Smartphones can be used to find the car parked in a large parking lot or in a large city (especially if we visit it as tourists), but few know how to take advantage of this very useful feature. In addition to the specific function available on the satellite navigation apps, it is possible to use some applications that allow you to keep a reminder of the precise place where the car was parked. To avoid wasting time looking for where the car was parked, in this guide we will show you how to use the free apps to find the precise position of the parking lot . It goes without saying that in order to make the best use of this type of app, we will always have to have the location active (even when we do not use them directly, so that we can track the parking position at any time).
Methods for saving the parking location
Here we have collected the best methods with which we can save (automatically or manually) the parking position, so as to always find our car even in very crowded places.Google Maps
Google Maps allows you to save the parking position automatically: we will simply have to connect the phone to the vehicle (via USB or Bluetooth) and the app to reach the destination where to park; the app will recognize the parking position as soon as we disconnect the device (or move away enough to drop the Bluetooth connection). On our return the app will show us where we parked.If we are sure that the app stores the parking correctly (in cases where we have not connected the phone to the car), we can also use the manual procedure: park the car, open the app and do a single tap on the blue dot (which represents our current position) and, in the window that will appear, select the Save as parking position item.
We can download the Google Maps app for free for Android and iOS.
Google app on Android
On Android we can obtain direct parking information by asking the Google Assistant.
To make this possible we open the Google app, then press on the menu at the bottom right Other, then on Customize -> Daily route and setting By car on both items What means do you usually take for your daily journey and How do you move normally .
From now on, just say "OK Google" with the phone on (or open the Google app) and say "Where is my car">.
IPhone maps
Even the Maps app integrated in all iPhones allows you to save the parking position automatically or manually. To take advantage of the automatic mode, we connect the iPhone to the vehicle with support for Apple CarPlay (but Bluetooth or the USB cable without CarPlay is also fine).
Now open the Settings app and go to the Privacy -> Location -> System services path, so you can activate the slide switch for the Frequent positions item .
Now let's go to the Settings -> Maps path and enable Show parking position .
From now on, the iPhone can remember where we parked the car and when Bluetooth disconnects, the phone saves the position of the car in the Maps application .
To find the car, just open the Maps application. You will then be able to see where the parked car is, a brief description of the nearby streets, companies and other landmarks. If the vehicle is a certain distance away, you can touch the position to be shown the way to go on foot.
Coordinates of the camera
Without installing applications, we can simply point the camera at the camera and take a picture of it .Apart from the fact that recognizable elements such as a road sign or street number may remain in the photo, all modern cameras have a geo-location function that is automatically inserted in the information that accompanies the photo.
To enable the geolocation of the shots taken, we open our camera app, go to the settings and enable the Save location info item (or similar, much depends on the phone model).
The photo can be opened with an application such as Google Photos, which allows you to see the coordinates of the shot by pressing Information .
App to save the parking location
In this part of the guide we will instead show you the best alternative apps to Google Maps and iPhone Maps with which you can save the parking position, so you can always find your car.
Waze
The Waze satellite navigator on Android and iPhone has the functionality inside to remind the user where the car is parked. There is no need to configure anything and there is no need to have bluetooth in the car, just use Waze and then close it when you arrive at your destination.
When the app is reopened, we will find the indication of the last detected position (i.e. where we parked).
We can download Waze for free on our Android smartphone and iPhone.
ParKing (Android)
Another very useful app to find the car parked with Android is ParKing.
With this app we can set up any parking point, also setting the automatic system (which will use the car's Bluetooth to remember precisely where we left the car).
In addition to this, it allows you to set a time reminder, so that we can go and retrieve the car when we park in areas with a parking time limit (1 or 2 hours, but sometimes even less).
If we look for other apps similar to those seen above, we have collected the best (with the highest reviews) in the two lists below, one for Android and one for iPhone.
Android app
- Find parked cars
- iParking - Find my car
- Parked Car Locator
- Car Finder AR
IPhone app
- Find the Auto AR
- Find my car !!
- TrakCar
Conclusions
If we have to go on vacation, visit a shopping center or a large unknown city by car, it is wise to use one of the methods indicated or one of the apps in this guide to quickly find your car parked who knows where!Do we have to find parking and are we in tremendous difficulty? In this regard, our guide on Finding parking lots, taxis, passages and route options Google Maps comes in handy. If, on the other hand, we need help with paying for parking (especially in the blue stripes), we recommend you read our guide to the App to pay for parking, blue stripes and tickets from the phone .
