distance, altitude and the route using only the phone's GPS. The route is uploaded to the web once you're back on your home wifi. Some prefer Runkeeper for recording reliability and Runtastic for the web, though that means exporting the route between platforms. Other apps like Endomondo let you run two at once to compare.

The problem appears when the track isn't reliable. At roundabouts or stretches with a brief signal loss, the app may join two points with a straight line and measure less distance than the real one. The usual cause is the GPS losing signal in a tunnel or under an archway and, on recovering it, filling in the missed stretch in a straight line. Some apps let you configure how often a point is recorded: if the interval is 5 seconds and you cross the roundabout faster, it won't even detect it.

Offline GPS navigators: what the options are and what they cost

For turn-by-turn navigation without data, the choice is wide. Navigon (by Garmin), Sygic, CoPilot, Navfree, OsmAnd and Zanavi let you download maps and use them offline. Navigon lets you download maps by country; CoPilot gives you one country free (Spain comes with Portugal); Zanavi is free and open source, though its interface looks ten years old. OsmAnd uses OpenStreetMap maps, free, with paths and place names, but the synthesized voice sounds horrible. Sygic and Navigon are paid; CoPilot has a free version without voice, and the actress-recorded voice costs about 12 euros.

The most frequently cited free alternative for the countryside is OruxMaps, which works without data and lets you record routes. It's not a navigator that says "turn right onto the path," but a supporting map. You can download layers of Google Maps or maps from Spain's IGN (national geographic institute) at 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 scales. For rural areas, the Sigpac maps (Spain's agricultural parcel map) detail lanes, farmhouses and streams. They're downloaded with Mobac or jsigpac: the Cazorla-Segura-Las Villas map takes up 4 GB.

Google Maps offline and the download limit

Google Maps lets you cache maps, but not in every area. Some people can't download their region. OsmAnd, with OpenStreetMap maps, only allows 10 free downloads: Spain and Portugal can be updated five times. The question is how often updating is actually needed. With public works at a minimum, road changes are less frequent, but a shopping centre built two years ago may still show up as a field on a paid Garmin while OpenStreetMap already has it updated.

Why GPS takes a long time to get a fix without data

The initial position fix without a connection can take up to 5 minutes. With wifi or data, the phone gets approximate coordinates by triangulating cell towers and downloads a file listing the visible satellites, which speeds up the search. A widespread trick is to start the app at home on wifi so it gets a fast fix, then head out onto the street without a connection. The GPS works without a SIM card: it's independent of the phone service. What some call "pseudo GPS" uses cell tower triangulation, not satellites.

The savings trap: accessories that match the price of a Garmin

Using your phone as a navigator isn't always free. Some people have added a windshield mount, a cigarette-lighter charger, a cable and an antenna for a quick satellite lock: 90 euros for an HTC Explorer, versus 140 euros for a Garmin with everything included. The maths only works if you already own the phone and don't need accessories. For those who just want to record running or cycling routes, the investment is zero.

The paradox is that free maps are often more up to date than paid ones. OpenStreetMap is corrected through citizen collaboration: if a street changes direction, it gets reported and modified. On commercial maps, that change takes far longer. The in-car Garmin still shows old street names and shopping centres as if they were fields.

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In the end, the answer to the original question is yes: your phone's GPS works without internet. What doesn't work without internet is convenience. You have to download maps, choose an app, configure recording intervals and accept that the synthesized voice sounds like a civil servant reading a statement. In return, an old phone becomes a GPS that records routes, navigates on the road and pays no data. The savings are real. So is the laziness.