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Issues with Google Maps Interface


ZSteve

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For several months now, I have been having issues with the iPhone App's interface with Google Maps.  Prior to that time, I had no issues.  I know other cachers that are also experiencing these issues.  Here's what I think I know:

 

- If you navigate to a cache from the App, then hit the vehicle icon at the top, you will get a selection of installed maps to choose from.  If you select Google Maps, the App will interface with and pass destination coords to Google Maps.  Google Maps will then propose routes and one can start navigation.

- If you then drive the selected route exactly as designated, everything works fine.

- However, if you do something that causes Google Maps to reroute (like make a turn that is not on the designated routing), it will often change the destination replacing the original destination coords with a different destination location.  Oddly  enough, this is often a Unified (or other) School district.  This destination can be 5, 10, 15 miles or more from the cache that you originally set up the routing for.

- It is also possible (not fully confirmed with testing) that when Google Maps re-optimizes the route and proposes a new and faster route that the destination for the proposed route is different.

- I have not experienced these issues when I input a destination directly into Google Maps (although I have not tried entering coordinates, just named destinations and addresses).

- I have also not experienced these issues when using Google Maps to navigate from the Adventure Labs App.

 

Separately, for quite some time (long before the above issue started), the interface between the App and Google Maps has overridden/ignored at least some Google Maps settings (such as Avoid Tolls).  So, the settings have to be manually reset every time if the user determines them to be relevant.  I have not experienced this issue when using Google Maps to navigate from the Adventure Labs App.

 

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On 1/19/2022 at 9:37 PM, ZSteve said:

For several months now, I have been having issues with the iPhone App's interface with Google Maps.  Prior to that time, I had no issues.  I know other cachers that are also experiencing these issues.  Here's what I think I know ...

 

ZSteve,

 

Thanks so much for posting about this!  I have been having the *exact* same set of problems with using the geocaching iPhone App's interface to Google Maps. 

 

As you mention, the issue started occurring a few months ago, after *years* of never having had the problem you describe.

 

At first I thought the problem was just something with my phone, but then my wife started having the exact same behavior (including the "new destination" typically being a "school district") on her iPhone as well.

 

I am *very interested* in hearing from the geocaching iPhone App developers about this.

 

As a workaround, I have not experienced this problem when instead choosing to use Apple Maps (from the geocaching iPhone App interface).  However, for us, using Apple Maps instead is not an acceptable long-term solution, as we do much of our geocaching in areas that DO NOT have cell service, and Apple Maps does not allow the downloading of "offline maps" for navigation like Google Maps does.  I have noticed the erroneous "new destination is the center of a school district" behavior in Google Maps both when using online maps and when using offline maps.

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On 1/25/2022 at 7:48 PM, Moun10Bike said:

I've been seeing this issue myself, as recently as yesterday. The spotty nature of it happening makes me wonder if it could happen with Adventures, but you/I just haven't experienced that. In searching the web for reports, I came across this: https://support.google.com/maps/thread/139687933/google-maps-reroutes-to-a-location-other-than-my-selected-destination?hl=en

 

We're glad (in an odd sort of way to confirm that we're not alone and not imagining things) to hear that others are having the same problem.  Lately, we've been using Apple Maps instead, but that only works when we have cell reception, which often isn't the case in the mountains of New Hampshire...

 

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I had the same problem in early January, after twice being sent to the wrong place for a particular cache I eventually worked it out by looking at the map. Then yesterday I had it again, Google took me to the wrong place three times and got it right the fourth. So two of those times it took me back to where I started.

 

In January I didn't deviate from the intended route, yesterday I did once. But I have just realised that on both occasions every time it took me to the nearest school. Unlike the other three posters, I'm in Australia. So this behaviour is internationally consistent.

 

I too have only had this problem when navigating to caches from the Groundspeak app, never when navigating to a point entered or pinned in Google Maps. It seems unlikely that it could be a problem at Groundspeak's side but the only data I see shows a correlation.

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On 3/2/2022 at 7:46 AM, rassilon256 said:

I had the same problem in early January, after twice being sent to the wrong place for a particular cache I eventually worked it out by looking at the map. Then yesterday I had it again, Google took me to the wrong place three times and got it right the fourth. So two of those times it took me back to where I started.

 

In January I didn't deviate from the intended route, yesterday I did once. But I have just realised that on both occasions every time it took me to the nearest school. Unlike the other three posters, I'm in Australia. So this behaviour is internationally consistent.

 

I too have only had this problem when navigating to caches from the Groundspeak app, never when navigating to a point entered or pinned in Google Maps. It seems unlikely that it could be a problem at Groundspeak's side but the only data I see shows a correlation.

 

Thanks for letting us know that the problem isn't one local to the USA, but is in Australia, too!    

 

The problem is also still happening -- it happened to us again within the past three days.

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Agreeing with those above.  This issue is easy to reproduce just like was mentioned above.

 

- iPhone 2022SE updated iOS

- Official Geocaching App

- Navigate to cache by clicking the car and picking Google Maps

- Works fine until it has to recalculate the route, which is when the App seems to forget where it’s going.  Navigates miles/kilometres away to random spot.

- Issue does not happen with Apple Maps

 

As I work in a courier capacity I use Google Maps to get to businesses and residential locations.  It works flawlessly in that capacity.  Only when it is called from Geocaching.com does it mess up.

 

Ponder:  Could it be an issue based on the GC Code at the end of the coordinates?  Perhaps when it has to look back that causes the error just like when you use the link to Google Maps on the cache page.  On an iOS device clicking on the Google Maps link on a cache page gives this

N 49° 10.129 W 122° 34.390 (GC9P6X4) 

which the Google Maps App doesn’t understand, unless you manually remove the bracketed information.

 

Thing I haven’t tested is what happens when using corrected coordinates.  
 

FWIW, this is in Canada…so it is affecting multiple countries 

Edited by The Blue Quasar
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On 11/12/2022 at 2:27 AM, Elmeraculous said:

I am experiencing the exact same issue on Android. It's very annoying. Been having this issue for months. Only now took the time to search for it to see if I'm not alone. It appears I'm not. 

Hi there. It appears that this is a technical glitch on Google's side of things: https://support.google.com/maps/thread/182667156/destination-changing-after-a-rerouting?hl=en

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The issue with poor communication with Google Maps is longstanding, particularly on my experience working on a desktop Mac. When wanting to view the larger map from a cache page the Map Control icon allows the selection of different layer types of view. Unfortunately clicking on this icon invariably causes a crash resulting in a "ChunkLoadError".  Sometimes it works but it is very unreliable.... and frustrating.

Screenshot 2023-01-02 at 11.38.42.png

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I have not used the Geocaching App for navigation recently and so don't know personally whether this is still an ongoing problem (but I've heard that it is).  I finally gave up and decided to use Cachly as my primary phone geocaching App (iPhone).  I have not once had an issue with Cachly and navigating through Google Maps.  I have also not once had an issue with navigating from the Adventure Labs App through Google Maps.  And, I use both a lot!  I am not in any way an IT professional, but it still puzzles me why one Groundspeak App works great with Google Maps and another one doesn't.

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