Create your adventures your way & let OS Maps guide you on stunning routes across the UK & beyond. Get more from the outdoors, with more freedom to explore, more confidence to tackle that next challenge & more adventures along the way. OS Maps is the official app by Ordnance Survey & your guide in the great outdoors.

Why you’ll love using OS Maps:

EXPLORE & PLAN HIKES, RUNS OR RIDES

Whether you are planning a walk, hike, run or ride; OS Maps lets you create outdoor adventures with trusted mapping & navigation tools from the experts at Ordnance Survey, Britain’s national mapping service.

DISCOVER THOUSANDS OF READY-MADE ROUTES

Get outside with curated routes from outdoor experts & organisations such as Trail, Country Walking, Mountain Bike UK, BBC Countryfile & more.

ICONIC OS MAPPING

Subscribe to unlock the detail & accuracy of OS leisure maps including OS Explorer 1:25,000 & OS Landranger 1:50,000 & now with global mapping & topographic mapping for USA, Australia & New Zealand to keep you exploring all over the world.

CREATE YOUR OWN ADVENTURES

Best in class route planning & navigation tools mean you can get off the beaten track & explore with more freedom. Plan routes with quick & easy snap-to-path route plotting, then save & share with your friends to plan that next epic day in the outdoors.

NO SIGNAL? NO PROBLEM

Download maps & routes to your phone to view offline, so they’re ready, whenever & wherever you need them. View any part of GB even without signal & export to your GPS device.

UNLIMITED PRINTING

Print copies of all your routes & maps to take with you, so you always have a backup to hand.

USE ON EVERY DEVICE

Sync your activities between across devices, on desktop, mobile & Apple Watch. On desktop, premium users can use our 3D Aerial Layer & route fly-throughs to see the landscape, terrain & explore in stunning 3D.

TRACK & RECORD ACTIVITIES

Use the activity recording feature to keep a log of your activity history. Follow along, save your activity, review it & turn it into a new route to share & follow again later.

RECOMMENDED BY THE EXPERTS

Ordnance Survey is proud to partner with Mountain Rescue England & Wales, with OS Maps as their recommended app to help you keep on track, & keep safe when heading outside.

TABLETOP 3D

Preview a route before you tackle it, ensure it’s suitable for your level of fitness & avoid any surprises. Our 3D model feature lets you check out your routes from the comfort of your home.

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION

OS Maps premium is available through a 1 month or 1 year subscription. Prices are posted in GBP but may vary by country or when converted to local currency. Subscriptions will auto-renew. Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, & identify the cost of the renewal. Subscriptions may be managed by the user & auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase.

Terms & Conditions at os.uk/termsosmaps

USEFUL INFORMATION

Battery life while using the app can be extended downloading maps offline prior to use, operating in Flight Mode (the GPS will still work) & turning off the screen when not in use. We release updates to all of our apps on an ongoing basis to improve stability & add extra features. Topographic mapping is available for UK (including Northern Ireland), USA, Australia & New Zealand. Your feedback & comments about this app are important to us. Leave a review or use os.uk/contact to get in touch.

*This feature uses Apple's ARKit which requires an iPhone 6s, iPhone SE, iPad 2017, iPad Pro or any later device.

What's New in Version 5.0.4

This release is a major update to the app which improves the ease of use and modernises the look and feel of OS Maps.

Major changes include:

• Introduction of a 5 bar navigation menu to make it easier to find features

• New ‘Home’ tab including shortcuts, recommended partner routes, and learn tutorials

• My routes, bookmarked routes, and offline maps now all found in a convenient ‘Saved’ tab

• The app can now be viewed in light or dark mode, depending on your system settings

Additional new features include:

• When viewing a route, you can scroll the elevation chart to see height along the route

• On the Maps tab you can choose to see the mapping in full screen mode

• When plotting a route, you can now reverse route direction

• When searching for a route you can filter by circular or point to point routes

• When recording an activity, you can now minimize the recording and continue to use other app features

Seller

Name

Ordnance Survey

URL

http://osmaps.co.uk

Information

Developer

Ordnance Survey

Version

5.0.4

Size

109.3 MB

Game Center

VPP Device Licensing

Yes

Rating

Rated: 4+

Compatibility

iOS 15.0 or later

Devices

iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE (2nd generation), iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone SE (3rd generation), iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPad (5th Generation) Wi-Fi, iPad (5th Generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad (6th generation) Wi-Fi, iPad (6th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro, iPad Pro (Cellular), iPad Pro (9.7-inch), iPad Pro (9.7-inch) (Cellular), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro (10.5-inch), iPad Pro (10.5-inch) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro (11-inch), iPad Pro (11-inch) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Air, iPad Air (Cellular), iPad Air 2, iPad Air 2 (Cellular), iPad Air (3rd generation), iPad Air (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad mini Retina, iPad mini Retina (Cellular), iPad mini 3, iPad mini 3 (Cellular), iPad mini 4, iPad mini 4 (Cellular), iPad mini (5th Generation), iPad mini (5th Generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad (7th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation), iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Air (4th Generation) (Wi-Fi), iPad Air (4th Generation) (Wi-Fi + Cellular), iPad (8th generation) Wi-Fi, iPad (8th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation), iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th Generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th Generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad (9th Generation), iPad (9th Generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad mini (6th Generation), iPad mini (6th Generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Air (5th generation), iPad Air (5th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 11-inch (4th generation), iPad Pro 11-inch (4th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (6th generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (6th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad (10th generation), iPad (10th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPod touch (6th Generation), iPod touch (7th generation), Apple Watch Series 4

Languages

English

App Store: Customer Ratings

All Versions

4.7 (54,455 Ratings)

App Store: Customer Reviews

OS mapping.

–

Ash1251

–

2024-03-04

Version 5.0.4

So close to perfect. I love this app, superb off line mapping. Just one request please. Can we have a search for POIs like the web version please? The trig bagging community would love you forever! 👍

Fiddly & price increase.

–

d_v_b

–

2024-03-04

Version 5.0.3

For me the annual subscription is due to increase by 20.7% - so I won’t be renewing. I don’t see how that’s justified.

It took a bit of getting used to but the new (2024) layout is just about ok. Unfortunately there are many usability annoyances that make this too faffy to rely upon out on the hill. I’ve used OutdoorsGB for years so going back to that. I use the phone as a secondary means of navigating - always take a physical map & compass. Phones ain’t much use in drizzle.

I agree with others that automatically previewing routes several hundred miles away in Home is daft.

I’d like to see my routes on the routes view with a ‘My Routes’ filter option.

It resets the route length filter to max currently when you change the activity filter which is a nuisance.

It also auto-zooms the map to include the entire route when you select one which then litters the map with 10s more route icons you don’t want to see. Needs an auto-refresh toggle or something.

Overlays are removed which is annoying as well.

Had to delete the app

–

TRT1968

–

2024-03-04

Version 5.0.3

Suddenly started a flurry of e flurry of notifications. Got three marketing ones in 10 minutes followed by around 60 about downloading offline maps over and over again. Ate through my data allowance. The trouble is that once a. App is deleted, you never know if the develop has updated to fix the bugs. Anyway, this major revision is so problematic they need to roll back until it's fixed and then tell people using their email.

Shambolic

–

Linds0101

–

2024-03-03

Version 5.0.3

With the stroke of a button press (committing this latest release) this has gone from being a wonderful example of how to get apps almost perfect to, well, God knows what. Most people, I should imagine, pay to use this app to navigate on walks, most likely following a downloaded route. It is virtually impossible to use for this purpose. What previously gave you a clear indication of route, is now an absolute mess, with the route virtually impossible to follow. Thank goodness my wife has not updated this app. I’m amazed that someone/some people, tested this and said, yup, what an improvement, let’s release it. Rubbish

Big price increase

–

tryin it on

–

2024-03-03

Version 5.0.3

Massive price increase this year cancelling my subscription.

