OsmTrails & PDXWalk FAQ

Two brands of the same Android app for recording GPS tracks and viewing trails on offline maps. Both have the same features, screens and download rules. OsmTrails adds UK guided tours and UK special downloads.

They run on Android 7.0 or newer. There is no iPhone (iOS) version.

Both can record GPS tracks, show the map, export and share track files, and import files. The difference is what you can download from inside the app.

• Full (named PDXWalk or OsmTrails) has no ads. It can download the large regional Profiles files and Mapsforge maps and the more detailed terrain files, and it can buy raster maps.
• Lite (named PDXWalk-Lite or OsmTrails-Lite) shows ads. It can download only small sample areas, a few free raster maps, the guided-tour files and the zoom-8 country terrain, but it can use any file you import, such as free OpenAndroMaps maps.

Choose Full if you need a large region such as Oregon. Choose OsmTrails if you want the UK tours and UK specials.

1. Look at the name under the app icon: PDXWalk, PDXWalk-Lite, OsmTrails or OsmTrails-Lite.
2. On the main page, open More options (⋮) → About . . . to see the version (v20261015). Lite also shows a note that it "excludes the ability to download most MBTiles Maps or Profiles files from within the app".
3. Lite has an "Advertisements:" strip near the bottom of the main page.

The Recent Updates... header reads "PDXWalk" in every edition, including OsmTrails, so it can't tell you which brand you have.

The banner ad on the main page stays off until you tap Authorize Ads. Tap Disable Ads to hide it again.

A full-page ad also appears at most once a day when the app opens, whatever the banner setting. When you close it, a "Thanks for opening the app!" dialog offers Try Route highlight or Continue to app. Full editions have no ads.

Loaner editions are installed on devices that are lent out, and they have an expiry date. The status text at the bottom of the main page shows the date. Tracking works through that date. From midnight at the end of it (phone time), pressing Start shows: "If this is a loaner version it might need to be returned to get updates. Rapid Tracking is disabled."

Everything else keeps working: the map, file lists, downloads (same limits as Lite), imports and export. An event that is already running keeps running. To record again, return the device as the status text says, or install a Full or Lite edition.

1. Because the app doesn't have location permission yet, it shows a no-warranty DISCLAIMER first. Tap I AGREE to continue. I DON'T AGREE closes the dialog without asking for anything.
2. A "Will use your location:" notice explains why. Tap Turn On.
3. Allow Android's prompts: precise Location, Notifications (Android 13 and later), and Storage (Android 10 and older).

The main page should then read "All permissions granted. GPS ready to go." Keep Notifications on: Android needs them for the app to keep recording when it is not on screen.

The app works offline, so do this at home while you are online:

1. Download or import a base map (a Mapsforge .map or an MBTiles file) that covers the area.
2. Download a Profiles file for the area, select it and tap Use Selected Profile. It provides the trail lines and search.
3. Optionally, download a terrain file for hillshade.

The easiest way to start is a guided tour (Try Route highlight). It downloads only the files it needs and sets up the map for you.

Long-press almost any button. Most buttons open a help dialog. More options → About . . . has "Getting Started" instructions, and Recent Updates... describes new features.

From the next update, More options → Ask AI About This App... copies a ready-made question opener for your favorite AI assistant. Paste it in, type your question after it, and the assistant reads the full user guide before answering. The same dialog's Open FAQ button opens this page.

Some in-app texts are older than the current app. See "The in-app help says something different from this FAQ" under Troubleshooting.

Only to download them. The app doesn't load map tiles from the internet as you scroll. Every base map is an offline file that you download or import first, and it must cover the area you are in. With no map file selected, the background is white.

Download your files while you are online, before the hike.

• Base map (the background picture): either a Mapsforge vector map (.map), which the phone draws at any zoom, or a raster MBTiles file (.mbtiles), which holds picture tiles for a fixed zoom range. Only one base map shows at a time.
• Profiles file: the app's own trail data, drawn as lines and points on top of the base map.
• Terrain (Terrain-RGB MBTiles): shades hills and valleys over the base map (hillshade).

The developer recommends a Mapsforge map plus hillshade rather than large raster maps.

A Profiles file is the app's own offline trail database. It is a curated extract of OpenStreetMap paths, trails, some roads, named routes, named points and crossings, with elevation added. It is not a picture map.

You need one for the trail Lines and Points, Route highlight, Path Name Search, Path Systems, Path System Alerts, Intersection Alerts, walking routes and snapped exports. Only one Profiles file is in use at a time.

You can get Profiles files only from the app's downloads, from a guided tour, or as a file someone shares with you. OpenAndroMaps does not offer them.

