Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can install it: the app is available in every country precisely so you can set it up and download the offline data at home before you fly. However, it only works in Vietnam. Map data, routing, the place index, the speed table, traffic lights and road signs all cover Vietnam only. In other countries the base map still shows roads while you are online, but search returns no results, routing will not work and the limit sign stays at “unknown”. The app shows “Outside Vietnam” on its status line, along with a one-time notice, so you will not mistake this for a fault. If you are visiting: install the app at home, download the offline map (145 MB) and the place index over Wi-Fi, choose English or 日本語 in Settings, and the app will be ready the moment you land.

Yes — units like yours are exactly what the app was designed for. Without Play Services, the app reads the unit's GPS through Android's standard LocationManager (on phones with Play Services it uses Fused Location, which combines GPS and Wi-Fi for a steadier position), so every feature works. The only difference is that instead of buying Pro through Play, you use an activation code — or, with MapCar Launcher, a QR bank transfer right inside the launcher.

By regulation, car speedometers read a few percent high. The app's speed comes from GPS, so it is usually slightly lower and closer to your true speed. With an OBD-II dongle, the app shows exactly what the car reports.

It means the limit was estimated from the road class, the area and your vehicle type, rather than read from a real source. Since 24 September 2026 this estimate is off by default: when no source knows the limit for sure (a sign you corrected, the camera reading a sign, OpenStreetMap maxspeed, the community map or the signs pack), the sign corner stays blank and no overspeed alert fires, because a blank sign is better than a wrong number. If you would like an estimate anyway, turn on “Estimate when data is missing” in Settings, and estimated numbers will carry the ~ mark. Once you download the offline data, most national and main roads show their posted limits.

Yes. Search, tap a result and go, with spoken instructions and automatic rerouting. Online, routes are calculated by Valhalla; offline, BRouter calculates them on the device from the downloaded data.

Yes, with an OBD-II dongle (an ELM327 Bluetooth or WiFi dongle costs just a few dollars and is sold almost everywhere; on iPhone, use a Bluetooth LE or WiFi dongle). It reads RPM, coolant and oil temperature, voltage and fault codes — and takes speed straight from the car instead of GPS. This is part of MapCar Pro (called PRO in MapCar Launcher), with a 30-day free trial. Without a dongle, everything is still calculated from GPS as usual.

No, it is optional. You can pay in one of two ways, with exactly the same benefits: yearly at 149,000 ₫ a year (renews automatically) or Lifetime at 499,000 ₫, paid once, through Google Play or the App Store (prices may differ by country). It unlocks two things: OBD-II dongle reading and a custom brand logo. Everything related to safety — speed alerts, navigation, traffic lights, following distance, rest reminders and the community map — is free forever. You can start a 30-day free trial right in the app, no Play needed.

With an activation code: email support@z-cloud.com.vn, and once you receive your code, enter it in Settings. Each code is linked to the first device that activates it; to move it to another device, please unlink it from the old one first. If you use MapCar Launcher, you can also unlock PRO right inside the launcher with a QR bank transfer — it unlocks automatically as soon as your payment arrives — or enter an activation code there.

Yes, once you have downloaded the offline data (Settings → Offline data): the 145 MB map of all of Vietnam, the 43 MB place index and the routing regions. Without it, only roads already stored in the 512 MB cache are available.

Yes. The core driving functions run in a foreground service, so trip recording and alerts carry on while the app is covered. The limit sign keeps showing its last value, because road matching needs the map to be drawn on screen.

You can correct it on the spot: tap the sign and choose the right number, and the app will remember it for that area. To share the correction with other drivers, report the sign to the community map — once it has three confirmations, it is published.

It is a layer of signs, speed cameras and incidents reported by other drivers, shown on the map and announced by voice. It is on by default, and you can turn it off in Settings — when it is off, nothing is sent or downloaded.

Yes. Open Trip history from Settings to see your total trips, distance and time, plus your last 50 trips with average speed, top speed and the number of times you went over the limit. Trips shorter than 300 m are not recorded.

The MapCar Launcher APK is about 95 to 166 MB depending on the build (the store apps are sized for your device by Google Play and the App Store). The map cache takes up to 512 MB and can be cleared. Optional offline data includes the 145 MB map, the 43 MB place index, a few tens of MB per routing region and the 32 MB voice model — each can be downloaded and deleted separately.

There is no account, your tracks are never sent anywhere, and there is no analytics SDK and no ads. What your device sends: map tile requests, place searches and route requests (what you typed, plus origin and destination), the car's position to fetch the signs around it, community reports and speed samples for the traffic layer (with the community map on, with a device id), questions you ask Mika, and an activation-code check if you use one. The complete list is on the Privacy page.

No. MapCar has no ads in any version — head unit, Android Auto phone or iPhone. There is no ad SDK, and the app never reads your device's advertising id. MapCar is funded by the Pro pack and voluntary donations.

Yes — a separate app, MapCar for Android Auto (vn.com.zsoft.mapcar.phone), is available on Google Play. It shows the map on your car's built-in screen and gives following-distance warnings using the phone's camera. It shares the same core as the head-unit version.

Yes — MapCar for iPhone (iOS 16 or later) is on the App Store. It is rewritten in Swift with the same alert rules: limit sign, overspeed alerts, navigation with street names even offline, rest reminders, camera following-distance warnings, OBD-II over Bluetooth LE or WiFi, and MapCar Pro purchased through the App Store. Apple has granted MapCar the CarPlay entitlement, so it also runs on your car's CarPlay screen, with the map screen, the Dashboard and the instrument cluster.