Bad redesign

–

Lemon_ade2023

–

2024-03-02

Version 5.0.3

I used to buy maps and download on the os map app, to use out and about whilst in Areas with no WiFi . This redesign is confusing and seems to have obliterated all the simple effective basics! I want a map that can use on phone when needs be, monthly subscriptions don’t work because I will go through flurries of lots of map needs and then months do nothing …

If it ain’t broke hey

What has gone wrong with this update?

–

Moltbe41

–

2024-03-02

Version 5.0.3

New update (March 2024) is incredibly laggy and won’t rotate into landscape mode on phones and tablets. Was the update not properly tested? If OS paid an external developer they should be highly critical (and demand money back)!

When will this ever work!

–

CyclingMonk

–

2024-03-01

Version 5.0.3

“You are off line, failed to load layer“

Then a ridiculously long pause before loading a map.

When will you ever fix this? It’s been like this and everyone else I know who uses it for ages and ages.

Please stop developing the app and start fixing the bugs that it has persistently had.

I’m messaged the developer about this in the past - totally ignored.

No longer the app it used to be

–

Topazmountain

–

2024-03-01

Version 5.0.3

I’ve used this app since it was launched. I’ve advocated it as the best to dozens of people. The new update to the app has ruined it for me. It appears that OS wants to compete with Strava, as the only way that you can view a route that you’ve created is to use the ‘follow route’ function.

I don’t want this. I don’t want to record the route. I don’t want to drain my phone’s battery out on the hills. I want an OS map on my phone.

Give back the functionality that you have had for years!

Good maps, but do not work offline :(

–

Alex Turkin

–

2024-03-01

Version 5.0.2

My favourite app for hiking!

However recently I had really awful experience with it. I download some map around track to be available offline so I thought I am prepared! When I was at the start, I discover black screen instead of a map and "no connection, can't load map layer" message. Not even map, the track itself wasn't shown which just made it useless! Please fix it - office maps are really crucial part of experience!🙏🙏

Very buggy

–

jamesingham

–

2024-02-29

Version 5.0.2

2024-02: attempted to use the app whilst on a hike today. I had no 4G signal and the app decided it was a good time to log me out. I then resorted to using TheMapFinder app and what do you know, it worked flawlessly. Please bring it back...

2023-08: tried to use this app again, and the tile where I currently am is missing and every other tile around it showing. You could not make this up! I'm still using TheMapFinder instead and that works fine - I just wish I could purchase tiles on it still! Have you looked at fixing this buggy mess of an app yet?

2023 edit: app still doesn't work properly and I still use TheMapFinder instead, which always works first time. Such a shame this app was ruined by corp greed. I'm not sure why my last review was removed, but this app is so buggy. I once again went out today and all my maps just disappeared on the app. It just showed a purple blob over the UK. Where I was had no signal so I ended up using the old app which fortunately had this region on and downloaded. I wish you just dropped the subscription nonsense and focused on making your app work offline!

Edit: thanks for the response but I feel like this offline maps issue has reoccurred every time I’ve used this app for the last few years now. Looking at other reviews it’s clear it’s been a major issue for at least 3-4 years! I literally always return to TheMapFinder because this app just doesn’t work. You should seriously consider making sure TheMapFinder is updated just as a backup. I still can’t work out why you stopped selling map tiles on that app. If it doesn’t open when iOS 16 is released I think I will just give up trying!

Edit: I have just update the app and all my maps have disappeared again 🤦🏻‍♂️

Definitely NOT FREE

–

TrevsNan

–

2024-02-29

Version 5.0.2

Advertised on IG for 'download free maps' with 'in app purchases. That's not true - The kicker is, that's only during your 7 day free trial. Then subscription only - no in app purchase, just a subscription.

No AR?

–

B.racks

–

2024-02-28

Version 5.0.2

I’ve had this app for many years. This latest update is just overwhelming with all the information on the home page . I’ve also simply lost the AR facility where I used to enjoy pointing the camera into the distance and identify the peaks. It’s just gone! Other than this it’s been great.

What a mess

–

Eddie Stonelighthouse

–

2024-02-28

Version 5.0.2

The former OS map was just about perfect for me, but the latest is just horrible. Counter-intuitive, hard to find features. Unnecessarily complicated. Looks like the developers have changed things just because they can. Please roll it back

Clunky to use since the update

–

nigelrossw

–

2024-02-26

Version 5.0.2

Crowded, counter intuitive, ‘bitty’ to set routes. Neither did it allow me to access my downloaded route on my first walk since the update. Please return to the old user friendly version, instead of this update, which seems to have been written for teckies.

Latest update ruined it for me

–

RMGBess

–

2024-02-26

Version 5.0.2

Yes it looks lovely. However the overlays have gone! It’s really not that useful to me anymore.

Hate the latest release

–

Mike2993

–

2024-02-26

Version 5.0.2

The new user interface is really poor and not easy to navigate. Really, really annoying is that I can only see the past 6 months’ activities!

Update over-complicated but lacks functions

–

ruby2you

–

2024-02-25

Version 5.0.2

The OS app has become massively over complicated with the update, yet simple functions are hard to find, eg if I want to remove a route download to save phone space I now have to go into each route rather than seeing the info in the list. Just one of a number of annoyances on an app I use constantly and have done for years.

Upgrade

–

KHHGdog

–

2024-02-24

Version 5.0.2

The upgrade is awful, the parts of the app most used are now difficult to find. The view of saved routes is so large that it makes searching them onerous.

A useful upgrade would have been to be able to sort saved routes into folders.

I had hoped for better, I’m now searching for an alternative.

Update is a big step backwards

–

UKDW24

–

2024-02-24

Version 5.0.2

Used to be a great app but the latest update makes it harder to use and, as someone else has found, downloaded maps for offline use no longer work. Really frustrating for areas with no signal - OS please fix this asap, we don’t want to have to carry paper maps everywhere!

Why show me routes on my Home Screen nowhere near me

–

BobinBourne

–

2024-02-24

Version 5.0.2

The new OS Maps version has a nasty Home config where it shows popular routes that are miles away, e.g. Snowdonia and South Downs. Where on earth is the setting to toggle this off! It’s fine just showing those near me. Grrrrr

Downloadable?

–

MusicalBarry

–

2024-02-23

Version 5.0.2

I may be missing something (despite the latest update) in that a downloadable paper map implies (to me) that it is stored on the device and available offline (when walking in a remote area)? But it doesn’t seem to be accessible even though the status says downloaded.

Ordnance survey map ap

–

Alburyrobbo

–

2024-02-21

Version 5.0.2

Great value for money. I use it every day .

Great - but why the 11.5% price hike

–

Longtig

–

2024-02-20

Version 5.0.2

Really like the app - but only use it once in a blue moon & so the big hike in cost has caused me to review.

What is the justification for the increase???

OSMaps on line very helpful

–

LongDistanceNut

–

2024-02-20

Version 5.0.2

I’m planning to walk and cycle between Iona and Lindisfarne. Seeing the route on the 3D fly-through from start to finish is fantastic for getting an idea of the distance and the terrain.

Change for the worse

–

Bob is already taken.

–

2024-02-20

Version 5.0.2

Another useful app ruined by busyworking developers moving things around gratuitously, adding pointless “social” features (like recommending popular routes 200 miles away), and baffling reorganisation (My Routes aren’t in “Routes” any more: they’re in “Saved”, which I’m sure makes sense to someone somewhere).

Perhaps they could focus on useful things like not having to wait around half a minute for maps to load?

Missing benchmarks

–

nickname - JRG

–

2024-02-19

Version 5.0.2

Great app, super useful, but it’s a real pity it doesn’t include benchmarks and other “places”

Good but

–

Generally happy..

–

2024-02-19

Version 5.0.2

A nice update but

- I can’t read the full route description for recommended routes - nothing opens when I tap ‘read more’

- once I’ve found a list of routes and select one to look at, I can’t unselect it. It sits as a bar at the bottom of the screen and can only go back to the list of search results by re-searching and selecting another route to get rid of the previous one. It just uses up screen space when you’re panning around looking at routes using the pins on the map.

