User Guide
How MapIT works
MapIT is a Connect IQ data field, not an app. It draws a live map of your route at the centre of the screen, with up to nine configurable data fields arranged around it. This guide covers installing it, what the map view shows, and every setting you can change.
Start with installing it · Settings reference · Buy or renew map access
This page is a work in progress and will keep growing — if something you need isn't covered yet, get in touch.
Installing it
A data field, not an app — so it installs onto an activity, not onto your watch's app list.
1
Install MapIT from the Connect IQ store Same as any watch app — search for MapIT in the Connect IQ store or app on your phone, or use the store link on this site.
2
Open the activity you want it on Run, Bike, Walk, or whichever activity profile you use — MapIT is added per-activity, not globally.
3
Open that activity's settings → Data Screens Pick the data screen you want the map on (Screen 1, Screen 2, ...).
4
Set the layout to 1 field, then Edit Datafield MapIT needs the full screen, so the layout must be a single field, not a split layout.
5
Choose MapIT under Connect IQ Fields It will appear in the Connect IQ fields list, grouped separately from Garmin's built-in fields.
The map view
What's drawn, and what the colours mean.
On the map
- Green square — where your activity started.
- Line trail — your path since the activity started, drawn as you go.
- Red arrow — your current position and heading.
- Blue squares — your laps, up to 30 on higher-memory watches (10 on smaller ones; the oldest is overwritten past the limit).
- Scale readout — the distance shown across the full width of the screen, in km or mi.
Real map tiles
On newer, higher-memory watches, the trail is drawn over real map tiles — street, topographic, cycling or satellite styles — rather than a plain background. Older or smaller-memory watches show the trail on a solid background instead, always in the North-up overview.
See what offline does and does not mean for how long a downloaded map tile stays usable.
Map presets and touch controls
On watches with map tiles.
| Overview | The whole track, North-up. Rescales to keep your full activity on screen. This is the only mode available on watches without map tiles. |
|---|---|
| Follow (heading up) | The map rotates to keep your direction of travel pointing up the screen. |
| Follow (north up) | The map follows your position but North always stays up. |
On touchscreen watches with map tiles, tap the screen to enter zoom/pan controls: tap the centre to switch between zoom and pan mode, tap the top or bottom edge to zoom in or out (in zoom mode) or pan (in pan mode), tap the bottom-left corner to cycle the map preset, and the bottom-right corner to re-centre on your track.
Data fields
Up to nine slots around the map. Set any slot to "None" to hide it and give the map more room.
Available metrics
- Current / Average / Lap Pace
- Current / Average / Lap Speed
- Current / Average Cadence
- Current / Average / Max Power
- Elapsed Time / Lap Time
- Distance / Lap Distance
- Lap Count
- Current / Average / Max Heart Rate
- Altitude
- Total Ascent | Total Descent
- Distance to Start
- Map Scale
- Clock
- Battery Percentage
Field slots
Nine positions: Top Left, Top Right, Top Left Inner, Top Right Inner, a large Middle field, Bottom Left Inner, Bottom Right Inner, Bottom Left, Bottom Right.
Each slot, and the boundary lines between the field rows and the map, is independently configurable — see Field Boundaries below.
Settings reference
Configured on your phone in the Garmin Connect app or Connect IQ app, under MapIT's settings for that activity profile. Run, Bike, and Other each keep their own configuration.
Display & Map
| Display HR Zones Graphic | Shows a heart-rate zone graphic with the current zone enlarged, and a line marking your current heart rate within that zone. |
|---|---|
| Target Pace | A target pace in seconds per mile/km (based on your watch's unit setting). When set, pace-based fields get a background colour: blue when ahead of target, green when on it, red when behind. 0 disables this. |
| Line and Marker Thicknesses | Thin, Medium, Large, Oversize, or Extreme — sizes the breadcrumb line and the start / lap / position markers together. |
Map
| Map (on/off) | Draw real map tiles behind the breadcrumb. Off gives the plain breadcrumb-on-background view. Default on. |
|---|---|
| Map Style | Terrain, Outdoors, Toner (high contrast), or OSM Bright. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, via Stadia Maps; Terrain and Toner additionally © Stamen Design. |
| Map Preset | Overview, Follow (heading up), or Follow (north up) — see above. |
| Map Readability | The minimum tile magnification before labels and features are drawn. Lower values are sharper; higher values are easier to read at a glance. Default 1.6×. |
| Follow Position % | Where your position sits vertically in the map viewport during a Follow preset — 0 is the top edge, 50 the centre, 100 the bottom edge. Lower values show more of the map ahead of you. Ignored in Overview. Default 50. |
Path
| Show Trail | Toggles the breadcrumb line on or off. |
|---|
Field Boundaries
All expressed as a percentage of screen height or width, so they scale to any watch face.
| Top Boundary % | Where the line below the top field row sits, from the top of the screen (0–100). Default 26. |
|---|---|
| Bottom Boundary % | Where the line above the bottom field row sits, from the top of the screen. Should be at or below the Top Boundary. Default 77. |
| Top Row Divider % | The vertical divider between the two top fields, from the left edge. Only applies when both top fields are set. Default 50. |
| Bottom Row Divider % | The vertical divider between the two bottom fields, from the left edge. Default 30. |
| Max Mid Field Size | The largest text size the middle field (flanking the map) may grow to: Small, Medium, Large, X-Large, or Max. Larger sizes need a taller map band to fit. Default Medium. |
Colours
Higher-memory watches only. Each is independently set from a palette including Theme (the built-in colour), Red, Orange, Pink, Purple, White, Blue, Green, Light Blue, Light Green, Yellow, and Grey.
| Border Colour | Divider and boundary lines. |
|---|---|
| Line Colour | The breadcrumb trail. |
| Start Marker Colour | The activity start square. |
| Lap Marker Colour | Lap squares. |
| You Marker Colour | Your current position arrow. |
| Mid Field Colour | The large middle data field's text. |
Recommended configurations
Starting points — all of the above is adjustable from here.
Trail running / hiking
Map Preset: Overview so the whole route stays visible. Map Style: Terrain or Outdoors. Fields: Elapsed Time, Distance, Current Heart Rate, and Distance to Start in the corners, with Total Ascent | Total Descent in a middle slot.
Road running with a pace target
Set Target Pace so pace fields colour against it. Map Preset: Follow (heading up). Fields: Current Pace and Average Pace, with Current Heart Rate and Elapsed Time filling the remaining corners.
Cycling
Map Style: OSM Bright for daytime road clarity, or Toner for high contrast in bright sun. Fields: Current Speed, Average Speed, Current Power / Average Power if you have a power meter, and Distance.
Minimal / battery-conscious
Turn Map off for the plain breadcrumb view, set most field slots to None, and keep just Elapsed Time, Distance, and Battery Percentage.
Paying for map access
The app is free. Downloadable map tiles are the paid part, and the first thirty days of them are free too.
When the trial ends
The watch shows a twelve-character code on its licence screen, with a QR code beside it. Scanning that goes straight to checkout; typing the code in by hand does the same thing.
Buy or renew map access →Already paid
Nothing renews on its own, so there is no subscription to cancel — when the year runs out, map downloads simply stop. Manage an existing licence to check what it covers or move it to another watch.
Looking for turn-by-turn navigation?
MapIT draws the route you take as you go — it does not show a pre-planned route to follow, other than a straight line back to your start. If you want a data field that guides you along a planned course, that's a different tool.