OpenStreetMap not working in India today?

Tiles don''t load, map stays grey

This usually means the tile server is slow or your browser is caching a bad response. Hard-refresh the page with Ctrl+Shift+R, then open DevTools → Network and check if tile requests return 200 or something else. If you see 429, the server is rate-limiting you — wait a few minutes and reload. Switching to a different tile layer in the layer menu on the right also helps.

Edits not saving in iD editor

Before assuming the worst, check the upload button — iD doesn''t auto-save. If clicking Upload throws an error, the OSM API might be in read-only mode for maintenance. You can verify this at status.openstreetmap.org. In the meantime, export your changes as an .osm file via the three-dot menu so you don''t lose work.

Search returns wrong or no results

- Try typing the full address including the city name — the Nominatim geocoder is strict about context

- Avoid special characters and abbreviations; spell out «street» instead of «st»

- If a newly added object isn''t showing up in search, it can take up to 24 hours to index after an edit

- Switching the search language in your browser locale settings sometimes surfaces different results

Login fails on openstreetmap.org

Double-check that Caps Lock is off and you''re using the email, not the display name, as the login. If you get an «invalid token» error after a long idle session, the cookie has expired — just clear site cookies and log in again. Password reset emails occasionally land in spam, so check there before requesting a second one.

Map freezes when zooming in

This happens on older hardware when WebGL rendering kicks in at high zoom levels. Open your browser flags and disable hardware acceleration, then reload. Alternatively, use the JOSM desktop editor for heavy work — it handles large data areas without browser memory limits.

GPS trace upload fails

- Accepted formats are GPX, compressed GPX, and KMZ — anything else will silently fail

- File size limit is 100 MB per trace; split large recordings before uploading

- If the upload bar stalls at 99%, the server is still processing — check «My GPS Traces» after a few minutes before trying again