- not sure why I get community routes suggested from the Chilterns when I live in Scotland - I’d like to turn this feature off to be honest, if the suggestion cannot be made more local.

Fantastic

–

muddyboots73

–

2024-02-17

Version 5.0.2

Worth every penny x

Review

–

Gofmodipod

–

2024-02-17

Version 5.0.2

What can you say about OS maps.It just keeps getting better and better.Wouldnt be without it.

Paper maps are back

–

Gwyn Thomas

–

2024-02-15

Version 5.0.2

Thank you

Good but can’t mix miles_distance/metres _height

–

Oooklout

–

2024-02-13

Version 5.0.1

Like the new 2024 release!

Great app for OS maps. Haven’t used live tracking yet.

Request: Would like to use metres for height (as per OS contour lines) with miles for distance.

Who cares about other routes

–

huwbertz

–

2024-02-12

Version 5.0.1

I really couldn’t care less about other people’s routes from the bus stop to the local park.

Would would be useful, is the ability, on the routes tab, to turn off everyone else’s and turn on my own saved/created routes, because you know, this is os maps, not a community guide.

Breach of Consumer Rights Act

–

AndySouthWestLondon

–

2024-02-12

Version 5.0.1

The free downloadable paper maps are now inaccessible without a premium subscription. Such an obvious breach of the Consumer Rights Act.

AR Viewer?

–

Reidy1986

–

2024-02-11

Version 5.0.1

Where is the AR Viewer on this new OS update I can’t seem to find it anywhere?

Offline maps are unreliable

–

IWishToRemainAnonymous

–

2024-02-10

Version 5.0.1

Overall, the app is great. Routes sync from my PC, which is really useful. The ability to print custom maps and use any map in the country makes the subscription worth every penny. But! for a while now, the offline maps feature has been temperamental, at best. Half the time, they don’t load at all. They seem to load only if I have signal, which completely defeats the point. I have offline paper maps that only show half the area the actual map shows. Friends have had the same problem, so it seems to be systemic. I’ve gone through all the delete/reinstall steps, and even changed the app storage settings at the suggestion of support. I just can’t count on them when it matters. I hoped the new version would improve things, but sadly not. Hence, only 3 stars for now.

Trusty tool

–

Downtablesub

–

2024-02-10

Version 5.0.1

Easy to use, accurate. What more do you need.

Can’t Export Any More

–

flyingmike66

–

2024-02-10

Version 5.0.1

I’ve paid for the premium maps account, but since the last update I’m no longer able to export my routes to my cycle computer. Why?

Missing Features

–

AndySharp

–

2024-02-10

Version 5.0.1

All though the update is ok , where did the peak finder feature go .

Cannot use my purchased maps on app

–

PT1009

–

2024-02-10

Version 5.0.1

I originally used this app to see my purchased maps on the app. This worked extremely well and it influenced me to buy more maps. I now find I cannot use the maps without paying a monthly subscription. I do not use the app enough to justify this payment. Very disappointed!!

MR Nick

–

Parcel nick

–

2024-02-10

Version 5.0.1

I’ve been using this app for a few years and it is great to finding routes and fining my location even offline if you have a subscription or have downloaded paper maps, the only downside is the ability to drop or save a pin which to me is a must have function

No longer free paper maps

–

ChuckstarUK

–

2024-02-09

Version 5.0.1

Really disappointed that the free downloadable maps when you purchase a paper map is now gated behind the pay to use Premium feature. Cheated.

Very good update!

–

Boomjunkie

–

2024-02-09

Version 5.0.0

Love this app! Only wish one thing, improve the compatibility with the Apple Watch! It’s a big flaw when you can’t add a shortcut to the OS map app to an Apple Watch face, that should be an easy & simple choice to do. Please, more seamless integration with the Apple Watch so I don’t have to keep getting my phone out of my pocket in the middle of an activity. Also, how about integration with Bosch motor Kiox 300 displays on E-bikes? Food for thought…

Major update

–

Flettymo

–

2024-02-09

Version 5.0.0

As a premium subscriber where has the ability to ‘export a gpx’ file gone. Press the button and nothing happens! Am I missing something?

Otherwise a nice update, especially new ability to reverse a route.

Incredible to have every is map

–

Nintendono

–

2024-02-06

Version 4.6.5

Couldn’t recommend this app more.

Profit before people

–

Gypsykirk

–

2024-02-06

Version 4.6.5

Having used this app for many years now, I was told I was going to benefit from a reduced renewal price as prices were going up, but it wouldn’t affect me. Great! I tried to change my payment method online but couldn’t as I was also in the process of changing bank accounts. They tried to take payment from my old card whilst the switch was taking place. After contacting them to explain my situation and what happened I was told I’d need to pay full price. Pretty poor really.

In a word, dangerous.

–

1antlp

–

2024-02-04

Version 4.6.5

I tried to use this app today for the first time and it just does not work offline. Luckily I opted to do a test walk from my home so I could see how it faired prior to a planned excursion up some more remote fells next week and I’m glad that I did, because it failed miserably.

To go with a premium subscription I’ve also bought some new paper maps and downloaded them to my phone to use offline. I’d followed the recommended advice and checked that the download had worked by putting my phone in flight mode and everything seemed ok. However, once I was outside it became apparent that the map coverage was incomplete. Within the first mile of the walk the topo map just went blank when zoomed in to a useable size and would only come back again when zoomed out to a scale which showed approx 10 miles across my phone screen which is obviously useless for hiking. The standard view faired a bit better and did actually allow me to zoom in enough to see footpaths but this too would not allow me to see extra details (eg walls) which made navigation almost impossible. The only reason I had any clue as to which direction to walk in was that I could see my planned route so I could follow the line on the blank map page but this required near constant checking on my phone and my phone battery plummeted 60% in less than 90 minutes.

Having cut short my walk and returned home it’s apparent that some areas of the offline map are fine but others aren’t so it’s Russian roulette as to whether you’ll be able to navigate or not.

Peak Way Walk

–

Space jam sandwiches

–

2024-02-03

Version 4.6.5

Love this app, paired with a paper map it’s all you’ll ever need!

Awful route selection

–

Annoyed from Epsom

–

2024-02-02

Version 4.6.5

Unfortunately as a mountain biker, this app is almost useless as it doesn’t plot any meaningful suggested routes. The alternatives it comes up are virtually all on road rather than using trails that appear on the map and are public rights of way. This doesn’t provide anything that you can’t get from the standard (free) mapping apps

Great app on iPhone, but could be improved on Apple Watch.

–

mattmcoe

–

2024-02-01

Version 4.6.5

This app works amazingly well on a phone, but there is no facility to view your route or the map on an Apple Watch. This functionality would make an already great app more versatile than its competitors and more useful when trail running etc…

Two additional features please

–

ScarletLancer

–

2023-09-19

I really like this app and use it to track my walks and runs. There are two additional features that would be awesome: 1. Off Track Alert. Currently there is a visual “you are off track” alert on the map. However, I typically have my phone in a pocket while I am moving. Could you add a feature that makes this an audible alert with vibrate option? Even better would be to allow the user to define how many meters off track they are before the alert is triggered. 2. Extend the Pointer. The red direction pointer is tiny. Could you extend a line from the pointer to the edge of the screen to show direction? It would act like the edge of the compass when using a proper map and compass.

Needs ‘prevent autolock’ option

–

DTPMTB

–

2023-09-17

I use this app via web, ipad and iphone. I have no issues moving between them. Maps download quickly and plotting routes is pretty straight forwards. Snap-to-route works pretty well though isn’t always accurate to the path, best prepared via a pc or laptop for ease of visibility. Downloading of maps for routes i’ve prepared is handy for inevitable poor signal areas. But in use, invariably have to use iphone, unlike every other nav app, when actually navigating/ following the route, the app insists on closing!! Infuriating as it causes repeated stops to reopen and unlock device which is a pain in the bike causing unnecessary stop-starts. So I want a ‘prevent auto-lock’ button to keep the app alive as I require. Modern phone batteries/ usb power/ powerbanks solutions mean that battery life is less of a concern, so give the customer the choice how to manage it please asap, this is an easy fix.

