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LandMeasure

Can I measure land offline on my iPhone, with no signal at all?

Yes, by walking: GPS and the area maths run on the phone, so Walk Mode records the boundary and shows Area and Perimeter with no data. What you lose is the map underneath, because the Satellite imagery comes over the internet and LandMeasure has no offline map download.

4 min read · Updated 2026-09-07

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Walk a hill pasture with zero bars and Airplane Mode on, and the map goes blank while the blue dot still moves, with a blue outline growing behind as you go. Back at the gate: 1.02 ha, Perimeter 409.9 m.

That empty background is the disappointment. Nothing is cached for you, so you walk with no picture of the hedge you are following, just your own line.

What works offline and what does not

LandMeasure with no internet
PartOffline?
GPS position, the GPS badge, Walk ModeWorks
Area, Perimeter, Distance, GPS marginWorks, calculated on the phone
Saving to Projects, changing UnitsWorks, everything is stored on the device
Standard, Satellite, Hybrid map backgroundsBlank. No offline tiles
Tapping corners on the mapPossible, but you have no imagery to tap against
PDF Report map pictureMade without the picture; build it later on Wi-Fi
Pro bought earlierStays active, the purchase is remembered on the phone

Before you leave: what to do on Wi-Fi

You cannot download the map, so do the map work at home instead.

  1. Set Settings > Units to the unit you want in the field, for example Hectares (ha).
  2. Create the project now: Projects tab, +, a Name and, if you like, a line in Notes (optional) about which gate you start from.
  3. If the edges show on the satellite photo, trace the plot on Wi-Fi with Measure > Measure Area and save it. You arrive with a figure already, and the walk becomes a check.
  4. Charge the phone. Walk Mode keeps GPS on with the screen locked for the whole walk.

In the field, with no data

  1. Open the Map tab and wait for the GPS badge. Out of signal, the first fix can take longer than in town; wait until it shows 3 or 4 green bars.
  2. Tap Measure > Measure Area (or Measure Distance for a fence run), then the walking-figure button.
  3. Walk the edge at a steady pace. The phone can go in a pocket.
  4. At the start point, tap the stop button first, then the green checkmark.

For scale: the 1.02 ha pasture had sides of about 85 and 120 m. At 1.2 m/s that is about 5.7 minutes of walking, and since the app keeps points at least 2 m apart, the shape ends with at most about 205 corners. At ±5m the GPS margin was ± 1,024.8 m², 10 % of the field. Fine for a fencing order or a seed bag count; not fine for a sale.

When the GPS itself is weak

No signal and bad GPS are different problems. In a wooded gully the badge drops to orange or red, and Walk Mode ignores every fix worse than 10 m, so the line cuts straight across. At ±10 m the same pasture would carry a margin of ± 2,049.7 m², a fifth of the field. If you see that, walk the open side again or come back when the sky is clearer.

Limits worth knowing before you rely on it

  • Walk Mode needs a GPS receiver: an iPhone, or an iPad with cellular. Wi-Fi-only iPads have no GPS chip.
  • No offline maps, no address search, no import of a boundary file.
  • Export and the PDF Report are Pro; free users can get one vector export per rewarded video, and the video itself needs internet.
  • If you tap the checkmark while still recording, the walk is thrown away.

GPS and the maths behind it do not care about signal, and that is the part that matters out in a field with no bars. The margin under the number tells you on the spot whether that walk was good enough, or whether you are doing it again.

Questions and answers

Does iPhone GPS work without cell service?
Yes. The GPS receiver hears satellites directly, so position works with no bars and in Airplane Mode with Location Services on. Without data the first fix can take longer, and map apps cannot load new map imagery.
Can I use a land measurement app by walking offline?
In LandMeasure, yes: Walk Mode records points and computes Area and Perimeter on the phone. Only the map background is missing until you are back in coverage.
Can I download offline maps for LandMeasure?
No. The map comes from Apple Maps over the internet and the app has no offline download. Trace on satellite at home and walk the boundary in the field instead.
Is my walked boundary saved if the phone has no signal?
Yes. Measurements are saved on the device, not uploaded anywhere, so nothing waits for a connection. Back in coverage the saved shape shows over the satellite map like any other.

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