1. On the main page, open More options → Show Downloaded Profiles List.
2. Tap a button (ForestPark, Oregon, Special profiles..., West subsets...) or a Download ... item in More options.
3. Type 123 and tap Yes. Progress shows in Android notifications, and the file unpacks itself after it downloads.
4. Select the new file and tap Use Selected Profile. The file in use is marked ACTIVE.

File names end in the date of the OpenStreetMap data, for example OrProfiles202610.

1. On the main page, open More options → Show Downloaded MapsForge Maps List.
2. Tap Forest Park, Portland or MtHood (the download starts right away), or Other specials... for Tahoe Rim Trail and Foothills Trail (plus two UK areas in OsmTrails). Full editions also have regional Download ... items in More options, which ask for code 123.
3. Select the map and tap Show Selected on MAP.

Map file names end in the date of the OpenStreetMap data, for example oregon-202610.map. A map and a Profiles file with the same date come from the same OpenStreetMap download. The 202610 files use data downloaded 2026-10-17.

For other areas, use a free OpenAndroMaps map (see below).

Code 123 is a deliberate "are you sure?" step before large downloads. The dialog itself says "Enter Code: 123". Type 123 and tap Yes (or Download for terrain files). It is not a password, license key or payment.

A wrong or empty code gives "CODE FAILED to download" or "Incorrect code. No download started." Guided tours use their own confirmation instead of the code.

The large regional files are Full only because they are large and expensive to make available for download. This covers Oregon, West, MidWest, South, NorthEast, British Isles and the West subsets.

The menus list these regions in every edition, and the edition check happens only after you tap, so Lite shows a "Version Note" dialog instead of downloading. What you can do:

• Map: download a free Oregon map from OpenAndroMaps (the dialog has an Open OpenAndroMaps button) and add it with Import File.
• Profiles: import an .osmprofilesdbz file that a Full user shares with you.

Guided tours don't unlock other regions.

• Profiles: Forest Park, Mount Hood, Portland Metro, Tahoe Rim and Foothills Trail. OsmTrails adds UK-Cumbria and UK-Ledbury-Malvern.
• Mapsforge maps: Forest Park, Portland, MtHood, Tahoe Rim Trail and Foothills Trail, plus the same two UK areas in OsmTrails.
• Raster MBTiles: the ForestPk-z13, ForestPk-z15, ForestPk-z17 and MtHood-z13 buttons. Also seven free maps under Buy Maps → Bought (or, free included): MultFalls-z17, PdxMetro-z16, MtHood-z13, US48-z09, UK-Britain-z11, UK-Cumbria-z13 and UK-Cumbria-z15. The note on that screen names only PdxMetro and MultFalls, but all seven can be downloaded.
• Terrain: the places and trails files and the US zoom-8 file (about 116 MB). OsmTrails also has the UK zoom-8 file.
• Everything the guided tours download.

OpenAndroMaps is a free third-party website with Mapsforge .map files for much of the world. The app only opens the site in your browser and never downloads from it.

1. Open it from Show Downloaded MapsForge Maps List → More options → OpenAndroMaps Info (Third-Party) → Open Website.
2. Choose Downloads, then your region, and download the Karte/Map file, not the theme.
3. Extract the .zip with your Files app so you can see the .map file.
4. Tap Import File on the main page and pick the .map file.
5. Select it and tap Show Selected on MAP.

OpenAndroMaps has no Profiles files, so trail lines, Route highlight and Path Name Search still need a Profiles file from the app. Its maps also lack the app's own styling that makes path lines stand out.

1. Open More options → Show Downloaded MBTiles List → Hillshade only.
2. Tap Forest Park terrain, or tap Other specials... and choose a file. Files are grouped as Places & trails, Country coverage and Regional coverage.
3. When asked, type 123 and tap Download.
4. On the map, expand the right-side controls and tick Show hillshade. Long-press it to adjust opacity, exaggeration and sun angle.

Hillshade works over any base map, or over no base map. More detailed terrain is Full only.

The developer recommends against buying raster maps first. They are huge files, often many gigabytes, and the preferred setup is a Mapsforge map plus hillshade.

Buying is possible only in Full:

1. On Buy Maps, tap Available To Buy (Requires Internet).
2. Long-press a map, type 123 and tap Yes. The Google Play purchase screen opens.
3. Open Bought (or, free included), long-press the map and enter 123 again to download it.

On a new phone, sign in with the same Google account and download the map from the Bought list. If it isn't listed, use More options → Sync Google Play Purchases. Purchased maps can't be shared.

Files of 1,000 MB or more have a cooldown. After the first successful download you must wait 3 days, and each later successful download of the same version adds 3 more days. The "Large map cooldown" dialog shows the date when you can download it again.

