Introduction
The Maps SDK for iOS provides offline functionality through map download capabilities.
Download maps for entire countries or specific regions to enable offline access. Users can search for landmarks, calculate routes, navigate, and explore maps without an internet connection.
Overlays, live traffic information, and other online-dependent services are unavailable in offline mode.
The iOS SDK does not provide an automatic update mechanism for the map if using offline maps. Map updates must be triggered manually using the MapsContext update API. Automatic map updates are only available when no regions are downloaded, allowing the SDK to fetch the latest map version from the Magic Lane servers. Check the relevant example for more details: Map Update.
New map versions are released every few weeks globally, providing regular enhancements and improvements.
Offline feature availability
Core entities
| Entity | Offline availability |
|---|---|
| Landmarks | ✓ Fully available |
| Markers | ✓ Fully available |
| Position | ⚠️ Partial - Raw position data is always accessible, but map-matched position data requires downloaded or cached regions |
| Overlays | ✗ Not available |
| Routes | ⚠️ Partial - traffic events are unavailable without internet connection |
| Navigation | ✓ Fully available if navigation starts on an offline-calculated route |
Map tiles are automatically cached based on your location, camera position, and calculated routes to enhance performance and offline accessibility.
Map controller
MapViewController methods function as expected in offline mode. Methods that request data from regions not covered or cached return empty results.
Example: Calling getNearestLocations(_:) with coordinates outside downloaded areas returns an empty array.
Map styling
You can set a new map style in offline mode if the style has been downloaded beforehand using MapStyleContext or if using a custom style.
Styles containing extensive data, such as satellite or weather styles, may not display meaningful information when offline.
Services
The following contexts are available offline within downloaded map regions:
NavigationContextSearchContextRoutingLandmarkStoreContextPositionContext
The following are not supported in offline mode:
- Overlay services
SDK settings
Most SDK features function independently of internet connection status, except authorization-related functionalities.
SDK authorization requires an active internet connection. You cannot authorize the Maps SDK for iOS without being online.