Importing GPX files into OsmAnd

OsmAnd (available on iOS and Android) is by far the most advanced and feature rich app that I know of that doesn’t cost you a subscription. For most navigation tasks OsmAnd gets the job done. Despite a number of poor design choices and flaws it is still my primary navigation option. I’ve bought OsmAnd+ so I get monthly map updates. I don’t think their subscription is worth it, especially not with the one time cost to get updates.
I also got the hillshade, contour and height-lines plugins to get a sense of height and mountain ranges.

Caution: OsmAnd doesn’t like 3rd party routes and will try to recalculate every route point and possibly add hundreds of kilometers of messed up route to your journey. For OsmAnd I prefer to use track files. However, with some extra steps route navigation is possible, too. But your milage may vary, literally…

Importing a GPX file into OsmAnd for Android

1. Tap the menu button in the lower left corner.
2. In the menu that pops open select ‘My Places’.
3. Tap the + in the lower left of the next screen.
4. Browse to the GPX file you want to load into OsmAnd and tap it.
5. In the next screen you’ll see a preview and some options.
The route is now available in ‘My Places’, ready for navigation.

Immediate track navigation

6. To immediately start navigating the track you can tap the Navigation button in the lower right of the preview screen.
7. Another route preview shows and you can click ‘Start’ in the lower right to start navigation.

Immediate route navigation

6. To immediately start navigating the route you can tap the Navigation button in the lower right of the preview screen.
7. Another route preview shows and you can tap the Gear icon in the lower right.
8. In the settings screen that pops up tap ‘Follow Track’.
9. In the Follow track screen select the ‘Straight Line’ option. Tap close when done.
10. Back in the route preview tap ‘Start’ to start navigating the route.

Importing a GPX file into OsmAnd for iOS

Here we assume that your Files app has access to your files or can browse your cloud storage.
This works pretty much the same in Apps like Dropbox, Google Drive and Nextcloud.
1. In the phones ‘Files’ app navigate to the GPX file you want to import.
2. Long press the file you want to import and press ‘Share’ or ‘Open in’ from the popup menu.
3. In the share screen tap on the ‘Osmand’ icon.
4. OsmAnd should open automatically and show you a preview of the track.
The route is now available in ‘My Places’, ready for navigation.

Immediate track navigation

5. To immediately start navigating the track you can tap the Navigation button in the lower right of the preview screen.
6. The navigation settings show and you can click ‘Start’ in the lower right to start navigation.

Immediate route navigation

5. To immediately start navigating the track you can tap the Navigation button in the lower right of the preview screen.
6. The navigation settings show, tap the ‘Options’ button and in there tap the ‘Follow Track’ option.
7. In the Follow track screen select the ‘Straight Line’ option. Tap close when done.
8. Back in the navigation settings you can click ‘Start’ in the lower right to start navigation.