Is Google now blocking Windows Phone from using Google Maps?

We're not sure if this is but a temporary error or something more nefarious but Google appears to have inverse something whereby Windows Telephone users are at present blocked when trying to access maps.google.com.

Granted, it'southward not clear why you would want to use Google'southward less-than-awesome mapping service through a browser, but sense of humor us for a second. The move appears to be a continued approach to lockout all Google services from those who adopted Windows Phones. Or information technology's simply poor service.

We were able to verify on our Windows Phones that when going to maps.google.com we are redirected to www.google.com/chiliad for mobile, regardless of IE10's settings i.e. Desktop mode. Reports suggest that maps.google.co.united kingdom nonetheless works for some folks merely for usa that likewise redirects, making this an in-motion change that is evidently occurring worldwide.

Nosotros were likewise able to ostend that on the iPhone users are prompted to download the Google Maps app (must be nice) but they can featherbed that redirect and notwithstanding successfully access maps.google.com if the user so chooses. Android users, trying various browsers, also take no issues making this a unique upshot with Windows Phones just.

From a comment on this article by gmlongo:

"It is definitely on purpose. If you lot change the user amanuensis in Firefox (using User Agent Switcher) to "Mozilla/five.0 (compatible; MSIE ten.0; Windows Telephone viii.0; Trident/6.0; ARM; Touch; IEMobile/ten.0", y'all get redirected to the Google home page. But if you set the user agent to "Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; MSIE 10.0; Windows Phne 8.0; Trident/half dozen.0; ARM; Touch on; IEMobile/x.0" (find I intentionally misspelled Windows Phone), the maps.google.com page comes up simply fine. In other words, the only way I was able to get it to redirect is to have Windows Telephone in the user agent string. And so something on Google'due south side is keying off the user agent for windows telephone"

Google's continued assault on Windows Phone users

Google has famously proclaimed that they will not make apps for Windows Phone users to access their services and now they are plainly looking to deny whatsoever usage whatsoever. Start it was their dropping of Substitution ActiveSync (EAS) occurring later on this calendar month, which volition foreclose users from creating new accounts on their phones and syncing Gmail contacts and agenda, and then at that place was the YouTube incident.

That second complaint goes back to 2022 when Microsoft alleged that Google was not allowing access to YouTube metadata to the company, preventing Microsoft from releasing a high quality YouTube app for Windows Phone. Microsoft brought up the grievance again this week considering information technology even so has not been resolved, with Microsoft going so far as to criminate Google is decisively blocking a "starting time rate" YouTube feel on Windows Telephone.

Malevolent or just idiocy?

Then the big question here is this part of the continued Google attack on Windows Phone users or just shoddy programming resulting in a bad redirect? Nosotros're not too sure at this indicate and we'll have to expect a few days to see if anything changes. Information technology does certainly seem suspect though with the current back and forth between the 2 internet juggernauts, it simply affecting Windows Telephone browsers and with Google recently being "cleared" by the FTC of any egregious anti-competitive behavior.

We suppose if you were and so inclined to use Google Maps y'all could just become ahead and use the first-class app gMaps Pro but exterior of some really unique situations, nosotros can't see why you would prefer it over Bing or Nokia Maps.

In determination, we have to enquire the question: is information technology time to actively boycott Google? We're bold a lot of you accept made the move off of their advertizing-laden services simply is it time to footstep it upwards a notch and go offensive with individual anti-Google campaigns? Perhaps.

via: WMPU

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