I started using Google Maps in Germany many years ago. After moving to China, I kept this habit and it was also no problem for years. But then, all Google services were banned in China and it was the beginning of my study for all kinds of VPN services and technologies in the world… I used to spend hours and even days to get myself connected with Google. OK with a good VPN it’s fine, but how to deal with those interesting services Google itself doesn’t offer in China at all? For example Timeline. It can’t be used in China, even if you can use Google Maps with a VPN. But Timeline is great and I simply didn’t want to give up any great services from Google. So I found out that as long as you are using a Chinese sim card, a Chinese mobile number, your device will be recognized as a Chinese smartphone and the access to Timeline will be denied. So you need a foriegn sim card in your device to get Timeline run in China. But what to do with my actual sim card? I still need my own mobile number! Well then use a dual sim phone and put the foreign sim card into the primary slot and your own Chinese card into the second slot. The order is very important, 'cause if you do it the other way around, your phone will still be defined as a Chinese phone and Timeline doesen’t work! And the most annoying thing after all this trouble: even if you are travel outside of China, the same rule exactly applies! So do the same procedure when you want to get all your Google Maps services run, even in another country.
This was only a small part of my struggle for Google Maps and for Google in general. I truely hope that one day, we can use Google freely around the world, and Google also allows us to use its Services freely around the world, so that I can always know where and when I took my great pictures…