Deleting the file does not reset the cooldown. The download history is kept on each device.

Yes. Use Share on any file list.

• Profiles files are first zipped to an .osmprofilesdbz file: tap Compress, then Share. Your friend adds the file with Import File.
• Mapsforge maps, terrain files and free raster maps can also be shared.
• Paid raster maps cannot be shared.

This is also how a Lite user can use a file their edition can't download.

1. Open the matching list: Show Downloaded Profiles List, Show Downloaded MapsForge Maps List or Show Downloaded MBTiles List.
2. Tap the folder button where the file is: Public Download, Private Int DL or Private Ext DL.
3. Select the file, tap Delete File and then Yes.

Each folder is separate, so check the other folder buttons for copies. To stop using Profiles without deleting them, open the Profiles list and use More options → Disable Profiles.

1. Put the file in the phone's Download folder.
2. Tap Import File on the main page and pick the file.

The app copies it into its own storage and opens the matching list.

Supported files: .gpx, .geojson (or .geojson.json), .mbtiles, Mapsforge .map, .osmprofilesdbz, or a .zip that holds exactly one of these (from the next update, only one .gpx, .geojson or .map file). Import works in every edition. You can also open these files from a file manager or an email by choosing the app under "Open with".

Either no base map is showing, or the selected map file doesn't cover this area. On a fresh install, no map is selected at all.

1. Expand the right-side controls and tap the Map Tiles (MBTiles) or Vector Tiles (Mapsforge) button. Both have diamond icons.
2. If a coverage dialog appears, pick one of the files it lists.
3. If it says no downloaded file covers this area, download or import a map for this area (see Maps and offline files).

If you open the map outside the selected file, the app turns the map off with a message ending "not available for this area". Turn the map back on and choose a file that covers this area.

Tap the center button (crosshair, top right) to center on your position once. To keep following you, open More options and tick Continuously Center. If the map keeps jumping back to you, untick it.

During an event with centering off, a pill such as "3 new fixes · 4 min since centered" appears. Your event is still recording. Tap the pill to follow you again, or tap ✕ to hide it.

Long-press the north indicator (lower left) to open Map Rotation Mode:

• North Up: the default. Two-finger rotation is off.
• Manual Rotate: rotate the map with two fingers.
• Target Direction: the line to your target points up. This option stays greyed out until you set a target and turn on Show Target Arrow.

Tap the north indicator to snap back to north.

Long-press + to magnify the map tiles to 125%, then 150%. Long-press − to step back down to "Magnifier off". The app remembers this setting, so if the map looks blurry or oversized, the magnifier is probably on.

An MBTiles map stops one zoom level past the file's highest zoom. To zoom further, switch to a Mapsforge map (up to zoom 22) or turn the tiles off to zoom into the trail lines.

1. Check that a Profiles file is downloaded and selected.
2. On the map, open More options and tick Show Breadcrumbs. It is off by default.
3. Expand the right-side controls (the arrow under the center button) and tap Lines.
4. Zoom in to level 11 or closer.
5. Check that the selected Profiles file covers this area.

To show roads too, long-press Lines and tap Include Roads.

• Single trails and ways: path red, footway purple, cycleway mint green, bridleway orange, steps light orange and very wide. When roads are shown, tracks and minor roads are thin olive or dark green.
• Named routes: hiking blue, bicycle green, foot red, road black, ferry yellow.

Tap the line order button (lower left) to choose whether single ways or named routes draw on top.

Tap Points to cycle through points, crossings, both, and off.

• Points are named features such as peaks and trailheads, shown as magenta dots.
• Crossings are places where two ways meet or come close. They are shown as orange stars labelled with both names. Some are near-misses: the app includes them on purpose.
• A cyan crossing label means one of the ways is a waterway, so it is a likely water crossing.

Up to 50 points and 50 crossings show, the ones nearest the map center, at zoom 10 and closer.

Tap the trail line. The app highlights it with end caps, zooms out to show the whole way, adds an elevation profile marker, and shows a bar with its OpenStreetMap tags. Tap DETAILS in the bar for links. Tap the same line again to clear the highlight.

A long-press on the map selects the closest line instead, in cyan or yellow. To clear that selection, long-press the line order button (lower left) and tap De-Select Lines.

Opening the map runs GPS for about 5 minutes so you can see where you are. The app draws and saves those points. This map session is not an event, so it doesn't appear on the Events screen, but its points do appear in Extract Track File and Show Tracks TODAY.

Tap the blue line if you want to hide it.

