Google maps app on android phone help me please

[ny biker]

There is no blue directional icon on the screen.

I used to have zero problems with it too, until I installed the upgrade this weekend. They completely changed everything about how it works. The UI is totally different, icons have disappeared, pressing the menu button on my phone does nothing, I just stare at the screen with no idea how to get things to work.

I want to be able to search for an address, look at the map, then get directions to the address. I can search for an address but when I do I can't get directions to it. And then I'm stuck.

There are no buttons to zoom in or out, you have to do the pinching thing and that doesn't work right. I pinch and nothing happens. Or it zooms in or out way too much.

I used to be able to touch a location on the map and have the option to get directions to that location. This feature is gone.

So I downloaded Waze but it will not help me. I do not want it tracking my every move.

I do not understand why developers feel it is necessary to completely rewrite things that were working fine before.

[Sylvia]

There is no blue directional icon on the screen.

It is my understanding that they have made the new Android version of google maps match the iPhone version.

I have an iphone so I can only walk you through it as I see it on my iPhone. I don't know if this will help, so take it for what it's worth, but this is how it works on my iPhone.

1. When I start up google maps it gives me a map with my curent location pin pointed

2. At the top is a Search field where I can enter where I want to go.
If I enter Starbucks, for example, it will list various starbucks nearby and I can choose which one I want.

3. After I choose, I go back to the map with my current location pin pointed in blue and the Starbucks with a big red pinpoint.

4. On this same map screen, at the bottom right corner is a blue car icon. It sounds like this is the icon you are missing on your phone.
If I click on that icon, it gives me a choice of routes that I can take with the amount of time each route will take to get to that Starbucks.
When I select one of these routes, it takes me back to the map with that route outlined in blue.

5. At the bottom right of this screen is a blue arrow icon with the word Start.
If I click on the Start icon, it will show the map at my current location and at the top the first step in the list of directions to get me to Starbucks.

6. It will give me the next step in the instructions if I tap the Arrow in the upper left corner (labeled Then) and then click in the upper right corner.
Continuing to click in the upper right corner will walk me through the directions.

[thekarens]

Do you use the Chrome browser? Another useful tool that you might find helpful is an app called Chrome to Phone. You download the free app on your phone and the free Google extension to your computer. Then you can search and view the map on your computer and then send it directly to your phone. I some times find it easier to type and view in the computer than straight on the phone. It will open straight on your maps application on your phone and give you the option to start navigation.