On a long drive the signal comes and goes, and your map should not go with it. These apps keep working offline. The last one on the list is not a navigation app at all: it is a map of where the signal is.
Google Maps (offline areas)
Good for: familiar navigation, saved ahead of time
Save an area to your phone and Google Maps switches to it when the signal goes, with driving directions as long as the whole route lies inside it. Offline there is no traffic and no walking, cycling or transit directions, and in some countries areas cannot be downloaded.
Free
Organic Maps
Good for: free, private offline navigation
Fully offline maps, search and turn-by-turn navigation on OpenStreetMap data, updated every two weeks. No live traffic.
Free, no ads
OsmAnd
Good for: detailed offline maps and navigation
Offline maps of any region from OpenStreetMap, with voice guidance, lane guidance and rerouting, plus hiking and cycling paths and trip recording.
Free with a limited number of map downloads; paid plans for more
Tracks4Africa Guide
Good for: the back roads and 4x4 routes of Africa
Offline maps with gravel roads and sand tracks marked, and camps, fuel and services, for planning and finding your way. It does not give turn-by-turn directions.
iPhone and Android · Free base map; country guides bought in the app
LastBar We built this
Good for: knowing where along the road your phone will work
A map of where phones measured signal, and where they measured none, made by the people who use it, carrier by carrier. It keeps the map of the places around you and of the areas you save on your phone, so Find Signal can give you the distance and direction to the nearest signal with no connection: for an emergency call on any carrier, a call or SMS on your own, or data. It shows the emergency numbers of the country you are in, and water, shelter, clinics, police and fuel from OpenStreetMap. Android phones map signal in the background as you go; an iPhone maps while the app is open. Where nobody has been with it yet, the map is empty.
Android 8.0 and up, iPhone with iOS 16 and up · Free, with Pro bought once
Before you leave
- Download your areas on Wi-Fi, a little wider than your route.
- Save the area in LastBar too, so you know where the signal ends and where it comes back.
- Tell someone your route and when you expect to arrive.
What each app does and costs is as its own website, store listing or help pages said on 26 October 2026. Apps change; check before you rely on one.
