[Closed] Alternative to Outdooractive?

Loved ViewRanger. Really disappointed that they’ve sold out to the much inferior Outdooractive.

Another Viewranger lover here also disappointed about its demise.
The OS app is fine but it relies on a signal unless you remember to download the section of map you need. I only have a cheap low data phone deal which can't cope with mapstreaming so have relied on VR. Outdoor active so far seems far inferior.

The OS app is fine but it relies on a signal unless you remember to download the section of map you need

So the same as all the rest of them then?.

Has anyone tried Topo GPS?

Also interested in this - my subscription is due next week. I paid to Viewranger, but was 'transferred' to OA (although Viewranger still works). I find OA ok to use, but not as good as Viewranger.

I don’t mind OA for mapping and planning routes etc, but the logging in iOS is awful. I’ve given up as it’s consistently failed to transfer a complete activity to health/fitness despite being in the app. I got a year free premium access moving from ViewRanger but I probably won’t renew it.

So the same as all the rest of them then?.

Maybe most of them, but not the same as Viewranger

So the same as all the rest of them then?.

Maybe most of them, but not the same as Viewranger

How does the map data get into Viewranger then? Magic?

I didn't really like OA - perhaps I was biased as it is more money than VR for less

I'm trying Trailforks, which looks good for finding trails, but not so good for navigation (couldn't figure out how to stop it keeping North at the top of the screen)

And komoot, where I may eventually settle

Maybe most of them, but not the same as Viewranger

Yes it is. You still have to download the maps, even on the mythical Viewranger.

Another one switched over. I really don’t like OA. It just doesn’t seem to actually know where half the bridleways are. I’m toying between the OS app and komoot

Yes it is. You still have to download the maps, even on the mythical Viewranger.

Not in the same way. You don't need to "remember to download the section of map you need". You bought regions or countries then they just sat on your phone. Forever. I moved my maps from my Nokia 5800 onto various android tablets and phones over the years.

Back Country Navigator has almost filled the void for me. OA & OS maps no substitute for VR IMO. I've got the whole of Scotland stored offline on my phone in 1/25000 format. BCN only allows 4 gig in any single directory but it's easy to set up more than 1 if required. 12 quid a year from memory.

Not in the same way. You don’t need to “remember to download the section of map you need”. You bought regions or countries then they just sat on your phone. Forever. I moved my maps from my Nokia 5800 onto various android tablets and phones over the years.

But you had to download it, right? I understand that the difference is that you can download the whole of the UK on VR right? fair enough, I think you can do this on BCN as well, but you need to do it through a load of different folders, so a wee bit more involved at first.

I don't mind the whole having to download stuff, I always have the Galloways, Arran, Cairngorms and the Lakes on mine, as I use them fairly often for walking, biking etc, it takes a minute or so to download an area that you're gonna go to the next day, and doesn't take up masses of space on my phone. Not exactly a deal breaker.

@Davesport out of genuine interest, what did VR do that was so good that OS doesn't?.

 It just doesn’t seem to actually know where half the bridleways are.

thats a limitation of openstreetmap, not just Outdoor active.

you can edit it if you think its not right but I think most mapping services only include edits once a year or so.

Not exactly a deal breaker.

For you maybe. For somebody trying to find a replacement for Viewranger they may want something that has one of the best features of Viewranger. I certainly do, and it doesn't appear to exist, which it why it is such a shame that Viewranger is ending.

@nobeerinthefridge.

A couple of features I miss of the top of my head. First is the ease in BR of creating routes and having the displayed on the map ready to navigate from. The second was the ability to drag the crosshairs on the map to a new location and instantly be able to see the distance to that feature. Also, whilst following the terrain with the crosshair actual elevation displayed in real time.

Has anyone got an opinion of the relative merits of the OS app vs OA? Is it worth switching to the OS app?

OS do a free 7 day trial. Your best bet might be to signup for that and try it?

OS App has one huge advantage in my mind, you can print a A3/A4 on PC as an offline backup when in the wilds. But also you can take a PDF of that print, georeference it in QGIS then save it to formats many mapping tools including Garmin accept.

Has anyone got an opinion of the relative merits of the OS app vs OA? Is it worth switching to the OS app?

i tried it when I bought a paper map and got a free trial. didnt like it much. OA isnt perfect but I'd say its better than the OS app.

I'm wondering, although they told me that I won't be able to use OS maps with VR after jan. I'm thinking it may still work with my saved maps?

On the subject of saved maps, does anyone know how to export them from VR as a back up somewhere like a PC?