Also, I want the ability to ‘hide’ certain features from view. Eg, A-roads, or footpaths, or private woodland etc, you get the idea. British maps can be cluttered so being able to ease viewing by hiding a lot of the background ‘noise’ would be very useful indeed.

Overall, a great app, much development potential

Best of a bad bunch

–

MrColinWilson

–

2023-09-08

Like others I came to this app after being royally shafted by Viewranger. I have also tried out most of the competition some on a trial basis and a full year with Memory map.

OS maps IOS app is in general nice to use with a couple of annoying exceptions:

*Map load time from opening is around 30-45 seconds which doesn’t sound much but I find it infuriating. For clarity I’m not talking connectivity issues, this happens in my house with the area map downloaded and a 300MBPS internet connection.

*The inability to easily download large map areas to my device. I much prefer memory maps ability to download entire regions from a map menu so I don’t have to ensure I have enough tiles to cover an area before I visit as most of the places I go have little or no mobile connection, please consider a similar function.

The perfect companion

–

98Lyd

–

2023-08-14

This app is reliable, reassuring and accurate. It’s been the perfect navigator whilst walking long distance through-hikes and absolutely excellent in planning them. The snap to map feature is fantastic.

I would love a feature that allows you split up a path into individual segments that can be viewed individually - something that would make it easier to split up one long through-hike path into day sections. I’d like this so that I could see a zoomed in altitude graph for the section I’m currently walking. It would only save some time when planning.

It would absolutely ace if one day a new edition of OS Maps were released - a new Explorer range more accurate and more zoomed in…. I’m looking forward to that day!

Very very impressed

–

Cnc Ne

–

2023-08-05

Have to say I have never been a fan of relying on electronic devices when out in the field and have always, always ensured I have a paper map wherever I go. I have however, finally succumbed to the online subscription for ordinance survey and have got to say, it is a game changer for planning and prepping for prospective routes whether hiking or trail riding. I love the fact that I can sit at home and plot out a route, save it to my device and then cross reference it with a paper map when out in the field. So much easier than having to map out the area on a paper map. I still use both, but being able to plan ahead and view and zoom in to my location at a glance, makes it so much easier when out in the field. Brilliant, brilliant resource.

Thank you, ordinance survey 👍🏻

One feature missing

–

PaulG456

–

2023-06-19

A brilliant app but the handiest feature, which Viewranger used to have before they sold out, was snap to path when creating routes. Having it available only in National Parks when in Topo layer view just doesn’t make sense to me. You can use it in standard layer view but then you can’t see the OS maps features you need to see without toggling between views constantly. Sounds like a commercial issue after speaking to the helpful ladies on live chat. Fingers crossed that one day it’ll be available on the whole of the Topo map layer! After response: Thanks for the response OS. Pleased to hear it’s being worked on.

**UPDATE** Thank you OS Maps for adding snap to path for the whole of GB. Now it’s a cracking app! Five stars

A must have for anyone who loves the outdoors and/or maps (U.K.)

–

LawyerGeoff

–

2023-06-08

This is the first time I have ever written a review on App Store. Given the 5 star rating, that alone tells you how much I value this app. I use it pretty much daily. Every time I go for a proper walk I record the activity to see how far I have gone and where, as well as the amount I have gone uphill and down. I use frequently on walks I am not so familiar with or which are new to me, whether in the deepest countryside or the middle of London. When I am not out walking I am still often on this app exploring the map and planning my next escape to the wild. It brings you the joy of every single OS paper map but via an app which you can have with you at all times. Plus it’s got a ton of features (such as recording an activity, 3D rendering, satellite and so on) which are not possible with a paper map. Perhaps best of all, the maps stay absolutely true to the likeness of the paper OS maps in terms of colours, font, symbols, the maps on this app are the same as the paper maps. An absolute must for all outdoorsy types and map lovers.

Walking/Hiking

–

1Douras2

–

2023-06-04

First let me say I am no computer wiz, I rely on my 11 year granddaughter for all iPhone and iPad downloads, updates, technical issues and user guide. Downloaded the OS digital maps ‘free’ version to see if suitable before buying premium version. I am not going to ask granddaughter for help just yet because this can’t be that difficult but was trying to plan a walking route from Shepton Mallet Somerset to Wells Somerset using public pathways instead of the main roads and I can’t seem to get a suitable response from the app. in fact it just keeps giving ‘ as the crow flies ‘ type route. Tried other destinations and same thing happens. Does it not provide a suggested best walking/ hiking route using public paths across fields etc. What am I doing wrong.

Also, I am assuming you can ‘zoom’ in on maps to help locate gates and stiles etc but they can be difficult to locate.

Slowly getting better, but….

–

Not_a_sausage

–

2022-10-07

This app has slowly improved in terms of functionality and reliability, but in my opinion is still not reliable enough to depend on in the hills.

The latest version seems to have a problem with auto zoom between 1:50k and 1:25k premium mapping, with it needing a lot of pinch-zooming in and out before it will switch scales automatically.

Since the much-lauded “upgrade” to the latest mapbox version there is now also a really annoying mapbox logo permanently plasterer over the bottom left corner of the screen. This is visually distracting, and obscures the very mapping that users are trying to see.

As an experienced user of OS mapping for many years, I also do not need (or want) a map scale permanently displayed on screen; it’s completely unnecessary (people who know how to use OS maps can always judge the scale by simply looking at the size of the blue grid squares). Again, it’s just distracting clutter on-screen.

‘Offline’ maps don’t open when offline

–

Oyster Greying Ketchup Frogskins

–

2022-08-30

I’ve had this app for years but still find myself apologising for it. When the app is open and you’re actually looking at a map there is nothing better. However, there are layers of clunkiness, some serious. The most significant problem is that - despite ostensibly having access to offline maps and even when you’ve downloaded the maps at home - once you’re out in the field with no signal and open the app and try and open one of these ‘offline’ maps they still say that they have to be downloaded so are inaccessible just when you need them. One also shouldn’t have to open each individual offline map; if you’ve purchased and downloaded them they should simply open when you’re there rather than your being told that you may incur charges when you’re away from your wifi. Therefore I’ve given the app 3 stars, splitting the difference between the 5 for when you’re looking at a map and the 1 for when you’re trying to access it.

Almost perfect

–

Adee_G

–

2022-08-13

I’m a cyclist, mainly into my off road Mountain biking. Used to use the app ViewRanger until they got bought out and the app got replaced. Thought I’d try the paid for version of the OS maps, after all can’t go wrong with the people that actually create the detailed maps. I must have wasted hours trying to find a replacement for ViewRanger, I can say without doubt this exceeds it. Can create routes based on full OS maps, save them as either public or private and also export them to GPX for import onto my Garmin explorer. The only frustration I have isn’t with the app but with others that have uploaded routes and categorised them as Off-Road when they’re actually on-road. I search for mtb/gravel routes in an area and half results returned are actually on road! Maybe some road cyclists coincided B roads as off-road! Lol. I normally stay clear of subscription apps, happily pay for this one considering a paper OS of just a small area is £10. This covers whole country for less than £30 a year!

Update: Have an Apple Watch? Unfortunately the OS app for the watch doesn’t offer much. However, download WorkOutdoors, import the OS exported gpx file then follow the map on your watch!

Great maps but hopeless user experience

–

TW1250

–

2022-07-30

Maps are great, no doubt about it.

However the app has so many bugs, to the extent it has limited my ability to use it. That said - a few challenges I’ve faced:

1. Often takes up to 2 minutes to load the map when opening the app (even when connected to Wi-Fi)

2. Offline maps are limited to small areas. You therefore need to download several separate maps, which is time consuming.

