Yaky's

Maps and navigation apps for old iOS

(Updated 2024-10-25) Brief overview of map and navigation apps that still work on an old iPad 2 running iOS 6.1.3, iOS 8.4.1, and/or iOS 9.3.5.

In my quest to repurpose an old iPad 2 tablet as an in-car minimap or navigation system, I tried out many apps, from multiple sources, on several iOS versions. Here is a brief summary, best to worst for each iOS version.


iOS 9.3.5

This is what the tablet had when I got it a few years ago.
Pros: Most up-to-date. Some apps are still supported.
Cons: Pretty slow. Phoenix jailbreak needs to be updated every 7 days. (I missed it at the time, but there should be an untethered jailbreak for it)

Google Maps

IMO the best choice for iOS 9.3.5.
Pros: Up-to-date maps, optional offline maps (requires an account for some reason).
Cons: Requires a Google account for offline maps (which Google makes more difficult to create). Some people have reported issues with offline maps searching and stability.

OsmAnd

The OG of the OpenStreetMap navigation.
Pros: Offline-first maps.
Cons: Crashes a lot on iOS 9.3.5. OpenStreetMap could be out of date and lacking in some aspects (for example, address lookups).

Waze

Pros: It seems to work.
Cons: Online-only. Too much cringe for me, use it if that's your thing.

Apple Maps

Does not work. Map does not load.
See iOS 6.1.3 for a fix.

Maps.me

Does not work. Maps cannot be downloaded.
Maybe downloading a Maps.me or Organic Maps map on a newer device and moving it to an appropriate directory would work, since it's the same file format.

Organic Maps

Not supported.


iOS 8.4.1

Recommended by several people online as the last good iOS version for iPad 2. Installed by downgrading to 6.1.3 and then applying the official software update.
Pros: Untethered jailbreak
Cons: Google accounts do not work. Outdated browser and certificates.

OsmAnd

IMO the best, and AFAIK the only offline map app for iOS 8.
Pros: Offline-first maps, pretty stable on iOS 8.4.1, very customizable.
Cons: Route planning is slow. Search sometimes works poorly (while current Organic Maps, which uses the same maps, works fine). OpenStreetMap could be out of date and lacking in some aspects (for example, address lookups).

Google Maps

Pros: Up-to-date maps.
Cons: Online only.
Note: Google account login and creation is broken on iOS 8. I tried logging in and creating an account through Google Maps, Safari (with updated certificates), and even VLC, but failed.

Apple Maps

Does not work. Map does not load.
See iOS 6.1.3 for a fix.

HERE Maps (iPhone app)

I really liked this version of HERE maps, which was also on Windows Phone at that time.
Does not work. No live map, offline maps do not load.

Maps.me

Does not work. Maps cannot be downloaded.

CoPilot GPS

Does not work. Crashes on startup.


iOS 6.1.3

My favorite version. I also tried some less-official apps from Veteris and The Internet Archive.
Pros: Fast, untethered jailbreak, lots of community support, classic glossy skeuomorphic UI.
Cons: The official App Store is dead, certificates are outdated, some apps require patches.

To connect to current sites, install the newer ISRG root certificates on your device:
ISRG Root X1 CA (open in Safari)
ISRG Root X2 CA (open in Safari)

Update 2024-10-25: The App Store is dead. Checked and reported by multiple people at /r/legacyjailbreak. For the sake of history, these remain:

To use the App Store, install AppStoreFix and Checkmate, Store!
Aoi's Cydia repo for AppStoreFix
InvoxiPlayGames Cydia Repo for Checkmate, Store!

To be able to install some apps that *require* GPS functionality (for example, Maps.me), use the LowerInstall tweak and pretend to be a GPS-enabled device (e.g. "iPad2,3")
JulioVerne's Repo for LowerInstall tweak

CoPilot GPS

Great map app, probably the best on iOS 6.
Pros: Works well, uses offline maps, old-school GPS interface, early 2010s style matches iOS 6 and my car.
Cons: Turn-by-turn and voice navigation are by subscription.
Note: As far as I know, purchasing does not work on iOS 6 anymore. I tried tweaks like IAPStore, but that does not work.

CoPilot Live Premium EU (via Veteris)

Not-so-official version of earlier CoPilot Live.
Pros: Premium edition, full functionality.
Cons: Licensed to EU, and can only use EU maps. Moving North American maps to the map folder triggers a license warning.

OffMaps2 (via Veteris)

Pretty fast maps app, imitating some UI of Apple Maps. Would work OK as a minimap.
Pros: Offline maps, POI lookup.
Cons: No navigation, no address lookup, no zoom buttons.

Google Maps

Pros: It works.
Cons: No true offline maps on any iOS versions. Map doesn't always show street names. No zoom buttons.
Notes:
Google Maps does cache the maps though, so if you scroll around a bit, while zoomed in, it should work offline within that area. No address or POI search though, that requires an internet connection.
There are several versions of Google Maps that run on iOS 6: (you can find previous versions on The Internet Archive or Veteris)
I have not tested them enough to know the practical difference.

OfflineMaps (via Cydia's BigBoss repo)

Not a navigation app by itself, but a companion for Google Maps.
This app takes maps created via GMDL software on your computer, and puts them into Google Maps' cache to be used offline. GMDL did not work for me out of the box (the browser engine it uses is not supported by Google anymore), but I did not try to fix it.

KLMaps2 (via Cydia's BigBoss repo)

This iPhone utility is also supposed to save Google maps into the Google Maps app cache. But it uses the Apple Maps overlay? The UI is bizarre, search did not work, saving the offline map did not work either.

Apple Maps

Barely works with MapsX tweak.
SkyGlow Cydia repo for MapsX
Pros: It does, actually, work.
Cons: Online only, no search, frequent "hall of mirrors" effect with map tiles on iPad.

Maps.me

Does not work.
Offline maps cannot be downloaded.
Needs the LowerInstall tweak to be installed from the App Store.
It might be possible to download and substitute maps from Organic Maps or newer Maps.me.

CityMaps2Go (.ipa from The Internet Archive)

Does not work.
Unable to connect to update or download any maps.

Does not work.
Unable to connect to the server.

Sygic

Does not work.
iPad version does not install: App Store error.
iPhone version installs but does not work: cannot connect to the server.

OsmAnd

Does not install: requires iOS 8 AFAIK.

iWay Free (via Veteris)

Not decrypted.

TeleNav Navigator (.ipa from The Internet Archive)

Does not install: "your device does not support GPS capability". Well, that's true, but that is why I got a GPS dongle.

Not supported.