A significant outage impacting Google Maps’ mobile application left users worldwide unable to access maps or directions for several hours. Downdetector logged over 4,000 user reports detailing the disruption, beginning around 3:34 PM ET. Google’s Status Dashboard confirmed the issue, citing problems with its Maps SDK and Navigation SDK.
Both Android and iOS versions of the app were severely affected, preventing map loading, listing display, and route planning. Some users reported an error message indicating an inability to reach the Google Maps server. Notably, the outage did not impact the desktop version of Google Maps, which remained fully operational.
Google’s engineering team initiated mitigation efforts, reporting “indications of recovery” around 5:22 PM ET. A partial resolution was announced approximately 30 minutes later, although a complete restoration timeline remained unclear at that time. The company committed to publishing a post-incident analysis upon completion of its internal investigation.
According to initial reports, Google provided no specific explanation for the cause of the outage or detailed remediation steps. While the company’s Status Dashboard acknowledged the problems, further comment was pending at the time of publication. We have contacted Google for additional details and will update this article accordingly.
This incident marks a significant disruption, recalling a previous major Google outage in June, which primarily affected Google Cloud services. That broader outage, due to its impact on numerous Google Cloud clients, resulted in hours of service interruption for platforms such as Spotify and Snapchat.
