Photo: Google forums
Google Maps has become a must-have part of the app arsenal of the modern driver, but on the other hand, taking everything it says for granted is never a good idea.
Not only that Google Maps can’t be 100 percent accurate, but there are also moments when the smallest error in the way it works could completely ruin your time behind the wheel.
This is precisely what seems to be happening right now, as some Google Maps users have noticed that the app silently changes the destination after picking an alternative route. In other words, whenever Google Maps selects a new route due to the changing traffic conditions, the app also configures a new destination, therefore sending users to a completely different location.
It’s not very clear why this happens, but based on the reports of the affected users, here’s what we were able to figure out.
More often than not, the error is triggered when Google Maps is being used to navigate to an address by providing the location’s coordinates. This means users don’t input a specific address but its coordinates, so when Google Maps looks for alternative routes to the destination, it somehow changes the coordinates as well.
Then, this weird behavior takes place mostly when eco-friendly routing is being used. The eco-friendly option is supposed to help drivers find routes that reduce their carbon footprint and fuel consumption, but because of this error, it actually sends them to other destinations as well.
In most cases, the new destinations aren’t far from the ones originally configured by users, but there are times when Google Maps completely loses its mind and sends drivers even 20 kilometers (that’s some 12 miles for our American readers) away from the desired final point.
Google is yet to acknowledge the problem, so for the time being, you should just double-check that Google Maps is always sending you to the desired location, especially when choosing a new route.
This is precisely what seems to be happening right now, as some Google Maps users have noticed that the app silently changes the destination after picking an alternative route. In other words, whenever Google Maps selects a new route due to the changing traffic conditions, the app also configures a new destination, therefore sending users to a completely different location.
It’s not very clear why this happens, but based on the reports of the affected users, here’s what we were able to figure out.
More often than not, the error is triggered when Google Maps is being used to navigate to an address by providing the location’s coordinates. This means users don’t input a specific address but its coordinates, so when Google Maps looks for alternative routes to the destination, it somehow changes the coordinates as well.
Then, this weird behavior takes place mostly when eco-friendly routing is being used. The eco-friendly option is supposed to help drivers find routes that reduce their carbon footprint and fuel consumption, but because of this error, it actually sends them to other destinations as well.
In most cases, the new destinations aren’t far from the ones originally configured by users, but there are times when Google Maps completely loses its mind and sends drivers even 20 kilometers (that’s some 12 miles for our American readers) away from the desired final point.
Google is yet to acknowledge the problem, so for the time being, you should just double-check that Google Maps is always sending you to the desired location, especially when choosing a new route.
Google News