3. If you pause when downloading an offline map, it loses all progress when you resume. So you start from 0% even if it’s 80% complete!

4. When you later try to access the downloaded maps, spends a long time checking that they have actually downloaded before the map loads.

5. As far as I can tell, the app doesn’t have logic to recognise when offline maps are adjacent. Instead it treats each offline map as individual, asking you to select one, which means that when you need to cross from one to another, you again face the long wait for it to determine whether the map loads.

That’s as much as I can say for now, as performance issues have hindered me making much use of the app. I would add that generally navigating the functionality could be clearer too. It’s a shame the app is so clumsy and slow because it’s such a missed opportunity for some great maps. Hopefully feedback leads to improvements being made.

Note - I’m using a current iPhone model with no performance issues (works fine with other apps).

Maps take two minutes to appear

–

M***

–

2022-06-04

I have downloaded the maps I have bought, so they ought to appear as soon as I open the app, as they still do in the now unsupported MapFinder app. I am not sure how it is possible to go downhill from an app, rather than build on it but the maps in this app take two minutes to appear. I have contacted support and nothing has been done, even though I can see from other reviews that this problem has been ongoing for years. It isn’t reasonable to expect people to wait two minutes for the (already downloaded) maps to load up every time they want to refer to them. I can still use the MapFinder app and have paper maps. However, this app is currently verging on unusable in practice. Update: the downloaded maps do load up straight away if I turn wifi off. That’s hardly ideal and I can’t imagine why this has not been fixed for years, so I’m only bumping the rating up from one star to two stars.

Ever increasing unreliability

–

Tortoiseshellmittens

–

2022-04-06

I’ve used this app for the last 11 months as a premium subscriber having subscribed through the website and over this time the app has become less usable at each step and now has become completely useless for my needs. After a previous update hid the buttons for centering your location and choosing map types behind the panel that displays the elevation profile of your walk while navigating I decided to reinstall the app to see if this would fix the issue. I’ve got no idea if this fixed this issue because after clicking download map on my phone on one of my existing routes instead it deleted every single route I had previously painstakingly entered off the app and the website, so all gone. I tried reinstalling the app again and have uploaded a gpx to the website to try again but as soon as I click download map on the app it deletes every route. Astonishingly poor software lets down good maps and reliable gps positioning.

Good but keeps forgetting which route

–

Lost Legate

–

2022-02-14

I have always loved OS maps, and this is a great way to have them in my pocket. I create walking routes at home on my laptop (on the OS website) and download the route and map to my phone so I can switch to airplane mode to preserve battery life - vital for a long day out. The route-following is good, and the “distance remaining” number becomes very reassuring with tired legs and the sun going down. BUT:

Bug 1: it sometimes gets into a mode in which, whenever I get it out of my pocket to check the route, it has forgotten which route I am following. It’s as if the app has reset. The route and map tiles are still in the app, so I can click through to it without leaving airplane mode, but it takes time (and battery!) to get back to the route display (and that ‘distance remaining’ number!).

Bug 2: the ‘distance remaining’ number sometimes drifts upwards, by as much as 200 metres, despite me covering ground towards my destination. Disheartening!

Good but important defect

–

Ralph Kinnear

–

2021-11-09

I like this app and appreciate the fair subscription and the access that gives me, which is great for route planning, and fairly good for route recording too. The big fault at the moment is despite offering offline maps and the means to save them this does not work well in the field - precisely at the moment you need it the app persists on trying to show you a live network version often pixelated and forcing you to wait while it downloads a map at the scale of the area - it seems to ignore the fact that you have bought an os map and downloaded an offline version to the device, which of course you expect to load first - I can’t find a way to tell it to prioritise downloaded maps but anyway this should be the default behaviour. Once you have waited and sorted all that out (often takes 5 mins) it will be fine until you change masts or network or - god forbid - try to use another app on the same device - so OS needs to sort out how it works in the iOS ecosystem: if you have downloaded a map there needs to be a way to fix it to stick with that. Also export and imports options are rubbish at the moment and limit usefulness as you cannot fine tune anything. User friendliness gone mad (by concealing any possible control or variation).

Works very well BUT……

–

DavidElectro

–

2021-08-10

I use OS maps as a planning tool for my bikepacking adventures alongside other applications to survey terrain and to identify any potentially tougher areas of navigation, as I also carry OS Landranger and Explorer maps I can load the same mapping onto my phone with the purchase however this for me is where the app falls down, when I highlight an area I get a 10 fig grid ref plus N/Eastings which is great but no elevation information which when adding waypoints into my GPS I need to then go back to the map and count contours, (I know I could use Garmin basecamp but I only have IOS mobile devices which are not compatible). A good planning tool but sometimes when navigationally challenged elevation in meters can really assist in pinpointing your location.

After a dev response elevation data, I am very pleased to hear is on the cards.

Learn to use the app

–

60DB

–

2021-06-30

I have been using this app, as have many family members, for years. I have read most of the other reviews and without exception the things that people write negatively about I cannot replicate. I do wonder if many are too quick to write without first trying to learn how to use the app correctly and for the function it is designed for. OS are recognised as the best mapping company in the world and rightly so. Many other countries have Learnt their craft from OS. There will always be limitations as to what you can expect from a map on 3 x 5 inch phone and the subscription - for a complete set of maps of the UK, is a give away. Someone needs to write this and balance some of the ridiculous negatively written here.

From great hope to deep disappointment

–

RealBollocks

–

2021-06-24

I’m so very disappointed by this app.

Previously I used the “OS Map Finder” app. It worked smoothly and reliably, the odd bug, but most importantly your offline maps were there when you needed them and worked well with The phone GPS.

OS Map Finder has since been closed with everything being directed to this newer OS Maps app. This does not carry any of the old reliability of the old app. The interface looks better but this is only skin deep and does not move across the the functionality.

I’ve paid in advance for a year (whilst I miss the option of being able to purchase offline maps for life I can see this as a more sustainable financial model). Simply, you can’t rely on this map to work when you need it.

Personally I use the app on walks and on the handlebars of my bike when riding cross country. Most of the time when loading up a route I’m faced with a black screen. When losing a pre recorded route, I get a black screen, with the route shown in red. All my previously downloaded routes simply show as “calculating download progress”.

Initially I thought this may have been a new app where they were ironing out the bugs. But given they discontinued something that worked and replaced it with a more expensive model that doesn’t work it makes me rather cynical.

Personally I’m going to be looking for another offline map provider with a working app and then I’ll be cancelling my subscription.

Hard to beat the OS Maps

–

Arkwrite

–

2021-06-15

It’s a great value package which I find hard to better, mainly because of the wonderful OS maps. The routes are not flashy in presentation but there seems to be plenty of them.

I get irritated that they just appear as pins on the map and that you have to click each one to determine where they take you. Not too bad if there’s just one in a particular area but if you get groups of routes all starting at the same place. (As in the lakes for instance) it’s a job sorting through them and comparing the ones you fancy.. Would be best if, when you clicked on a pin, the route appeared and stated visible until you clicked that pin again. So for instance, if you had two or three routes you were considering you could see them all simultaneously switching them off if they were deemed unfavorable and switching other ones in to compare. Hope the developers can facilitate this.

Apple Watch in future?

–

_LV426

–

2021-04-06

Love using this app for weekend walks, the ability to scout for trails others have saved and save offline maps is great and being able to log in across multiple devices makes planning that extra bit simpler. I noticed in the recent update the OS layer now let’s you skew the view in 3D making orienteering even better. There’s been a few instances I’ve been notified I’m off-course when I’m not but feel this could be related to phone signal dipping out.

As a paying subscriber I would love if a future version of the app could also incorporate the Apple Watch for directions to sticking on course, alerts when off course, tracking and notifying of distance and time to next waypoint, elapsed time, remaining time... etc. all useful features similar to GPS watches on the market that the Apple Watch can provide!

