You may not be a tech person but surely you're not dumb - just ignorant perhaps. Google Maps (GM) normally gets mapping data (well more points of interest data/location/etc) by going through your cell or wifi connection to the internet and downloading it. However, some places have really bad reception. You can, in GM, go to Offline Maps and then select an area to download ahead of time like when you are at home and are say connected to your home WiFi. Then, when out on the road, GM doesn't need a connection to the internet to use the mapping data. Again, read more about it here - https://support.google.com/maps/answ...rm%3DiOS&hl=en. You can have several maps for different areas. GM presents a box outlining the area of the map to download. You can move that around. So on my trip to California from Phoenix, I downloaded a map for around the Arizona/California border, one of Northern San Diego and one of Southern San Diego because I made a trip to Tijuana to visit a friend. IOW I downloaded offline maps for the desert areas of Arizona and California so that when driving there GM would be able to find things like gas stations, restaurants, etc should I be looking for them and was in an area with no cell service. Note, if you forgot to do this and you are driving you could try, when you stop to eat like say at McDonalds or Applebees, connect to their WiFi and download your offline maps so that you're covered.

Additionally, GM will now have a link to download your maps should you use it to find a route before leaving if it thinks some of the places along your route do not have good coverage. It's a good reminder before you head out that you should probably do that while you have a good signal now.

Note: Not sure what GMC Sierra navigation is but I suspect you might mean the factory nav that comes with the GMC Sierra. If so this will not work. I don't think that factory nav, like the Corvette's factory nav, has the functionality of offline maps. What I and others were talking about was using Android Auto and Google Maps under Android Auto, to utilize offline maps to deal with the issue of not having an active internet connection while en route. The factory nav uses a different scheme of having all mapping data resident in the factory nav itself. While this is good in that you don't have to worry about not having an active internet connection you do have to worry about the mapping data getting stale, hence the Navigation update from General Motors, the cost involved and the delay in map updates. With Google Maps there is no delay if you have an active connection but you don't have the entire country downloaded to your phone by default (though you could painstakingly do that). Also, I suspect if you download a map (for example, I downloaded a map of Southern Phoenix because about 2 miles South of me is Indian reservations with no internet) that periodically GM will update that mapping info and the time period for those updates would be considerably shorter than waiting for General Motors to have a map update.

HTH, feel free to ask questions.

 

defaria, Thanks for info and link above. Yes I was referring to factory navigation that’s in my GMC Sierra. I will checkout functionality of offline maps on the Sierra navigation tomorrow. Thanks for replying.

 

Just checked Sierra navigation . I went thru all the Navigation categories and did not see anything referring to off line maps. I did save the link google.com/ maps/answers to my notes on iPhone just in case I need it at a later time. Thanks again !

 

You're welcome however if you are using a factory nav built into the car chances are they already have all of the maps of the US downloaded and in the system already - just like the Corvette C7 has.

Still you might like trying out CarPlay.

 

Hello everyone I add roads to GM factory navs made by telenav, let me know if your area isnt on there or any missing any roads I'll be happy to add places too.

 

Is navtool and apple app?