Help! Pokemon Go isn’t working: How to fix common Pokemon Go problems

Help! Pokemon Go isn’t working – what is wrong with it? 

With every craze comes a backlash, when people can’t get their fix of the action. For something the size of Pokemon Go – which by all accounts has taken over the world – there are a lot of people who might be struggling to play, load or get connected. 

We played Pokemon Go a lot before it officially launched, but since its official release, the gaming experience has actually got worse. 

Here’s a run-down of some of the common problems with Pokemon Go and what you might be able to do about it. 

1. My Trainer is just walking on the spot

You might be playing the game and notice your Trainer is just walking on the spot and nothing seems to be happening. Firstly, tap the Poke Ball at the bottom of the screen to access the menu. If the menu doesn’t open, the app has crashed. 

Close the app and restart it – on Android, tap the “recent apps” and swipe the app away. On iPhone, double tap the home button and swipe up. Then reopen the app and resume playing, otherwise you might be missing those steps and all the action, and just draining battery.

2. Pokemon Go is slow and crashes a lot

Are you using the latest version of the app? The network EE in the UK told us that 350,000 people were playing Pokemon Go on just one network before the game had even launched. 

If you were one of those who installed early, make sure you’ve updated your app to the latest release version if you can. For all those in the UK, for example, head into your app store, search for Pokemon Go and hit update. For others, it’s likely to be server connection problems, just as in 1 above.

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3. I keep seeing the spinning Pokemon ball

If you keep seeing a spinning symbol in the top left of your screen, that means that your phone is trying to connect to the Pokemon Go servers. The demand on the servers due to the game’s popularity has been really high, and server connection issues account for most of the problems with Pokemon Go. 

You can either wait – sometimes it will only be a few seconds – and then start playing again. Or you might find the app becomes unresponsive and it crashes, as above in point 1, so restart the app again. 

4. Pokemon Go says GPS signal not found

GPS is needed to tell the Pokemon Go app where you are. It tracks your movement for hatching eggs as well as keeping you in the right place on the map. When you open the game, it’s usual to see “GPS signal not found” for a brief moment, before it locates you.

If that’s on all the time, check that your phone has “location” switched on. On some phones you can switch this off manually and that will stop you playing the game. Location is also drawn from your data connection, so you’ll need to be connected to a network.

5. Pokemon Go says No internet connectivity

If you get the “no internet connectivity” message across the top of your phone, that’s the fault of your phone or network, not Pokemon Go itself. Check the obvious things – that your phone isn’t in flight mode, that data is turned on, and that you haven’t run out of data. 

Pokemon Go doesn’t use a lot of data, but for those with a limited data package, you could easily run out after a lot of playing.

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6. Pokemon Go freezes mid catch, or mid battle

The most exciting parts of Pokemon Go are when you’re trying to catch a rare Pokemon, or when you’re in the final stages of battling at a Gym. It’s also a point that’s prone to failure, because it’s so dependent on a good connection to the server.

Often the app becomes unresponsive when catching a Pokemon because of server connection issues. If the app stops responding – your Poke Ball isn’t moving and there’s no longer a symbol telling you it’s trying to connect – you’ll have to restart the app as in point 1. If you’re lucky, the Pokemon you were trying to catch might still be there. 

The same applies to battles. We’ve lost battles for the same reason, having to wait for the server to connect. You can also try turning off the data connection and back on again, to see if that jolts it back into life. 

7. My Pokemon eggs are not hatching, or vanish

To hatch a Pokemon egg you have to put them into an incubator and walk. When you’ve covered the distance needed, that egg will hatch, giving you a new Pokemon. However, you have to have the app open for the distance to count. 

If your egg vanishes, it might have hatched, but you didn’t get the notification because of server issues or app crashes. Check your Pokemon list, and search by “recent” – you’ll see any recent additions there. We hatched Electabuzz without even knowing it had happened. 

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8. Pokemon Go is killing my battery

Pokemon Go uses your phone to the max. It wants the screen on, data connected and regular GPS points, as well as the AR view through the camera. If you’re walking around for an hour with the screen on, that will kill the battery. It’s part of the game, and part of having a smartphone, so it’s completely normal. 

You can try reducing the brightness, closing other apps that might be running in the background, or the safest bet, is to get a battery case or external battery to recharge your device so you can keep playing. 

9. Pokemon Go is not available in my country

Pokemon Go has had a phased roll-out, launching first in the US, New Zealand and Australia, more recently in Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and UK, but there’s a lot of the world that still doesn’t have it. If you can’t access it, then there is a way. 

We’ve detailed exactly what you need to do in a separate feature, so click through and get playing. 

• Can’t get Pokemon Go in your country? Here’s how to download it now

10. Pokemon Go won’t work on my phone

Pokemon Go, like other apps and games, needs specific minimum hardware to work properly. Here are the details of the supported devices:

Pokemon Go iPhone requirements: iPhone 5 or newer, iOS 8 or above. Jailbroken devices aren’t supported.

Pokemon Go Android requirements: Android 4.4 or above, 1280 x 720 pixels or more. Intel CPUs aren’t supported, although there has been some support in the latest app version.

11. Pokemon Go won’t open

If the app won’t open at all, or you open it and found you’ve been logged out, that’s caused by server issues – like a number of other problems on this list. All you can do is close the app and try again. 

If you’re logged out, don’t worry, when you sign back in, all your game progress will be there. 

12. Purchased items are not appearing

If you buy something with Coins and that doesn’t appear in your inventory, then you might have to try logging out of the app and back in again. If that doesn’t work, try restarting your device too.

We will continue to add to this list of problems and solutions as they arise. 

• Pokemon Go: How to play and other tips and tricks
• The Trials and Tribulations of a Pokemon Go Addict: Pokemon Go reviewed
• What is Pokemon Go and why is everyone talking about it? 
• Pokemon Go: Best, worst and craziest places people have found Pokemon
• London through the eyes of Pokemon Go
• Pokemon Go: 11 amazing, mind-boggling facts about the AR game
• Pokemon Go: How to catch Pikachu