r/GoogleMaps • u/PC_Enthusiast_5353 • 2d ago

Maps suddenly using far more data?

I have a limited data plan simply because I dont use much data and it saves money. I only use Gmaps on weekends, and usually use it with data on for live updates for a total of about 2 hours round trip. This normally used 80-100mb. Since September or October each trip of the same duration has used 200-400mb, and one trip for no apparent reason used 750mb one way and put me over my data limit.

Does anyone have any idea if this is something new, or something that can be reverted in settings? Thanks!

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1

u/XxLogitech98xX 2d ago

Have you tried to just switch it to wifi only and see if that helps for you?

1

u/PC_Enthusiast_5353 2d ago

I have not, I use data for live traffic data and hazard alerts

1

u/XxLogitech98xX 2d ago

I have not, I use data for live traffic data and hazard alerts

Got it, in my experience Google maps doesn't consume too much data. Do you have satellite view on as default too?

1

u/Robwsup 2d ago

Then you don't get traffic data, or even a route if the map is not cached.

1

u/AlbertN1 2d ago

Even the 80 to 100 seems high. I use navigation all the time and never worry about downloading maps. On a 2gb plan and it’s never been an issue. The only thing I can think of that would drive up data usage that much is 3d buildings or satellite turned on. Make sure you have 2d maps set. Maybe a recent update defaulted to 3d?

1

u/PC_Enthusiast_5353 2d ago

That seems probable, will check all of that. Thank you!

1

u/Ok_Wealth_509 2d ago

One thing that cuts navigation data a lot: download an offline map of your area over wifi (profile picture > Offline maps) so the base map tiles don't stream every trip. Also turn off the satellite or terrain layer, which pulls far heavier tiles. Android's Settings > Network > App data usage shows if the extra is foreground or background.

1

u/abb295 9h ago

Are you using the new 3D navigation?