On the subject of saved maps, does anyone know how to export them from VR as a back up somewhere like a PC?

They are just files in a folder on your phone. Should be in a folder called Viewranger. You can save them like any file: email, copy to online storage, plug in a USB and drag an drop, etc. If you go into settings on the app and choose storage it'll show you the file location

Cheers! @nickjb do you know if they are in a format than can be used by other apps?

very unlikely.

do you know if they are in a format than can be used by other apps?

No. It's unique to the app. I'm not sure if lifetime maps will stop working at some point. I'm hoping if I don't update the app the old maps will carry on working. Will have to wait and see.

Yep, that's what I am hoping too.

I've switched to MemoryMap. It allows a full download of OS maps to your phone and the PC version does nice route map printouts. It's not as slick as VR though. But I like lit better than OA.

Theres an update to MMTracker so it works with older memory map tiles and new versions of Android (11 I think mine is)

OS have a 1 month free premium trial. I'm trying it at the moment, so far not impressed.

Trying to download an offline map of my local area which has crashed the app. So not a Good start. This is android on latest software and modern pixel phone. App also recognises I have a premium sub but won't let me view the premium topo.

Sigh. The beauty of Viewranger was the stable app, rock solid offline mapping and being able to download huge areas of the country so you never had to wonder if you have downloaded everything you needed. This OS app feels like losing Windows 10 and getting Vista as an upgrade. Will give it a field test. May still be a viable option as it is cheaper than other options at £26/year

OS do a free 7 day trial. Your best bet might be to signup for that and try it?

I noticed this morning that it's 7 days on the website but 1 month via Google play on the app. Wierd

OS app is absolutely solid on my phone, it's improved no end since those early days.

Coincidentally, I've just had an email from MemoryMap....

Full lifetime UK 1:25K and 1:50K for £125.

Not what I'd choose to spend, but if they pull plug on VA, that looks a good choice.

OS app is absolutely solid on my phone, it’s improved no end since those early days.

Completely agree (iOS). The one gripe I have is that if I open a route, a good portion of the screen is covered by route details I don't need - I just want to see the route full screen (which you can do with VR). I think you can "start" the route to remove or minimise the route info, but that's not how I use my maps most of the time. Typically, I just want a quick check of where I am. Other than that though it's pretty slick. The route plotting online I found easier than VR too, especially when changing an existing route (at least in the old online version - I haven't tried the new one yet).

I haven't used VR for a while, not done much in the way of riding due to injury in the last year or more, but it's been great for planning routes and tracking my rides. I've been very happy with it and was using it a looong time ago. I paid for lifetime UK OS mapping when they used to offer that option. Didn't realise they were going to close it down so I email VR and this is the reply:

There will be an announcement soon, but yes, Outdooractive intend to close ViewRanger at the end of February.

When you first connected they gave you a year of Pro+, which includes all the maps they offer. That runs until September. Beyond that you'll have access to the whole GB at both 1:25,000 and 1:50,00 scale - details of that are being finalised now.

But my main question was if my mapping is still going to be there, I don't want to find that I'm suddenly have to pay a subscription for something I've already paid for, hopfully it will but they didn't really answer that one so I've asked again.

Also, wanted to know what will be on my phone when it does close, will we have to have a new app, really like the VR app, it works, it'll be annoying if we have to have some new interface that's crap!

I got an email from Viewranger yesterday saying it will stop end of Feb but that all one off map purchases will be available at no cost in OA once you transfer. I tried it out and yes it does seem to have worked so I have the full UK 1:50K and various bits of 1:25k in OA. Will test it alongside the OS and see what feels best. They said

One-off payments in ViewRanger
If you made one-off payments to access maps of an area within ViewRanger, then you will be able to access maps of those areas via the free version of the Outdooractive app and website. The maps will be from the same map data provider or from an alternative map data provider depending on the map region:

• Great Britain: if you currently have access to OS map tiles in England, Scotland, or Wales, you will have access to 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 OS maps across Great Britain.

If I'm understanding it right it looks like if you bought map areas you're fine, but if you subscribed for map access then not so much.

Having had the email yesterday I thought I may as well download OA to have a look at the app.

When I first downloaded it there was a map shown but now I'm just getting a blank screen. Any idea what the issue is and how I pull across my lifetime maps from VR?

I've just had a quick look at the outdooractive app on playstore, reviews don't look good at all! What the hell have you done ViewRanger!!

With regard to enabling 'old' (i.e. bought in VR) maps in OA.. mine did not appear, but then I went onto the OA website (profile page) and there was something to click to "Activate Your ViewRanger Legacy Maps". They now appear.

