Whether you’re roaming abroad, hiking somewhere with patchy signal, or just trying to make a data plan stretch further, HiiKER is built to work with little or no connection. With a few simple habits, you can keep your mobile data use close to zero out on the trail — and save your battery at the same time.
Here are our best tips for reducing data usage on HiiKER, on both iPhone and Android.
In this article: 1. Download offline maps · 2. Download your hikes and lists · 3. Airplane mode · 4. Restrict mobile data · 5. More easy wins · Quick recap
1. Download offline maps before you head out
This is the single biggest thing you can do. When you download a map for offline use, HiiKER stores it on your device, so it doesn’t need to pull those tiles over your mobile connection while you’re hiking.
One thing to be aware of: this applies inside the area you downloaded. If you pan or zoom beyond the dashed orange line while you still have signal, HiiKER will fetch those tiles from our map server as usual. Downloading generously around your route — or switching on Airplane mode, below — is what turns “much less data” into “none”.
We strongly recommend downloading your maps over Wi-Fi before you leave home, as map files can be large.
Download an area of map:
- Go to the main Map tab.
- Tap the Maps option.
- Tap the yellow download icon on the map style you want.
- Move and zoom the map to choose your area, then tap Confirm download area. If the frame turns red, you’ve zoomed out past the size limit for a single download — zoom back in a little.
- Give the area a name and tap Download.
Download a hike map:
- Open the overview page of any HiiKER hike, custom hike, or recording.
- Tap Download.
- Tap the yellow download icon of the map style you want — the app will automatically download the whole area for that hike.
When you see the green tick, your area is fully available offline. For the full walkthrough, see How do I download offline maps on HiiKER?
Top tip: Only download the map styles you’ll actually use. Each style is a separate download, so grabbing three or four versions of the same area uses far more data and storage than you need.
2. Download your hikes and lists
Planning a multi-day trip or a list of hikes? Download them while you’re still on Wi-Fi. You can download a whole hike list in one go: open it from Home > My Hike Lists and tap Download. Once downloaded, you can browse the route, elevation profile and map without touching your mobile data on the trail.
Areas you’ve downloaded become available offline everywhere you access them in HiiKER — look for the dashed orange line on the map, which marks your offline coverage.
3. Switch on Airplane mode while you hike
Once your maps are downloaded, you don’t need a connection at all to navigate. Turning on Airplane mode stops your phone from constantly searching for signal — which dramatically cuts both data use and battery drain.
HiiKER’s GPS navigation still works in Airplane mode, because GPS is a separate satellite signal that doesn’t use mobile data. You’ll keep your blue dot, your route, and your recording — just without the background data and the battery cost of hunting for a tower.
On iPhone: Swipe down from the top-right corner to open Control Centre and tap the airplane icon.
On Android: Swipe down from the top of the screen and tap the Airplane mode tile in Quick Settings.
Top tip: If you still want texts or calls to come through, leave Airplane mode off but turn on Low Data Mode (iPhone) or Data Saver (Android) instead — see below.
4. Restrict HiiKER’s mobile data in your phone settings
You can tell your phone to only let HiiKER use data over Wi-Fi, so it never quietly uses your mobile allowance in the background.
On iPhone:
- Open Settings > Apps > HiiKER. On older versions of iOS, scroll down the main Settings screen to HiiKER.
- Turn Mobile Data (or Cellular Data) off to block mobile data entirely.
Or go to Settings > Mobile Data > Low Data Mode to reduce background usage across the phone.
On Android:
- Open Settings > Apps > HiiKER > Mobile data & Wi-Fi.
- Turn off Background data, and turn on Data Saver if you want.
- You can also enable system-wide Data Saver under Settings > Network & internet > Data Saver.
Just remember: with mobile data fully blocked, you’ll need Wi-Fi to download new maps, upload recordings, or browse hikes you haven’t already saved.
5. A few more easy wins
- Do your downloading on Wi-Fi. Maps, hike updates, and app updates are best grabbed at home or anywhere with free Wi-Fi.
- Let recordings upload when you’re back online. Your hike recordings save to your phone first, so there’s no rush to upload them while you’re out. They upload automatically once you’re back online, over Wi-Fi or mobile data. If you’d rather they wait for Wi-Fi, turn off mobile data for HiiKER (see step 4).
- Delete offline maps you no longer need. This won’t save data, but it frees up storage so you can download fresh areas. From the Home tab, tap Downloads, then the menu icon at the top right to delete maps.
- Keep app updates on Wi-Fi only. In the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (Android), set automatic updates to Wi-Fi only.
Quick recap
The golden rule: download your maps on Wi-Fi before you go, then switch on Airplane mode on the trail. Do those two things and HiiKER will happily guide you for a full day’s hiking using almost no mobile data at all.
Still seeing higher data use than you’d expect? Contact our team and we’ll be glad to help.
Related: How do I download offline maps on HiiKER? · I have a “syncing” message on my recorded trails list
