Google Maps was killing my battery on long drives until I changed these settings

Google Maps has been my go-to navigation app for years. I’ve tried Waze, but honestly, Google Maps is more reliable where I live. Waze’s appeal lies in its crowdsourcing, but when there aren’t enough active users around you, Google Maps makes more sense.

But on longer drives, the app can really drain your phone’s battery. Most of the time, if my phone is not connected to the network, I find that it runs out of battery by the time I reach my destination. That’s when I took matters into my own hands.

When I sat down to find out why Google Maps was draining my battery so much and what I could do to reduce it, I found a few Google Maps settings that seemed worth tweaking. Best of all, none of this affected the overall experience of the app. On the contrary, tweaking some Google Maps settings made the experience easier and less stressful.

Visible directions during navigation

Stay on top of your navigation from your phone’s lock screen

The Directions to View While Navigating feature has been around for a while now, and turning it on is one of the first things you should do to save battery life. Simply put, this feature redefines the way you use Google Maps. Instead of keeping the app open on the screen, as the name suggests, you can quickly scan to find directions. If the feature is enabled, you can track your route directly on your phone’s lock screen. It tells you everything you need to know, from upcoming turns and wait times to remaining distance and more.

To enable it, open Google Maps, tap your profile picture in the top right, select Parametersgo through Navigationand turn on the switch Visible directions during navigation. It’s simple.

Of course, the experience isn’t the same as navigating with Google Maps full screen, but if you need turn-by-turn directions, the lock screen navigation section should be enough. Since your phone’s display, one of the biggest battery-draining components, is off most of the time, you’ll get hours of extra battery life without breaking anything.

Download offline maps

Great for long drives

This is a quality that I think is often overlooked. I’ve known about it for years and even tried it once or twice, but never realized how useful offline maps are. For the uninitiated, Google Maps allows you to download a map for an area, including navigation data, and then provide turn-by-turn directions based on locally available information.

Because Google Maps doesn’t rely heavily on mobile data to retrieve information, battery consumption is reduced. In addition, Google Maps navigation will still work if your phone is not connected to the Internet. This is another advantage of long distance travel. I often travel around areas with network coverage and this offline data helps me navigate easily.

To download offline maps, tap the profile icon on the top right, select Offline mapstap on Choose your mcardhighlight the region you want to download, then tap Download. Once the map is saved locally, Google Maps battery consumption should decrease while navigating.

However, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, when downloading maps, download a larger area than you plan on. This gives you a little more space and can help if you deviate from your original route. Second, even if offline maps offer turn-by-turn directions, leave mobile data on whenever possible. Without an Internet connection, Google Maps does not provide real-time traffic updates.

Power saving mode

This is unique to a few Pixel phones

Not many people know that Google Maps has a special power saving mode. This is useful on long drives, where decent navigation and longer battery life are more important than a visually rich interface. When the power saving mode is enabled, Google Maps can be blocked from everything that is not necessary for navigation, such as 3D buildings, street signs, etc. and displays only important information on the black-and-white display. And this tonal interface will extend the battery life of your smartphone.

Now for the bad news. The feature is still limited to a few Pixel phones, namely the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL, and Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Google Maps may add it to other devices, but for now it’s exclusive to these devices. This feature only works when you are holding the phone in portrait orientation and you are in driving mode.

Open to enable power saving mode Parameters Go to Google Maps Navigationscroll down Driving optionsand turn on the switch next to it Power saving mode. Now press the power button once to enable power saving mode while browsing.

These small changes made long drives much less stressful

Since changing these three settings, my phone’s battery lasts much longer than before. As I said before, you won’t lose much. All the important information is still there, the really important stuff. You can of course plug your phone into a charger while driving, but in my experience, the low-power USB port in your car isn’t always enough.

Most of the time, even when your phone is connected via cable, the battery charge is lower than the original. But when you follow these settings, your phone’s battery should last for a few more hours. At least mine did.