1. For your own exported files, open More options → Show Track File List, tick up to 5 files and tap Show Selected Files. For imported files, do the same in Show Imported GPX List. To show just one file, long-press it in either list and tap Show on map.
2. On the map, tap the Tracks button until it shows the right set: your own, imported, or both.

Your own tracks are cyan and imported tracks are pink. A file with several tracks is drawn as separate lines on purpose.

Show on Map on the Events screen saves the event as one of your own track files, so the Tracks button on the map controls it. The map opens showing your own tracks. Each tap then moves on:

1. imported tracks only: the event is hidden
2. both: the event is shown
3. off: the event is hidden
4. your own: the event is shown again

So tap three times to turn it off and once more to bring it back. Or long-press the Tracks button and tap Exported (your own) to return in one step, centered on the line. There is no single on/off tap. Expand the right-side controls if you can't see the button.

From the next update, use the Track Drag Bar:

1. On the map, open More options → Track Drag Bar. A slider bar appears under the map.
2. Tap the button on the bar and choose Yesterday GPS or Week GPS. The other choices are Today GPS, Current event, Most recent completed event and Selected track file.
3. Slide the bar. A cyan diamond moves along the points, the map follows it, and the distance shows at the left.

The bar follows one choice at a time and draws only the diamond. Turn on Show Tracks YESTERDAY or WEEK if you want to see the line too. After midnight, points from earlier move from Today GPS to Yesterday GPS. Week GPS joins every outing, so the diamond jumps across the gaps between them. Tap ✕ on the bar to close it.

1. Pan the map so the place is at the center. A green HERE box shows the distance from you.
2. Tap the box and choose Yes, Set Here as new Target.

With Show Target Arrow on, a cyan TARGET marker and line show the distance to your target. Drag the marker to move it. You can also set a target with the compass gunsight or from a Path Name Search result.

Not in this app, because it has no turn-by-turn navigation. Instead, hand the spot to another map app:

1. Center the map on the trailhead.
2. Tap the amber arrow button (lower left).
3. Choose another map app, such as Google Maps or OsmAnd. It opens at the same point and zoom, and you can ask it for directions there.

From the next update, the arrow opens a menu instead. Directions in Google Maps or Directions in OsmAnd asks that app for directions from your location to the map center; choose walking, cycling or driving there. Open this point in another map works as described above. Without OsmAnd, the app offers its Google Play listing. OsmAnd works offline once you download its maps for the route, which helps at trailheads without mobile coverage.

It is a battery warning:

• amber at 50% or less
• orange "Low Battery" at 30% or less
• deep orange "Battery Critical" at 20% or less
• red "TURN SCREEN OFF NOW!" at 10% or less

Most of the drain comes from frequent GPS fixes and from keeping the screen on while viewing the map.

1. Open More options → Go to Path Name Search. It is in the menu on both the main page and the map.
2. Choose Lines (single trails), MultiLines (named routes) or Points.
3. Type a name in Enter Feature Name. Each word you type matches the start of a word, so "wild" finds Wildwood. Put text in double quotes to match an exact phrase.
4. Set Near: and the range slider, then tap Search.
5. Long-press a result, tap Yes, then tap GOTO MAP.

Each result shows its length, elevation gain and loss, and its distance and direction from you or from the map center.

Check these four things:

1. The range slider. Try All Results.
2. The Hike or Bike depth, or Named only. Either may be hiding the trail.
3. Your choice of Lines or MultiLines: Lines for a single trail, MultiLines for a named route.
4. The selected Profiles file, named at the bottom of the screen. It must cover that area.

Lines are individual OpenStreetMap ways, such as one trail segment or one street. MultiLines are named routes made of many ways, such as the PCT or the Portland 40 Mile Loop.

These filters apply to Lines and MultiLines results:

• Hike keeps walkable ways, Bike keeps bikeable ways, and Any applies no filter.
• Long-press Hike or Bike to choose how much to include, from trails (or bikeways) only up to busy roads. Even at that setting, the heaviest roads (primary, trunk, motorway) appear only with Any.
• Named only hides results that have no name.
• No roads (Lines only) keeps paths, footways, steps, cycleways and bridleways.

1. In Path Name Search, set Near: to GPS (or Map center).
2. Choose Lines, MultiLines or Points, and set the range slider.
3. Tap Any Near GPS (or Any Near Map Center).

This ignores any search text and lists everything within the range.

A path system is a group of connected trails, such as a park's trail network.

1. In Path Name Search, tap Path Systems.
2. Pick a radius from 1 to 10 km.

The app lists up to 5 nearby systems, each with its trail names, total km of trail, and distance and direction. Tap one to see the whole system on the map. Systems with less than about 1 km of trail are not listed.

If you see "Path systems need a Profiles file with a tile index (version 4 or later)", download a current Profiles file.

