i want to switch my maps back to gulf of mexico

I don’t want my map showing this farce of gulf of America. I’d like it to show the correct name, Gulf of Mexico. I’d like to change it back?

iPhone XR, iOS 16

Posted on Feb 11, 2025 3:47 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 12, 2025 8:37 AM

You can report an issue with any location on Apple Maps. The steps to do that are:


  1. Open Maps
  2. Navigate to the location you'd like to report. E.g. Gulf of America. (see screenshot)
  3. Click on the location and a context menu pops up.
  4. Choose "Report an Issue" and follow the prompts.
  5. For example, you can choose "Name is wrong". It will let you propose the correct name for the place and submit.


173 replies

Feb 17, 2025 9:52 AM in response to Lalette

Lalette wrote:

Have you had any of the problems that Apple says we will have if you change regions? Payments and subscriptions not working?

As always, to change regions, you need to:

  • Spend any Apple Account Balance
  • Cancel all subscriptions and wait for them to expire, or contact Apple to remove them immediately.
  • Add a payment method based in your new region.
  • Forget having an Apple Card anymore
  • No longer able to use Apple Cash

Change your Apple Account country or region - Apple Support

Feb 17, 2025 1:42 PM in response to edgardo287

edgardo287 wrote:

I WANT THE CORRECT NAME WHICH IS GULF OF MEXICO, (NOT GULF OF AMERICA).

I WANT CHOCOLATE PUDDING. AND ICE CREAM.


Seriously, did you read the thread before posting? Do you think that by shouting at us, your fellow users, anything is going to change?


Submit feedback using the link provided in earlier posts. Write to your elected representatives.

Feb 17, 2025 1:44 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Lawrence Finch wrote:

So in a way the renaming is the US recognizing that “America” is not a country, it is a geographic area, and the residents of the United States are not Americans, they are USAans.

I've always been annoyed by the lack of a sensible demonym for people in my country. "USAans" sounds like an alien race from Star Trek. It's actually an improvement.

Feb 17, 2025 1:59 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

IdrisSeabright wrote:


Lawrence Finch wrote:

So in a way the renaming is the US recognizing that “America” is not a country, it is a geographic area, and the residents of the United States are not Americans, they are USAans.
I've always been annoyed by the lack of a sensible demonym for people in my country. "USAans" sounds like an alien race from Star Trek. It's actually an improvement.

Frank Lloyd Wright created a prefab metal house that he called “Usonian.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usonia

Feb 18, 2025 8:26 AM in response to travelingwoman333

travelingwoman333 wrote:

From Wikipedia: "While the Interior Department confirmed that the Gulf of America name was effective for US federal agencies on January 24th, the change does not apply in an international context. Other countries and international bodies are not required to recognize the name change."

Correct, and US Geological Survey (USGS) is the US Federal Agency that provides maps to Apple and Google.


What the article doesn’t mention is that any news media that don’t use Gulf of America are excluded from any government press conferences.

Feb 18, 2025 9:30 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

IdrisSeabright wrote:


betaneptune wrote:

MapQuest still calls it "Gulf of Mexico".
And I care...why? I don't use MapQuest. And, in the large picture of current affairs, this is all very un-important.

Guess what? Why should I care if you don't care? I actually don't. I was making an informational remark. If you don't care, move on. Another informational remark. BTW, the post is on-topic, so find another thread.

Feb 18, 2025 10:22 AM in response to travelingwoman333

travelingwoman333 wrote:

From Wikipedia

Wikipedia is not an authoritative reference.


However, Wikipedia does sometimes include better references. In this case, the cited article links to this publication from the Congressional Research Service where it says:


the E.O. would not require private company applications, such as Google Maps and Apple Maps, to adopt the changed names


However, Lawrence Finch makes probably the most important point. Continued usage of the old name would be a sign of disrespect, which is not appreciated, especially by the powerful. In other social media circles, this kind of purposeful use of an obsolete, given name is called "deadnaming" and is universally considered an insult, both by those who feel insulted and those who use it for that purpose.


I wonder if I'm the only one who sees the irony of so many people complaining when Apple tries (and fails) to stand up to the EU in order to protect its users from harmful apps. But in this case, people are upset that Apple isn't standing up to the US over something completely inconsequential to Apple's business and users.


All that being said, Wikipedia is a great resource to find out about other interesting events, such as the first controversy of the "Gulf of America". If you follow the links in that article, you can read about other examples of this same kind of renaming for geopolitical reasons.


The only thing that is unusual in this case is so many people demanding that an electronics company take a stand against a democratically elected government over a label on a map. While it is unusual, it isn't fooling anybody. Everyone knows that people are just upset that their candidate lost the election. It's fine to be upset, but this is the wrong venue for expressing discontent. If this is the extent of people's efforts to protest, organize, and retake political power in the US, then the Gulf of America isn't due to be renamed for a long, long time. 😄



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i want to switch my maps back to gulf of mexico

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