Great but bug prone

–

Just Tubs

–

2021-03-15

By far the best way to plan/record/follow routes for walking, cycling, running and more. The annual subscription is a fair price for what you get. Even if I’m walking locally on a route I know it’s still great to have open as it can open your eyes to other routes you can take and of course it records your activity. My only issues are as follows. The app can be buggy, particularly with log ins and subscription management. I wish they had a Apple Watch app so you could record your activity if local without having to lug your phone with you. For me the biggest annoyance is since they updated the app, if I record a route purely to add it to ‘My Activities’ you used to be able to not save the route at the end but still save your activity. This is no longer the case. You either have to save both or none. Well if it’s a route i do regularly, I don’t want to keep storing the same route every time I do it but do want to save the activity. Yes I could follow the existing stored route and then save that I completed it today, but I have a habit of doing random changes on my walks like retracing steps if I notice an animal or bird and I want to store all that as I like to reflect on my week, month, yearly totals to see if I’m improving in speed and distance. Even with these minor gripes it’s still by far the best outdoors mapping app out there. Team with what three words and hopefully you’ll never get lost again.

Great potential, but hampered by a number of issues

–

Smatticus

–

2021-03-10

This is a great alternative to carrying around maps when walking or cycling. Or it would be, we’re it not for a number of issues which similar free apps do not have. Firstly, it would useful if you could tap on a part of the route and it showed corresponding distance from start/to end and elevation, but this does not seem to be available. Secondly, moving from map view to cross section view and back again is very clunky, often requiring that you cancel and reload the route in order to go back to map view. Third, the app has an irritating habit of transitioning from top-down to “3D” view while trying to zoom in/scroll across, with no obvious way to get out of this view other than restarting the app. Given the price for an OS subscription required to access many route/map features, this is highly disappointing.

Slow and offline map what’s the point!

–

Slam13867

–

2021-01-17

I subscribed in December and I like the web page but just recently this app is turned in to a slow mess. I have. 60mps connection and it doesn’t load maps and seems to take ages before it shows anything or updates. Offline maps also seems to take an ages to show. The point of an offline map is surely so it renders quickly. No it just sits there not doing anything and after a good while of frustration of either a white screen or half a zoomed out map before showing you the actual map. I’m using an iPhone 11 so speed of the phone isn’t the issue. The vr part asks for a flat surface to display. Good luck getting that working . My house is covered in “ flat surfaces” and it has only worked once when I have tried it. Regretting my subscription as the app is worthless, if it’s not fast enough to render then how can you use it while moving?

Feature requests for a great app

–

newtactivist

–

2020-11-09

This app has almost made £600 of GPS kit I’d purchased redundant. Slightly depressing! The quick route plotting takes all the faff out of GPX creation on clunky devices. Brilliant. I have a couple of feature requests. 1) Trail up navigation. The fixed north orientation is fine but it would be so much better to be able to spin the map in the direction you are travelling. 2) List view of user created routes with the ability to sort by distance or rating. When searching for user created routes it’s quite a slow job clicking through them as you have to keep refreshing the map to get back to the routes available. It would be good if the walks were listed on the left (like it is for your own routes) and you could quickly click through them and sort. Thanks for a great app. Mark

Latest version seems to be a step backwards!

–

SKDJ100

–

2020-10-12

I’ve been a premium user for a couple months now and I was very impressed initially. However the latest version has a couple of major issues. Firstly, its very slow to load initially, you can wait several minutes, even with a very fast internet connection, for maps to load and zoom. It’s then still slow as you try to move around for another couple of minutes before settling down. Is the device checking the subscription is valid? If so this process needs to be much faster.

The other issue is with downloaded maps, they did appear instantly, but in the new version it takes several minutes for them to appear, again I suspect the device, which displays a revolving circle throughout this process, is checking the subscription is valid. However even when you don’t have an internet connection the maps still take 1.5 to 2 minutes to appear. The app often crashes during the above processes.

These are annoying issues which have only just appeared. Without them I would awarding the app stars.

OS maps at your fingertips

–

romnarz

–

2020-09-21

I have always dreamed of having every map in the UK - now a can for a small subscription year. How often has a walk straddled two maps ? Problem solved - print your own or just have them on your smart phone . Route planes can be saved and are easy to edit - keeps a track of total distance height gain and estimated time when walking ,cycling or running . Edits can be done on a big PC screen and then saved to your smart phone . maps can be printed easily and scales easily changed

Printing lager areas can be spread over several sheets of paper and the software works it all out neatly . Only caution is that if area has poor mobile reception it’s worth remembering to download the area before venturing out . When using the app there is a nice function that enables a compass bearing to appear to enable the map on your phone to be orientated

Takes the stress out of walks and rides

–

Twiddler64

–

2020-09-09

Since writing this I’ve had what I hope is just a technical problem. All the routes I had planned, saved and shared (around 20) have just disappeared from my app. I’m not happy and tried, unsuccessfully to use the help Chat on this site. So I’ve knocked a couple of stars off till I get this solved.

Like most walkers and cyclists I’ve used OS maps for years, plus I love looking at maps to plan rides and walks. Historically I’ve been wary of technology having lived in an around the Pennine chain for most of my life with poor signals etc. And there’s a universal law of physics that sometimes batteries fail or go flat.

However I needed to upgrade my local maps and bought the waterproof version. This lets you access the app, download the map and plan routes. I love it. I’m planning new routes and been using the app to follow them on my walks. It allows me to know how far I’m planning to walk or cycle - and like today - it flagged up when I went off route while out walking. As far as I can tell so far, it doesn’t drain my iPhone battery - but my maps in my bag anyway!

Like a lot of map apps it’s pushing me into monthly subscriptions to get all the benefits - annoying- but I don’t need that. It meets my needs.

Great App but please make ROW clearer!

–

alistairkirk92

–

2020-09-06

To date I’ve not paid for the full UK wide subscription so only have access to Explorer maps where I have bought the paper map (never leave home with a paper map to backup the online version). As a result I frequently have to fall back on the free Standard Map. In general this is excellent, loads quickly and is clear and easy to use as you’d expect from Ordnance Survey with one exception... Rights of Way. “Paths” are shown as a dotted line but disappear when you zoom out and Bridlepaths or Byways are frequently missing or where they are shown (as a track) it’s not clear that any right of access exists. Why can’t they be shown in a similar way to the Landranger and Explorer maps? Or is the plan that we should cough up for an annual licence which seems massively unfair when OS don’t own this data (It’s actually managed by the various County Councils or Unitary Authorities). Should be an easy fix to drop this layer in so come on OS, sort it out!

Not great

–

Bo 1975

–

2020-08-15

Not terribly impressed. The app downloads a very small section of map at a time (3-4 squares). When you’re out somewhere nice, there’s often little or no 4g signal, so you can’t see where you are. Why can’t it download a whole map as a pdf or something and just cache it? You don’t travel that far in a day.

The app seems very data-hungry too. I used it for a couple of days cycle touring and it burned through my whole months mobile data... I’ll just add another £20 to my phone... Now the App is on the fritz. I have an auto renewal subscription that runs out in a month. The app tells me I have no subscription! Now I’ll have to spend days chasing them to find out what’s going on. I’ve read that the customer service is very bad. Oh joy.

Indispensable

–

Neckam

–

2020-08-09

For the first few years that I lived in the UK, I was aware of Ordnance Survey Maps but thought they were just old-fashioned versions of Apple or Google Maps. Then I tried using this app to find a route getting us to Wakehurst Place (a gorgeous public estate run by Kew Gardens) from London, via nearby Balcombe station. Apple and Google will give you impossible and unpleasant routes using the road network. OS Maps, however, reveals a splendid series of paths that are both scenic and direct. Someone had even mapped a circular route that didn’t require us to backtrack on the return journey.

In short, the Ordnance Survey’s Maps allow you to have more fun outside and stay safe like a local, anywhere in the UK. Worth every penny.