Route highlight lights up every segment of a named route when you tap one of its segments, for example the PCT or a loop route.

1. On the map, tick More options → Show Breadcrumbs.
2. Expand the right-side controls.
3. Tap Lines.
4. Tick Route highlight, then tap a named route.

Tap the larger name button on the highlighted line for details and OpenStreetMap links. Long-press the name button and choose Show whole feature, then long-press it again and choose Zoom back to previous view to return. A guided tour does this setup for you.

No. Route highlight is not routing: it only highlights the OpenStreetMap ways that belong to the same named route. The app has no voice or turn instructions, and its walking routes to a target are experimental short-distance previews. For directions, use the amber arrow button to open another map app.

Try Route highlight sets up a real example. It picks the files, turns on the right layers and highlights a named route. You can start it from More options → About . . ., from Recent Updates..., or from the note on the Buy Maps screen.

• PDXWalk: Portland Loop and Mt. Hood Tours (Timberline Trail, PCT Search).
• OsmTrails: US Tours (the same tours), plus UK Tours: Cumbria (Aira Force Loop, Scafell Pike) and the Ledbury Loop. The UK tours are only in OsmTrails.

In every edition, a tour reuses files already on the phone and downloads only what is missing, without code 123.

Starting a tour selects the tour's Profiles file and Mapsforge map, switches the base map to that map, turns on Breadcrumbs, Lines and Route highlight, and moves the map. Switch back afterwards if you want your previous setup.

Stay online until the downloads finish. If they are slow, tap Continue in background and reopen the same tour later. Finished files are reused. Tours do not unlock other regions on the normal download screens.

Yes, as an experimental feature for short distances (about the last 2 miles).

• To your target: with a target set and Show Target Arrow on, tap the TARGET marker. Tap it again to hide the route.
• To the map center: long-press the green HERE marker. Tap the yellow pin to hide the route.

The route may use closed, private or missing paths, so check it against the map and what you see on the ground. While trail lines are shown, the route hides after 20 seconds unless you tap it and choose Keep. Points more than about 5 km away are refused. If you see "Too many paths and roads between here and there for a quick route", pick a closer point.

The gunsight is the oval compass beside the satellite button. It points you toward a target.

1. Center the map on where you want to go.
2. Tap the gunsight, then tap Set Target.
3. Hold the phone flat and turn until the indicators flash. The top edge of the phone then points at the target.

It is accurate to about ±15 degrees. If it flips between directions, calibrate by moving the phone in a figure-8. Always carry a real magnetic compass as well.

1. On the main page, tap Start Stop Rapid Track.
2. Choose a Duration:, Frequency: and Distance:.
3. Tap Start. The status changes to "status: running" with the time left, and a "Location running." notification appears.

Recording continues with the screen off or while you use other apps. It stops by itself when the time runs out. Each recording is called an event.

You can also start from the map: tap the green Rapid Tracking toggle (top left), then the start control. It uses your last settings.

• Duration: how long the event runs, from 2 Min to 16 Hours. The default is 2 Hours.
• Frequency: how often the app asks for a GPS fix, from 1 Sec to 2 Min. The default is 15 Sec.
• Distance: how far you must move before a new point is recorded. The default is 2 Meters. With 20 or 100 m, slow walking records few points.

For battery, the app's own tip is that most drain comes from requesting GPS more often than every 15 seconds and from keeping the screen on while looking at the map. Use 15 Sec or longer, keep the screen off, and carry a power bank on long hikes. Batch GPS Lower Power under Advanced can save more.

• To extend: tap Status Update on the Rapid Tracking page, choose an Add ... option (2 min to 16 hours) and tap Update. An event can't run longer than 8 days from its start.
• To end early: tap Stop on the Rapid Tracking page, or Stop Rapid Tracks in the notification. The notification button stops tracking at once, without asking.

When the time runs out, the notification simply disappears. There is no alert.

Pause and Resume are on the map's event controls. GPS keeps recording while paused, and the countdown keeps running. Pausing only marks that time as paused in the event.

On the map, Stop appears only after you tap Pause. You can also stop from the notification or from the Rapid Tracking page.

An event is a Rapid Tracking session started with Start. Events are listed under More options → Show Events (last 8 days).

Opening the map runs GPS for only about 5 minutes. Those points are saved and appear in Extract Track File, but the session is not an event. It isn't listed on the Events screen, and Chop Chop, marks and the map's alert strip don't work in it. To record a lasting track, start Rapid Tracking.

Yes. Rapid Tracking runs as a foreground service with an ongoing notification. Keep Notifications allowed for the app (Android 13 and later), because Android requires them for recording while the app is not on screen.