There's currently a BF Friday offer (code CYBERX) which brings the Pro subscription down to £14.99 for the year. Will do the free trial for a month and see how it goes..

To be fair, the website side of OA does seem rather more polished than VR - an aspect that hadn't been updated for years but which I used quite frequently to plot routes.

I seem to be able to see maps when I go to the website but on the app I'm just getting a blank screen and the map icon in the bottom right corner doesn't do anything. Ideally I'd want to download the full UK 1:50000 map to my phone which is what I had on VR.

a blank screen

I get a blank screen if I zoom out too far.

Ideally I’d want to download the full UK 1:50000 map to my phone which is what I had on VR.

I'm happy to be corrected, but I think to download maps for offline use (including OS) you need the Pro subscription, and there doesn't appear to be a 'whole map' option.

Well it says my subscription is Pro+ so that's presumably what you get as a VR user. Zooming in and out doesn't seem to have any effect.

As I say, the map icon doesn't seem to be doing anything which differs from the website version which brings up different types of mapping when you tap it.

Might try uninstalling the app and then put it back on.

I’ve just had a quick look at the outdooractive app on playstore, reviews don’t look good at all! What the hell have you done ViewRanger!!

I don't understand why they merged an app with 4.2 stars from 45k reviews with one with 2.4 stars from 7.5k reviews, and chose to keep the latter (admittedly OA has been brought down recently by disgruntled VR users, but when the merger was announced, it was still about 3.5 stars).

It may be naive, but I'm hoping eventually they'll see sense and start listening to the criticism and if they don't ditch OA and reboot VR, at least try and replicated VR functionality in OA.

I just assumed their business model wasn't viable?.

I thought VR got bought? Did they go bust?

I assumed it was growth through acquisition.

Well it looks like the end is nearly here…

In order to focus all our effort on our Outdooractive app and website, we will be switching off access to the ViewRanger app and website.

Timing
We currently expect to switch off access to the ViewRanger app and website at the end of February 2022.

For those of us that purchased National Parks or Map Tiles though they will now be available in Outdoor Active for free but only the areas you bought and at the scale you bought.

More here and if logged in you will be asked to accept OA’s t&c to get the maps ‘transferred’

https://www.outdooractive.com/mobile/en/viewranger-map-agreement.html

I have been in denial about losing ViewRanger, an App that has served me well for years. I have logged over 2,000 points on of interest on VR of various types in that time. VR allows you to record multiple types of POI which appear on the map as blobs of different colours and different icons. Using this feature I can differentiate between different interests and places I have been or are yet to go to. Narrative can be added to each POI allowing you to record details about what is there. As far as I can see no other Mapping App has this level of functionality. To lose this data and the ability to use it will really mess me up ! Can anybody here suggest where I can go to keep using my POI ?

@Smarticus I was in denial, but recently realised I had nothing to lose by trying to engage with OA. For one thing, it's automatically transferred all my routes and tracks (~1000 in total). I'm not sure if POIs are the same, I don't tend to use them, but worth checking.

If not, I'm pretty certain you can export POIs to a GPX in Viewranger... just checked: go into POIs, 3 dot menu top right, "Export POIs". Then you should be able to import that into any service that reads GPXes (and keep it as a backup).

Unfortunately OA just offers a single type of POI marker, which is a green square that doesn’t stand out. I haven’t found any other Apps that offer similar POI functionality to ViewRanger yet. I have the GPX file but no where to upload it as yet.

I'm hoping the viewranger guys are going to work on OA to merge some of the better features. I'd send them an email and see if this is a feature they might be considering

Ah, sorry Smarticus, I misinterpreted your question. Not sure I can help you I'm afraid. Have you tried Backcountry Navigator and/or Memory Map? I don't know if either of them support more detailed POIs but they seem the most "feature rich" apps from my research into alternatives.

I agree that the detailed POIs with different icons is quite useful. I've used it to show different types of potential resupply points on bikepacking trips, and useful to be able to add, e.g. opening times. Just exported my own POIs from Viewranger (thanks for the reminder) and looking at the XML, it seems there is a <cmt> (comment, presumably) field for the description and a <sym> field for the symbol. Not sure how universal support of those is, but it seems likely there'll be an app somewhere that will at least be able to support <cmt>.

@nickjb: me too - I'm trying to move on from the spitting my dummy out phase, and look for some positives. I've been thinking of asking their support if there's a way me/we as ex-Viewranger users can engage by giving feedback/feature requests/beta testing to develop OA into an even better version of VR, which would be the ideal outcome.