OS Map App

–

ManfredManns

–

2020-08-02

I like this app. A bit fiddly to start with until you get to know it, but it is good to use. Also, seems a bit battery intensive, so on a full day in the hill, make sure your phone is fully charged and have a power bank or solar charger at the ready. One reason for making sure this is not your only means of navigation!

I like the option of following a route someone has already done or using your own route and recording it. Then, you can save and upload if you wish. I also like the fact that you have an OS map for the whole of the UK that you can dip in and out of to research areas where you are planning to go. You can then downloaded routes that are of interest.

So far, money well spent. I haven’t needed to use some of the other features, for example the compass yet, but I’m looking forward to trying it.

Great app

–

Myles M H

–

2020-07-15

Had the app for a few months, it’s almost almost brilliant. However I’ve had constant issues with bugs, my main problem being the offline options not working. If I can’t access the maps without phone signal then this app is pretty useless and unsafe. I don’t rely 100% on this app but others might, if the map doesn’t load in some scenarios it could put them in a very dangerous position.

Also has issues loading with signal, both 4G and WiFi. Wierd things like not being able to load offline maps and routes when I have phone signal. In the apps defence, it hasn’t totally let me down yet however I have had to close it and re-open it over and over then walk to an area I have phone signal, open and close again, wait 5 minutes, do 5 star jumps, whisper a short poem into my phone, perform 3 Hail Marys... the last bit I made up but you get the picture. I usually can get it to work but sometimes it takes up to 20 minutes of messing about with it.

My phone is an iPhone XR, in good condition, lots of free memory, I don’t have any issues with it. This app has problems not my phone. Please fix the bugs!! When this app works perfectly it really is brilliant! If this app worked seamlessly I would unquestionably next giving it 5 stars. Right now though if the map won’t load then this app is useless.

Keeps resetting to current location.

–

Morsoft22

–

2020-06-21

Edit. Thanks for making the Auto Zoom an option as I previously suggested. Enjoying the app again. 🙂

This app is now unusable as you can no longer view maps except at your current location. If you try and move away to view elsewhere it automatically resets to where you are. I have turned off the location setting for the app which is now the only way to view maps which is a nonsense. Please fix urgently!! I also do not like the fact that you can longer select either 1:25K or 1:50K leisure maps - the app changes from one to the other when you zoom. Please fix. This update has not been thought through.

Edit. Thanks for sorting out the location setting error - was this app not tested before being released? I’m still annoyed that the leisure maps automatically change from 1:25K to 1:50K on zooming out. This is not the way most people use maps. If you must, please just make this as an optional feature. Why did you think that this would be an improvement. Change for changes sake!!!

Edit. I cannot believe the mess that has been made of this app. It won’t even open now. Please employ a decent programmer to sort this out.

Cyclists best friend

–

Dabber62

–

2020-06-07

I use the app for middle distance cycle touring and having the excellent 1:50,000 scale maps on my phone to view off line is just the best way to explore the countryside. Just signed up for a years subscription so still need to discover some of the new tools it offers, but having all the Landranger series maps available on line has got to be the best value for money when you consider the price of an individual map. The app seems very easy to use with a clear menu and does not drain the phone battery when using maps off line. An asset when out all day without means to charge my phone.

There is no better map for cycling due to the level of detail and being able to plot routes on the app before you set out knowing the precise distance and terrain is priceless. I have yet to stick exactly to a route given my tendency to see interesting side roads that should be explored.

Frustrating.

–

RichPBizkit

–

2020-05-30

Have had the app for over a year and have a premium subscription. Use the app on an iPhone X and generally find it very useful for mapping, great for creating a route, but as frustrating as hell for Recording a route. I have all iPhone settings as they should be - allow location use in background etc, but no matter what I try the app WILL NOT continue to track my movements once the phone is locked and back in my pocket. It just stops recording the route until the next time I have the app open in front of me, then plots a STRAIGHT LINE between my last recorded location and my current location. Unless I literally hold the phone in front of me with the app open and on-screen this happens every time. When all I want to do is start recording then pop it in my pocket doing its thing until I finish my walk this makes the feature completely useless.

Oh, and it didn’t do this before the major update released at the end of last year - it worked fine.

What’s happened?

–

Alh1950

–

2020-01-06

I have a subscription, and use an iPad. The first problem, now seemingly resolved without any action by me, was that there was a login problem. But the app is unpredictable; it didn’t used to be. About half the time, zooming in brings up the 1:50,000 and then the 1:25,000 maps, as it should. At other times, that doesn’t happen. This seems to be independent of broadband speed, which I initially thought might be the explanation. The maps are beautiful. But the earlier version of the app was more reliable - such issues just didn’t arise.

Update:

Thank you, OS, for the response, from which I gather you’ve not been able to replicate the zooming issue. As I said, it has been intermittent; and I’ve discovered that when I can’t zoom in to 1:50,000 and 1:25,000, there is a workaround. If I switch from the small-scale map to the photographic view, then switch back to 1:50,000/1:25,000, the map then comes up at whichever scale is appropriate to the zoom level I used in the photo option, and that seems to work every time. Strange. But the maps, of course, are wonderful!

No longer reliable (used to be great)

–

JamieHaller

–

2019-10-30

I do a lot of multi day walking and rely on OS maps. I used to leave my paper maps at home because this app was so reliable. As long as I had a power bank to recharge my phone, even with no signal this app was 100% reliable with the maps downloaded.

However, since the recent “upgrades” I’ve had no end of problems, and cannot rely on this app. In fact at times it is not even readable. This happens when you change the zoom level. Often the central tile zooms in but the surrounding tiles don’t refresh, making the map unreadable. It becomes impossible to pan across the map to see where you are going.

Another issue is that even with the maps downloaded, sometimes an error message comes up saying “Offline, sorry you need an Internet connection”. What use is that if you are out in the sticks with no signal.

I have now gone back to paper maps as a backup.

This app could be great- please fix the zooming /tile refresh issues.

Needs work

–

Evil Spud

–

2019-10-17

I'm going to start with the biggest pain with this app. If you choose to actually buy your maps instead of subscribing, you're treated like an underclass of user.

The app will- dump the maps you have saved, so you get to your walking area and find your 1:25k map is no longer stored ready to go. Oh so handy having to use your data in the wilds hoping there's actually a signal. Then when it does retain your downloaded map, when you try selecting it, you get a nag screen telling you how you should be a subscriber. The reason I buy my maps is because I'm going to be using them regularly and don't want to pay a subscription for something I own already.

Now for the stuff that could do with improvement. Finding other folks routes could do with the option to search by distance, there seem to be a lot of people walk a few feet, when I'd like to do a few miles. It would be good if routes could be listed as circular (start and finish within 250 meters of each other).

When working and used for planning a route, this is great, genuinely a useful way of plotting routes. On the move outdoors, it does occasionally start telling you you're off course, despite the fact you're on the course on the display.

Bike use could include a trip meter at the bottom.

But for all this, it's still my go to outdoors app. The best mapping in the uk bar none.

Absolutely awful - truly, truly awful

–

Popcyclez

–

2019-10-01

The previous version was spot on. I do a lot of hill walking, and this app was my go to compliment for paper map and compass. Easy to use, offline maps and rock solid stability.

Since the latest update: stability is horrendous (crashes during each use of the app), downloading maps doesn’t work (I have downloaded the 9 maps that I have purchased previously six times already, on the app closing and reopening I have to download all over again! I have followed the advice and logged out, reinstalled (twice now) and re-downloaded but to no avail.

The maps themselves when used (I think this is being coined ‘snap-to’ functionality is a real let down, and an ‘improvement’ that really wasn’t necessary or that delivers any enhancements for the end user.

Finally, when turning of wifi and mobile data, the offline maps don’t appear to function at all anyway!!!

I have long been a fan of this OS Map app, but if this is the sort of updates that are going to be introduced without being tested as fit for purpose, or delivering what the customer base actually wants, then I will seriously be considering alternative applications that provide better functionality and use support.