If Android stops the recording anyway, see "Why did tracking stop in the background?" under Troubleshooting.

Tick Resume Active Tracking After Reboot on the Rapid Tracking page and set location permission to Allow all the time. Tracking then restarts after you first unlock the phone, as long as the event still has time left.

Without that permission (Android 11 and later), a notification says "Bring app to front to restart location service". Tap it to restart tracking. Points between the shutdown and the restart are missing.

Chop Chop is a gesture you can use during a running event. It saves a mark ("something mattered here") and takes a burst of GPS fixes, about one every 2 seconds for at least 30 seconds.

1. Turn it on: Rapid Tracking page → Advanced → Chop Chop For GPS Burst.
2. Hold the phone still, tap its corner twice on your other palm about a quarter second apart, then hold still for half a second.
3. A double vibration confirms it. Chop again to extend the burst, up to 3 minutes.

If nothing happened, check that an event is running and not paused, that the phone was still before and after the taps, that the proximity sensor isn't covered (for example in a pocket), and that you waited more than 3 seconds after the last chop. Walking and jogging don't trigger it. Double-tapping the map's center button also adds a mark.

No. A mark only means "something mattered here". The app finds laps automatically for out-and-back repeats, such as hill or stair repeats, with or without marks.

1. On the Events screen, long-press an event to see its shape, trimming and laps.
2. Tap Export laps to write a laps GPX and CSV with time, distance, climb and heart rate for each lap.
3. If no laps are found, enter hints (lap m, lap min or laps) and tap Re-check.

For interval training, turn off Enforce Forward Progress (Anti-Spider Web) under Advanced.

1. Turn on and wear your Bluetooth LE heart rate monitor. The app was tested with a Polar OH1.
2. On the Rapid Tracking page, tap Advanced and tick Heart Rate Monitor. Allow Nearby devices and location.
3. Pick your monitor from the list and wait 10–15 seconds.

When readings arrive, the checkbox shows "Heart Rate ✓ (N BPM)" in green. The app remembers the monitor and reconnects to it on later events. Heart rate is included in Rich Data GPX and laps exports, not in the plain GPX.

On the Rapid Tracking page, tap Advanced, tick Enable Step Counter and allow Physical activity.

Steps are stored with each GPS point as a running total from the phone's sensor. The count does not reset to zero at Start, so subtract the starting total from the ending total. Steps appear in Rich Data GPX exports and the laps CSV, not on the notification or the status screen.

While you drive or bike faster than about 9 mph, the app notifies you once for each walkable trail system within 3 km, with its distance and direction. On a freeway, it tells you which exit to take.

1. Make sure a downloaded Profiles file covers your drive.
2. On the Rapid Tracking page, tap Advanced and tick Path System Alerts (driving).
3. Set Minimum combined trail (km):. The default is 4; use 20 or more to keep the alerts down.

With an event running and Continuously Center on, alerts also appear as a large strip at the top of the map. Tap one to see the trail system, then tap the red Resume centering button to go back.

Tick Intersection Alerts under Advanced before you tap Start. The phone then vibrates and shows "Approaching Intersection" when you come within 50 m of a trail intersection in your Profiles file. Each alert also starts a short burst of frequent GPS fixes. Notifications must be on for the app.

There are two ways:

1. Extract Track File on the main page: choose All, Today, Yesterday, Past Week, Last Hour or Last 15 Minutes, then tap Export.
2. For a single recording: open More options → Show Events (last 8 days), select the event and tap Export....

The files go to the app's My Tracks folder and appear in Show Track File List. Extracting doesn't remove anything, so you can do it as often as you like.

The app has no accounts, no direct link to other services, and never uploads anything. Instead, share the GPX file yourself:

1. Export a GPX file (see the question above).
2. Open Show Track File List and select the file.
3. Tap SHARE to send it through Android's share sheet to another app, or use EMAIL SELECTED or Copy To Downloads.

What the other app does with the GPX file is up to that app. To include heart rate, export Rich Data. It uses the standard Garmin heart-rate tag that most fitness tools read.

Select the track in Show Track File List and use EMAIL SELECTED, SHARE or Copy To Downloads. Copy To Downloads puts it in the phone's shared Download folder, where your computer can see it over USB.

Email Extracted Track File attaches only the files that Extract Track File last wrote. It doesn't read the recorded points. Tap Extract Track File first.

Long-press Email Extracted Track File to check whether the newest extract is up to date. You still have to tap Send in your email app.

Two exports include them:

• Rich Data GPX: tick Include: Rich Data (EXPERIMENTAL) in Set Track File Settings, or tick Rich Data in the Events Export... dialog.
• Export laps.

