Category Archives: FAQ

Offline maps and GPX save location with Android 11

As Google continues to make it harder for applications to share data, you may have to move your offline maps and GPX save location to a MyTrails-specific folder rather than the traditional /sdcard/MyTrails.

Several users have reported that using a folder like android/media/com.frogsparks.mytrails (inside the main device storage, presumably also on a removable storage) works.

When selecting the offline map location, use the “device” button in the top-right corner to switch to that directory directly:

If you’re not using offline maps (only GPX saved tracks), you can probably stick with your usual save location, but you need to switch to the standard Android file picker (disable Use internal file picker in MyTrails > Preferences > Other).

For more general info, see this older post.

MyTrails displays extra lines on my recorded tracks

Extra lines

On some devices, MyTrails draws recorded tracks with lines leading back to the start of the recording. This is only a display issue, and the lines change when you zoom in or out.

For the moment, to fix this, use the toggle track mode hidden option to select the Lines mode.

If this doesn’t fix the problem, you can use the same hidden option to get back to Smooth triangles, and check that the problem is not with the recording itself.

Why do directions, search and nearby POI search no longer work?

Google some time ago switched all maps-related APIs from free to paid, which requires changes in apps that use those APIs. Because MyTrails can aggregate several similar services, I didn’t immediately realize that some functionality MyTrails relies on was no longer available.

I will be releasing an update that restores directions, POI search and location search functionality. For Pro users, I will test whether MyTrails can keep using the paid Google APIs, but for free users, MyTrails will likely have to switch to free services, such as OSM, and I may have to restrict directions.

You can restore some of the search functionality in MyTrails 2.1.4 by enabling the OpenStreetMap search provider in MyTrails > Preferences > Other.

In the latest 2.1.6 beta, Google search, directions and altitude are fixed.

FrogSparks licensing server blocked by Russian government

According to this site, maps.frogsparks.com is among many sites being blocked by the Russian government (technically, the IP address the host resolves to is part of a large block “B-class” of IPs blocked wholesale by Russia – the block is not targeted at MyTrails specifically). This means that for users in Russia, MyTrails Pro can no longer verify its licensing status, and will revert to Free mode even if you have paid.

If you are affected by this, you can use a VPN to allow MyTrails to get around the block. The licensing status must be verified at least once every two months.

MyTrails 2.1.4b2 contains a workaround for this.

MyTrails records zigzag around my track

This means your GPS signal is noisy, which may be:

  • because your GPS module is not very sensitive or misconfigured
  • because of the terrain (in thick woods or canyons)
  • because it’s stored at the bottom of a backpack or pocket
  • because of jamming (intentional or power lines)

Once you’ve excluded the physical causes and have reset your GPS (and rebooted the phone for good measure), if the track is still showing zigzags, you can set up filtering in MyTrails by using the set kalman filter n hidden option, where n is the approximate nominal speed in m/s, for example 1 for walking, 8 for cycling.

OpenCycleMap API KEY REQUIRED

OpenCycleMap is operated by ThunderForest, a paid service. They overlay the message “API KEY REQUIRED” on their maps to encourage users to register with them.

You can create a free account and update the map definition in MyTrails > Maps > tap on the OpenCycleMap entry and edit the map URL, adding ?apikey=123abc at the end of the existing URL, where 123abc should be replaced with your real API Key.

The first part of the URL may also need to be changed from a.tile.opencyclemap.org
to a.tile.thunderforest.com.

Screenshot_2017-04-22-23-02-41

Bug on Android 7 (Nougat)

MyTrails 2.0 is not fully compatible with Android Nougat (7.0), and in the Track Manager I have disabled long-tapping to select a track, so the ability to perform actions on tracks is not longer available.

MyTrails 2.1, a major rewrite of important parts of the app to make it compatible with the latest Android versions, is now available in the beta track. To get the beta release, please opt-in here.

Blackberry devices can’t connect to account

MyTrails mostly works well on Blackberry 10 devices, but because Blackberry doesn’t include the same sets of security certificates that other modern OSes do, it’s not able to connect to my server for things like creating an account or purchasing maps.

Two solutions:

  • upgrade to the latest Blackberry 10 version (10.3.3)
  • install multiCERT and use it to upgrade the certificate database

Moving to another device

Here’s a checklist of things you should do to move all your data when you change devices:

  1. on your old device, make sure MyTrails is connected to your account, so your purchases, if any, will be available on your new device
  2. make a backup of MyTrails’ state on your old device
    1. if you have rooted your device, you can use Titanium Backup or a similar tool
    2. if you have not rooted your device or are not sure what “rooted” means, you can use a tool such as MyBackup (you can install it from MyTrails > Preferences > About) or Helium
    3. if you can’t make a backup, at least export your waypoints from MyTrails into a GPX, by using the export global waypoints hidden option
  3. unless you keep all your recorded tracks in Dropbox, make a copy of your recorded tracks on your computer
  4. if you have offline maps, you can copy them to your computer as well
  5. on your new device, install MyTrails (you don’t need to install the MyTrails Pro License application unless you haven’t connected MyTrails to your account in step 1)
  6. if you made a backup in step 2, restore it on the new device
  7. make sure MyTrails on the new device is connected to your account
  8. check that your recorded tracks are still available (if not, copy them from your computer to the new device, and load them into MyTrails)
  9. make sure your offline maps are still available (if not, first check the location for offline maps in MyTrails > Preferences > Other, then copy them from your computer to that location and restart MyTrails)
  10. check that your global waypoints are still available (if not, load the exported global_waypoints.gpx; unfortunately the waypoints will no longer be global, but will remain associated with that track, which you should leave checked)