[SOLVED] Link to map switches to app but does nothing

Link to map switches to app but does nothing

Given the following TS code to open a link to Google Maps:

   const linkToMap = `https://google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=${searchTerm}`;
   window.open(linkToMap, '_blank');

When opening from a desktop or mobile browser, it works as expected. A new tab opens to Google Maps with a search for the query term. However, on Android devices, Google Maps will open and then do nothing. It will show whatever was open in the app when it was last used. It is behaving like it recognizes the maps link, but cannot handle the parameters. How can I fix this? Is there a specific way I need to structure the link? Is there a way to get logs for the app to see if its throwing an error?

I've tried using an older link scheme (https://www.google.com/maps?q=760+West+Genesee+Street+Syracuse+NY+13204) but got the same result.

Solution

If anyone stumbles onto this, the answer was to make sure www is included the URL. https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=${searchTerm}