The plain GPX doesn't include heart rate or steps. Rich files are still standard GPX 1.1, so other apps can display them.

Use the …_PlusOSM_V2.gpx file (…_PlusOSM_V3.gpx in the next update and later). To create it, tick Include: Nearby OSM Lines in Set Track File Settings, or Nearby OSM Lines in the Events export. The file holds your track plus the nearby trails from your Profiles file as separate named routes, without false connecting lines.

To add the same trails to a GPX you already have, use ADD OSM DATA on a track list.

In the next update and later, the trails come from every Profiles file in the selected Profiles file's folder, so a track that runs from one Profiles area into another gets the trails of both. Version 20261015 uses only the selected file.

• Snapped: your track matched to OpenStreetMap ways from your Profiles file (CREATE SNAPPED GPX, or Include: OSM Snapped Track Export).
• Plus OSM: your track plus nearby trails as named routes.
• Rich: heart rate, steps, movement and quality for each point.
• Laps: one track per lap, made with Export laps.

The Track File List shows each file's type in its summary line. The two OpenStreetMap options (Snapped and Plus OSM) need a downloaded Profiles file.

1. Tap Text MSG My Location. A preview shows how old and how accurate the location fix is. The app gets a fresh fix if needed.
2. Tap forward to sms. Your messaging app opens with the message and a map link.
3. Tap Send in your messaging app.

The app never sends texts or emails by itself. To save recipients and a message ahead of time, use More options → Set SMS Text Settings (or Set EMail Settings).

Android sometimes stops the tracking service. If the event still has time left, the app posts "Needs to Restart Tracking Service" / "Bring app to front to restart location service". Tap it promptly, with the phone unlocked, to restart tracking. No points are recorded while the service is stopped, so the track has a gap.

To prevent it:

• Keep Notifications on for the app.
• Don't swipe the app away from Recents during an event.
• Don't tap Stop Rapid Tracks in the notification unless you mean to stop.
• General Android advice, not from the app: in Android Settings → Apps → the app → Battery, set battery usage to Unrestricted or "Don't optimize", and remove the app from any "sleeping apps" or "deep sleep" list. Battery saver modes can also limit GPS.

Also check whether the event simply ran out of time.

Check these in order:

• The main page says "Global Location is turned off.": turn on Location in Android Quick Settings.
• It says "Permissions Needed", or that Notifications are off: allow precise Location and Notifications for the app.
• Did you start an event? Opening the map alone gives only 5 minutes of GPS.
• The event may have ended. Choose a longer Duration, or tap Status Update to add time before it ends.
• A Distance setting of 20 or 100 m records few points when you walk slowly.
• A Set Track Log Boundary box may exclude the area.
• The app saves points only in its supported regions, whatever your settings: the Americas (including Alaska, Hawaii and Canada), Europe from Iceland and the Azores to the Urals, New Zealand and Fiji. Elsewhere (for example most of Africa, Asia and Australia), nothing is saved. Version 20261015 is narrower: it saves points only between longitude 179°W and 20°E and latitude 60°S and 75°N, so nothing east of 20°E (eastern Europe included). The next update widens it.
• Poor reception: tap the map's satellite button to see how many satellites are used and how strong they are.

Possible causes:

• DELETE on the Track File List (the known issue above).
• Reset Tracks DB, which deletes all recorded points and all events.
• Trim Old GPS Data, which deletes points older than 8 days.
• The wrong period in the Extract dialog. "Yesterday" means the previous calendar day.
• The wrong folder. The Track File List has Internal and External buttons.

Points that were never extracted or exported cannot be recovered.

Almost every main-page button checks permissions first. If one is missing, the button asks for it instead of doing its job. Grant the permission, then tap the button again.

If you chose "Don't ask again", allow Location and Notifications in Android Settings → Apps → the app → Permissions.

• "Not enough disk space": the app needs the file size plus about 300 MB free. Free up space, or use Private Ext DL (SD card) if your phone has it.
• "Download link unavailable" or "No Internet Connectivity": go online (Wi-Fi is recommended for large files) and try again later.
• It never finished: after a download starts, follow its progress in Android's own download notification, which reports success or failure. Known issue in version 20261015 (fixed in the next update): after a download fails or is cancelled, the app may still treat the file as downloading: the button stays grey, or you see "Already downloaded or downloading". Until you update, retry from Buy Maps → Bought (or, free included), through a guided tour that includes the file, or in a different download folder. After the update, a failed or cancelled download no longer blocks a retry, and a failure while the app is open shows "Download failed: {file}. {reason}. Try again." If the download screen was open at that moment, leave it and open it again first. There is no automatic retry.