Great potential

–

Tar1990

–

2019-05-18

Version 1.17.1

Used this to walk the coast to coast with pre-recorded routes (and a guide book), in May 19. Found it very useful - didn’t get at all lost. The app is a great start point but is a little buggy and a few points would help.

Would be nice to be able to rotate a map when viewing. Also to centre - just like on any other map app!

When viewing a route, half the screen is taken up on some info I don’t need. Push this away and the route disappears. I didn’t want to ‘follow’ the route as battery life was a concern but the with a) battery saving mode and b) cellular data off, I had no problems lasting a long day.

It’s not clear what map resolution (1:25/1:50k etc) you download when you favourite a route.

I twice found routes incompletely downloaded - meant they go off into empty space on 1:25, but I could pick it up on 1:50. Is favouriting=download? This is not clear.

When changing resolutions, it would be nice to stay on the same grid reference centre. Instead it jumps seemingly randomly.

Can you show more than one route? I had lots of short segments that followed on - would hAve been nice to set these up before stating to walk.

Would be cool to have the map key somewhere accessible??

App is a little buggy - restarted several time to get responses.

Didn’t use any other features. I did get the whole area offline map on google maps which helped me.

Fantastic app

–

Steve J Harris

–

2019-05-18

Can’t really understand some of the poor reviews of this app – people really do expect too much. Under £20 for map coverage of the entire UK is fantastic value for money, and using the app has massively increased my enjoyment of our fantastic countryside. Although you should never over-rely on technology, the ability to know exactly where you are – for example knowing when you are at the right path junction in difficult terrain or weather conditions when you might otherwise take the wrong route or become disorientated – takes the worry out of walking and lets you enjoy what you’ve come for. My one criticism, however, is that I have in the past had issues when trying to download offline maps for use covering a large area – sometimes it’s difficult to ensure all the tiles overlap, and they don’t always load properly. I am sure, however, this will be ironed out in due course. Overall superb. Well-done OS

Works really well

–

Pub-crawler

–

2019-02-10

Of course, we wouldn’t go anywhere without a proper map and compass, but this app is very close to the real thing, and so much more convenient. Have tried a couple of local routes of which I am Familiar, and it seems pretty failsafe.

For those of you familiar with satnav in the car, you must understand that the map does not orientate in the direction you are walking, so it helps if you know left from right! Having said this, the detail is extraordinary, and very easy to follow. Congratulations ordnance survey smile.

I have now tried the “record” function, and the accuracy in which it follows and plots your route is astounding - even under trees! You can always tidy up the recorded route later when accessed on the computer at home.

OS maps

–

ifthusnicknameistakenigiveup

–

2019-01-09

Not a happy user at all! I used OS map finder originally and spent over £100 on tiles only to find they “discontinued” the app after a while so the features such as navigation and recording routes ceased to function. I complained but to no avail. How dare I complain that I had to pay a subscription to view maps I’d already bought!!😡 I’d like to see them try that attitude with paper maps. All I was offered was to migrate my maps to the new OS maps and pay a rip off annual subscription of £25 ish. This new app is clonky and not good to use and is definitely a backwards step compared to the old app. The maps have a habit of disappearing off my phone in the middle of following a route and need downloading again - not something you want to be doing when riding a horse!

The “follow a route” function isn’t as good as the old one either and you can’t do anything else while following a route.

The list of routes layout isn’t thought out. If you’ve got more than a few in your list you’re scrolling up and down for ages looking for your choice as you can see three at a time. They need to be in a concise list.

Too much time has been given to features I certainly am not interested in - all I want to do is record and plan routes in an easy concise and reliable way. This app feels like it’s been built by a gamer rather than a map user.

A great app

–

LittleDuck

–

2018-08-16

I really enjoyed it. Used it for a walk through the new forest and was able to plan out a great route really easily. If you’re looking for an app to plan out a walk easily in the woods and journey on stop reading now, the rest is all personal criticism.

What I’d love for it to be able to do is have options for it to auto pick out the less travelled paths in a more adventuring feel rather than a few refined paths and manually hunting them out in the maps but then it all becomes a pre packaged adventure I suppose.

One gripe I did have is we went off route A LOT. We wanted to nosey slightly different areas and check out different things and the app freaks out whenever we did. I’d love for it to be able to compensate and create a new path while we were doing that but I understand that might be really difficult to do.

Still Needs Work

–

leedrich

–

2018-06-19

Over a year of the app with a premium subscription, there have been updates and improvements. But the app is still buggy. Randomly crashes, very heavy on the cpu/gpu/memory, very slow to respond and load refreshes (iPad 4 and iPhone X), when on or following a route it doesn’t refresh - so having to take gloves off or use your nose to give the screen a nudge is rather irritating. The other thing the is really really annoying is the fight (and lose) to look elsewhere in the location you’re in as the cursor/pointer refuses to let you leave your current position when following a route. Grrr. Oh and why is it impossible or not obvious to follow your route AND record it (to compare) e.g. where you deviated from your planned route. I now use my Garmin gps to follow/direct the route and the iPhone OS app to record it, which seems a waste of time with OS. It’s good but still needs a lot more polish. Considering the premium subscription, and purchasing offline maps you should be able to put the money into some real developing. You have to realise more and more people are using online or digital versions to replace physical maps - rightly or wrongly. OS need to move with the times and aim to get up there with the likes of Garmin where you are able to be confident you’ll not fall off an edge.

OS Maps

–

Chester Line

–

2018-05-30

Although I have had this App for 2 years it got its real first proper outing over the bank holiday weekend in the Lake District. Armed with paper maps and compass I wondered whether the OS Maps App would deliver......... and it did in spades.

Pre trip I plotted our routes over the 3 days, all simple and easy to use. I turned on my iPhone at start of 1st day and it didn’t disappoint. Kept me up to date on exact position, needed to adjust route during the day, no problem and got us out of trouble at one point.

My paper maps never saw the light of day, the App was brilliant never stuttered, crashed or struggled to let me know exactly where I was. Fantastic tool for walking anywhere in the UK, still love my paper maps but this is welcome addition the experience. Try it you won’t be disappointed.

Love the app

–

MissLeonie8658

–

2018-05-23

I’ve been using the app steadily for about two years now. I don’t use it to record my walks, but it’s fantastic for downloading routes and maps to be viewed offline, as well as selecting those routes in the first place. I’ve not had any issues with the app crashing.

Setting parameters to find routes (distance, length, premium or not, marked for running/hiking/cycling) is a great way to see if someone’s already mapped a great walk in an area you’re interested in. I especially love the ability to access premium routes from walking magazines and AA guides.

The interface could be a little more intuitive, and it sometimes can’t find place names or locations (it can find some fells no problems, and for others, can only find streets names after them hundreds of miles away), which is why I’ve given it four rather than five stars.

Crashes too regularly to be usable in the mountains.

–

Jondark25

–

2018-03-27

I have used the app regularly for around two years now alongside an OS maps annual subscription and fortunately I don’t solely rely on the app for navigation ad I’d have been in trouble more than once.

Even alongside an OS maps subscription and buying physical OS maps, using the download codes and actually downloading offline maps to my phone it still can’t consistently track my progress when I try and record a route and out of the last 30 days I’ve been out in the mountains only twice has it managed to record the full trip, every other time it’s just lost the route midway through. If I’d been navigating complex terrain and using the record feature to potentially be able to follow my outward path in reverse then I’d be scuppered.

Each update I hope it will improve as I’ve invested money in both my OS maps subscription, OS physical mapping and digital downloads but I’m just at a point where I need something that’s actually fit for purpose and it’s clearly time to look elsewhere.

OS Maps: Walking & Bike Trails

iPhone Screenshots

iPad Screenshots

Description

What's New in Version 5.0.4

Seller

Name

URL

Information

Developer

Categories

Version

Size

Game Center

VPP Device Licensing

Rating

Compatibility

Devices

Languages

App Store: Customer Ratings

All Versions