Google Maps is the navigation tool for many, but sometimes it just doesn’t look right. You may not be able to see something in the distance or, if you look at another map, Google Maps is looking the wrong way. Either way, you need to know how to rotate Google Maps to see and navigate your routes correctly.
READ MORE: Change Google Maps voice and language
THE SHORT ANSWER
To rotate in the Google Maps mobile app, place two fingers on the map and rotate them clockwise or counterclockwise. Your map is manipulated according to the direction of your multi-touch input.
IMPORTANT SECTIONS
How to Rotate Google Maps (Android and iOS)
If you want to manipulate your map on the screen on Google Maps, it’s easy to do on your Android or iOS device. This allows you to better see your available routes and look at the map from the direction you are looking.
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Place two fingers down, represented by red dots, then rotate.
Open the Google Maps app and place two of your fingers anywhere on the map to rotate it.
- Squeezing your fingers in will zoom out on the map.
- Pushing your fingers outwards away from each other zooms in on the map.
- Rotating your fingers, meaning rotating them clockwise or counterclockwise, rotates your map on Google Maps.
This tip also applies to the navigation screen, which has directions and how far you are from your destination. After you find the directions to where you want to go, press Get started to open the navigation screen and start your way to your destination. The Google Maps voice starts telling you where to go.
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Place two fingers anywhere on the navigation screen and rotate.
Place two fingers anywhere on the screen, then rotate them. Your map rotates in the direction of your multi-touch input.
How to Rotate Google Maps (Desktop)
Rotating a Google map on your desktop is as easy as it is on your phone. However, there are a few things to check before you can rotate the map.
In your browser, go to the Google Maps website. If you have it installed on your computer, you can also open it this way.
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Move your cursor over the layers button at the bottom left. In the small menu that appears, click More†
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in the More menu click globe and Satellite†
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Your map view will change. Everything on Google Maps will now look lifelike and, more importantly, there will be a small compass in the bottom right corner of the screen. If you see this compass, it means you can start rotating Google Maps.
You can rotate the map for you in two ways:
- keep pressed ctrl, then press and hold anywhere on the map. While holding the click, drag your cursor around to rotate the map.
- Click on the small arrows that revolve around the compass at the bottom right.
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Which way is north on Google Maps?
desktop
when globe and Satellite are active, a compass will appear in the lower right corner of Google Maps. The red side of the needle always points north, while the white side of the needle points south.
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Android and iOS
The same goes for Android and iOS devices that use Google Maps. There is a compass in the top right corner of the map, below the Layers button. If you can’t see the compass, use two fingers to rotate the map; the compass then appears.
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If you tilt your phone, Google Maps won’t rotate automatically. You need to use two fingers and rotate the card. If you rotate your phone but Google Maps does not rotate, you must rotate auto rotate in your device settings.
There is supposedly a shortcut where you can hold Shift and use the left or right arrow keys to rotate the map. However, we did not manage to do this. Press and hold instead ctrl on the computer, then click and drag anywhere on the card to rotate it. This only works when globe and Satellite are active.
To use Google Maps in landscape mode, you can enable auto-rotate in your device’s settings. You can also click on your profile picture and then go to Settings † navigation settings † Hold the map north up† Now, on the navigation screen, North will always point up.
Open Google Maps on your computer from the website. to turn on globe and Satellite† keep pressed ctrland then click and drag anywhere on the map to rotate it. Moving your mouse up and down changes the vertical angle, while moving left and right to rotate your display clockwise or counterclockwise.