No installed terrain file covers the map center. In the dialog that appears, tap Manage MBTiles and download a terrain file for this area from the Hillshade only list.

• Either the file type isn't supported, or the .zip holds more than one file. OpenAndroMaps downloads are often like that. Extract the .zip with your Files app and import the .map file itself.
• Upper-case file extensions are fine: TRACK.GPX is imported and saved as TRACK.gpx. Your original file keeps its name.
• Profiles files import as .osmprofilesdbz. From the next update an unzipped .osmprofilesdb imports too; version 20261015 refuses it.

• Large files copy in the background. Wait, then swipe the list down to refresh it.
• "Not enough free space to import ..." means the phone needs the file size plus about 10 MB free. Free up space and try again. In version 20261015 there is no message: nothing happens after "Import started...".
• "...is already imported. The existing file was kept." means a file with the same name is already there. Rename the new file, or delete the old one first.
• Imported GPX files are under Show Imported GPX List, not under Show Track File List.

1. Turn on the monitor and wear it, because many straps only broadcast when worn. Make sure no other app or device is connected to it.
2. Allow Nearby devices and Location. If "Bluetooth Permission Required" appears, tap Open Settings. Heart rate does not need "Allow all the time".
3. The scan only lists monitors whose Bluetooth name contains Polar H, Polar OH, TICKR, HRM, Heart Rate, Pulse, Garmin HRM, Wahoo, Myzone, RHYTHM or Coospo. For other monitors, type part of the name in Custom Heart Rate Filter and tap Rescan.
4. Connecting takes 10–15 seconds.
5. "Heart Rate ✗ no data" means the monitor is connected but not sending. Check the strap's contact and battery.
6. If you see "Application registration failed" or "Internal error", turn Bluetooth off and on again.

If the Heart Rate Monitor option is missing, the phone doesn't support Bluetooth LE.

Check each of these:

• A downloaded Profiles file covers the area. The map strip warns you if not.
• Notifications are allowed for the app and for its Path System Alerts channel.
• You are moving faster than about 9 mph.
• Nearby trail systems are at least your Minimum combined trail (km):.
• You have traveled about 600 m since the last check.

Some in-app texts are older than version 20261015. This FAQ describes what the app actually does. Examples:

• Trim Old GPS Data is in the More options menu of the Rapid Tracking page, not "Settings → Database" (corrected in the next update).
• Chop Chop uses two taps on your palm. It confirms with vibration and a chime, not a notification.
• Map rotation has no "Compass Mode". The modes are North Up, Manual Rotate and Target Direction.
• Crossings are drawn as orange stars, not a "blue X".
• Reset Tracks DB also deletes all events.

No. The app has no user accounts and no cloud sync. Buying raster maps in Full uses your Google Play account.

No. Your tracks stay on the phone, and files leave the phone only when you share, email or copy them yourself. The app doesn't send texts or emails on its own either: it prepares them, and you press Send in your own app. Recipients you save in the templates are stored on the device.

Yes, while tracking runs: a Rapid Tracking event, or the 5-minute map session. The "Location running." notification shows when it is on, and Stop Rapid Tracks in that notification ends it.

The app asks for "Allow all the time" only when you tick Resume Active Tracking After Reboot.

Yes. On the main page, open More options → Set Track Log Boundary. Enter a box under "Log NO Tracks Within This:" (north and south latitude, west and east longitude) and tap Save All. Points inside that box are not saved.

To record only inside an area instead, use "Log Tracks Only Within This:".

Recorded points are kept in a database inside the app, and the files you extract go to the app's My Tracks folder. The app doesn't delete old points automatically.

• Reset Tracks DB deletes all recorded points and events, but not your files. It cannot be undone.
• Uninstalling the app, or Clear Storage in Android Settings, deletes the recorded points, the events, the extracted files and the downloads in the app's private folders.

To keep important tracks, email them or use Copy To Downloads.

No. Before it first asks for location, the app shows a no-warranty notice. In short, the author makes no guarantees about the reliability of the app or any GPS data. The app is not reviewed or certified for navigation, aviation, life-safety or vehicle use, and the author disclaims liability for any damage from using it.

Don't use it as your only navigation or safety device. In the backcountry, also carry a paper map and a real compass, and take the usual precautions. The walking routes are experimental and may use closed, private or missing paths.

• Trails: the trail lines come from OpenStreetMap contributors and are only as good as the last editor made them. You can become a contributor and correct errors you find. Profiles files are curated: they hold paths and some nearby roads, not every street.
• GPS track: the app discards fixes with a reported accuracy worse than 24 m and flags doubtful ones. In the app's own words this is "always a best guess - GPS and sensors have limitations", especially when reception is poor.