NC_Girl

The latest update deleted my navigation button completely, and the new Google Maps is horrible, it now take several clicks to get to the navigation, and crashes constantly.... I use the navigation almost every day and I hate hate hate the new maps update

Last night I went in and reverted to the original version but this morning it had automatically updated itself again.

Is there any way to permanently keep it from updating?

I am on a Nexus 7 3G.

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I used to be the biggest Google fan but I am getting fed up...... I don't use Facebook and am REALLY sick and tired of Google trying to FORCE me Into using Google+

I am thinking of trashing everything Gmail, Picasa and Google but where oh where to go?

BuildingMyBento

I always load the basic gmail because the current version is awful. The basic version is friendlier when trying to forward messages too.

PTravel

I've had a similar experience with the updated Google Maps. Why in the world would it assume you want to navigate from anywhere other than where you are when you enter the app? Also, why would it assume that searches you run on the Google Maps website are, in any way, relevant to where you want to go when you use the navigate app? It's also much harder to see the "time remaining" estimate, which is now a thin black font on a white background that spans the entire screen.

The only thing I like is the ability to have traffic and satellite view on in the main navigation screen.

ajGoes

A global setting to disable all automatic updates is described here.

You can download the last pre-redesign version of Google Maps for Android from various places. Google Maps_6.14.3.apk to find it.

The new Maps for Android has at least one big improvement: it calculates new routes based on traffic conditions. I'm not driving a lot these days so I haven't had the chance to give it an exhaustive workout though.

Google is going overboard with "spare" design, IMO, neglecting feature discoverability in favor of an uncluttered look. That means that many features that seem to be gone are in fact still in there, just hard to find. For example, they removed the zoom buttons from the map, leading many people to complain they need two hands to zoom. You don't, though: double-long tap, then drag your finger diagonally NW to SE or vice versa.

Another hard-to-find feature is local map caching. You can enable this two ways: enter or say "OK Google now" (why that should be the magic phrase, I have no idea), or drag the Explore card that sometimes appears at the bottom up till you find the "Make this map area available offline" option.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to revert to the last pre-redesign version before I go to Europe in a few weeks, but meanwhile I'm living with the update to see whether I can figure it out.

PTravel

The older version did that, too.

That's good to know! Thanks for sharing this tip.

Me, too.

NC_Girl

I just ended up resetting my home Nexus 7 to factory default then I changed it so that it no longer auto updates. Hopefully this will actually solve the problem and I just won't ever update Google Maps.

now I have to redownload all my apps and about 1100 Songs, errrrrr..... but if I can have my old navigation back I guess is worth it

ajGoes

Wow, that was a really drastic step. For future reference, all you had to do was tap "Uninstall" in Google Maps in the Play Store. That would uninstall all updates to the app, leaving it in its original state.

The trouble with reverting to factory default is that you get the version of Maps that was the most recent one when the tablet was made, including whatever bugs and less-capable features were current at the time. If you download the latest pre-redesign version, you can install it using the Files app. Check the box next toSystem settings / Security & Screen Lock / Unknown sources, then find the downloaded file and long-tap it to install it.

nmenaker

I've also found that there is no TRAFFIC in the live navigation anymore one has to move back to the route overview to get it to work? Why would they do that?

ajGoes

I thought I saw traffic displayed in the navigation view. Can't see it now because I'm at home on a country road, but I think I remember it showing up when Google has traffic information.

I just discovered how to toggle between time-to-destination and arrival-time: just tap whichever one is displayed and it'll switch. I'd give that a thumbs-down for discoverability but thumbs-up for usability once you find it. The way this worked in the old version was another weakness: it showed time-to-destination in the navigation view and arrival-time in the route view.

[Edit] Playing with the app here in my home office, I can see it has some nice features. It just doesn't look ready for release.

jeffcarp

Not sure what you are referring to. There is still a separate icon for Navigation. You don't have to access it through the Maps icon. Just click Navigation in your Android app list.

As for the crashing, try this. Go into your phone settings, then your Application Manager. Find Maps, then click Clear Cache, Clear Settings, Stop App, then Uninstall Updates. Now go back and reinstall the update again from the Google Play Store and see if that fixes the crashes.

jeffcarp

That isn't accurate. The older version took traffic into account at the time of initial route calculation only. Once a route was selected and you were navigating it then took traffic into account to adjust your ETA. It did NOT however, reconsider whether there were better routes due to traffic.

This new version does that. All traffic and your selected route is analyzed in real time as you drive. That is completely new.

jeffcarp

It shows up in navigation view based on the zoom level. You can also manually see traffic in navigation mode by simply touch-zooming into the map. You'll get a resume button on the bottom left to take you back to automatic map mode. You don't have to go into the route overview to see traffic details. That just shows you traffic on the overall route.

PTravel

I didn't know that. Thanks.

NC_Girl

Have you updated to 4.3? When you do, the navigation button/app is gone. I am now back on 4.2 and have it again.

ajGoes

That means you haven't yet been upgraded to the redesigned Google Maps.