Map issues

When I click on the addresses of new members in my tools app I’m just taken to a map of the entire United States. It does not show me where the address is in our ward boundaries in relation to other members. I’ve noticed that this is mainly happening with newer construction areas in our ward boundaries but; these areas have been there for a year or more. It makes it difficult to do my calling and to make ministering assignments. Does anyone know how to fix this?

What operating system version of Member Tools are you using? The issue may be a mapping program error or it could be a platform version of Member Tools issue. I notice that the online Ward Directory and Map as well as Android Member Tools use Google Maps. I assume the same would be used for iOS Member Tools, but I am not certain.

Check to see if the same thing happens in the online Ward Directory and Map for those new member households in the new development areas. For those situations where the issue is the same for Member Tools as well as the Ward Directory and Map then it is most likely a Google Maps issue. I have noticed the location of the map point in new development areas to lag as much as a year until Google updates their maps. For those Google Maps issues what I get are two separate 'general' mapping plots. One is the mapped location is in the center of the street, from street end to street end, when Google does not have a house number location. The other is in the center of the zip code if they do not have the street mapped for a new, or unknown, street. I have submitted location updates to Google using geographic coordinates and they generally get corrected within three weeks or so.

I have been able to correct most mapping location errors using the Ward Directory and Map. This can be done even if Google does not know where the address should be. Ask your ward clerk to update, or verify, the address location in the online Ward Directory and Map. He will need to know where the address actually is to move the location plot. This should correct the 'general' mapping error if it is caused by an unknown location by Google.

In iOS Member Tools, you can choose whether you want to use Apple Maps or Google Maps – you might experiment with both to see which is more reliable in your ward:

More (bottom right) > Settings > "Default to Google Maps if available"

In the past, I have found that sometimes Bing Maps is updated more frequently than Google Maps for new construction areas. However, I have not checked that since I was released as clerk a year ago.