Nava have you tried Google Maps Offline? Not a separate app but from the options menu you add them, and can set them to update automatically and only when connected to wifi. I’ve used other offline map apps, once I rented a motorcycle in Barcelona and used them to navigate the unfamiliar city and surroundings. Google Offline Maps is pretty good.
The difference is that Google Maps Offline requires me to set up a map myself, and each of the maps I set up can only be a maximum size; multiple Google Maps offline maps do not connect to each other. Offline Maps comes with a list of regions, I tell it which ones to keep updated, ta-da. Need to drive from Barcelona to Malmö? Tell it to download everything in between. Finish in Malmö, next project is in Lyon? Tell it to remove Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Benelux and most of France. It beats the crap out of Google Maps’ offline feature.
It will pay for itself the very first time you find yourself speeding and it gives you a half-mile of notice that the revenooers are out collecting taxes. There’s a reason police agencies have been making a concerted effort to have the police notification removed.
Ahh, yes of course. That can be a pain. I use maps.me for that reason, and with gMaps those are my 2 offline maps tools.
Sometimes Waze doesn’t have a better route because it doesn’t have data for it. After you went through your short cut, it might have started recommending it. I don’t know how many data points it needs to make that call. Every once in a while, I’ll catch something like this, where Waze hasn’t figured out the best solution yet. On the other hand, when it tells me to re-route off of something that should be straightforward, every time I’ve bulled ahead I’ve regretted it. Now, if something really doesn’t make sense to me, I’ll look ahead on the map to see if I can spot traffic or an incident (assuming I check safely).