[Development] Be aware: QtLocation's free MapQuest service discontinued

[Alexander Blasche]

Hi,

Qt Location provides three content/map provider plugins (HERE, MapBox and MapQuest). The first two providers require an account to run and MapQuest was free of any registration so far. Unfortunately this changed this Monday. More details in:

https://bugreports.qt.io/browse/QTBUG-54599

As a consequence any QtLocation application that uses MapQuest will no longer receive any map tiles. The only possible way to fix this today is to change from MapQuest to HERE or MapBox. Although those providers require a registration they do offer free of charge usage models. Please be aware of their terms and conditions though. 

We are very sorry for this problem but at the end of the day there is not much Qt can do. We are working on a patch to change to a new registration free provider and even a related indirection but at the end of the day, registration free access is becoming a thing of the past.

Going forward I would suggest to to always consider some form of registered usage for any map provider. While we will continue to address upcoming service changes this does ensure that there is some form of business relationship between you and your chosen map tile provider. At the very least it means that  notifications can be received before drastic changes happen.

--
Alex