How to report problems in iOS 6's Maps

25.09.2012

: As one of my friends discovered, Maps sometimes gets confused about exactly where things are. Case in point: Massachusetts Ave. stretches from Cambridge, MA across the Charles River to Boston, MA--but though the street name stays the same, the numbering changes. So a particular restaurant that appeared to be on one side of the river was, in fact, on the other. This is exactly what this option is for: As with the missing location issue from above, you'll be asked to place a pin at the point's correct location and hit send. (It's probably handy to use another mapping service to make sure you're dropping the pin in the correct place.)

: You're craving a delicious sandwich, so you follow Maps to the location of a great sandwich shop ... only to find it doesn't exist. This option actually yields two sub-options--"Location has closed" or "Pin is at incorrect location"--along with a Comments field. Pick the first and you'll just enter the details and tap Send; choose the second and you'll get the same drop-the-pin interface as the option above.

: And, of course, the catch-all. Some sort of issue that's not quite right? This is the place to put it. Enter your comments in the field and tap Send.

A little better all the time (it can't get no worse)

We don't know exactly how long it takes Apple to act on this information, but I believe every bit is being taken into account. It took years for Google to reach maturity with its own mapping offering, and there are still errors and incomplete information in its service. Apple's no doubt attempting to improve its own data, but there's a lot of ground to cover, and the best way to help fix problems you find is to report them.