Pokemon GO Isn’t Working? Here’s How to Fix It


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Since the day Pokemon GO made its way into the mobile gaming it has never looked back. It’s still one of the most popular games in the world. Pokemon GO was released back in July 2016. It’s been nearly three years and the game is still receiving new updates on a regular basis. It means that the game is still in demand and people loves playing it. That’s why Niantic keeps on updating the app to give people stable gaming experience. However, like any other app, Pokemon GO is also prone to issues. The game can stop working for a variety of reasons. So, if your Pokemon GO isn’t working then there could be a number of reasons. We have tried to put together a list of potential reasons which might have made your Pokemon Go stopped working on your mobile phone.

Pokemon GO isn't working

Pokemon GO Stuck Or Frozen

Pokemon GO is known to stuck or Freeze. There are no pop-ups or notifications indicating any errors. Sometimes, the game doesn’t even load and gets stuck or freeze on the loading screen. And sometimes, this happens during the game, just after catching a Pokémon for example.

In either case, the only solution is to kill the app and restart the game. The steps mentioned below are for those whose devices are running on Android 9.0 Pie. The steps may differ depending on which Android version your device is running on. However, the purpose is same — kill the app and restart it.

  1. Tap the square icon on the bottom right of the screen.
  2. Swipe the Pokémon Go app up to kill it.
  3. Return back to your home screen and tap on the Pokemon GO to again launch the game.

Update Pokemon GO to the latest version

There’s a reason behind game developers releasing new updates from time to time. With every update, the game becomes more stable. So, if your Pokemon GO keeps on crashing or freezing then you should check whether your game is updated to the latest version or not. If it’s not, then follow the below steps in order to update your Pokemon GO to the latest version.

  1. Open the Google Play Store on your mobile.
  2. Open the menu by tapping the hamburger icon in the top left.
  3. Now, Tap on My Apps & Games.
  4. Tap Update next to Pokémon Go, if available.

GPS signal not found in Pokémon Go

Pokemon GO isn't working

This is the most common and feared issue which Pokemon Go users face. You can open the game normally, but can’t play it because of ‘GPS Signal not found’ error. To solve this issue, first, you need to check whether your device is connected to the internet properly. Because if there’s some issue with the connectivity then your device won’t be able to connect to GPS. However, if connectivity is okay then it’s definitely the issue with app permissions. The location permission must be enabled for the game to work properly. Let’s see how can you enable location permissions in Pokemon Go

  1. Open Settings on your device.
  2. Tap Apps and Notifications.
  3. Find and select Pokemon GO.
  4. Tap Permissions.
  5. Toggle Location.

No Pokemon Found Nearby

The main purpose of the game is to catch Pokemon. Think if you always have to face the message ‘No Pokemon Found Nearby’, how frustrating that would be? However, if you are in a rural area then it’s not surprising if you don’t see any Pokemon for a long period of time. The number of Pokemon spawning in rural areas is far less than the number in Urban. Pokemon spawn more frequently in urban areas. If you live in an Urban Area and still there are no Pokemon spawning nearby, there may be a problem with the server.

Check if Pokémon Go is down

If you are not able to login to the game or experiencing weird issues which are apparently not related to your device. Then it could be that the entire Pokémon Go service is down. In such case, there’s a service by the name of Down Detector, which can instantly show you the live Status of Pokemon Go. If the service is down worldwide or in a specific region, there’s not much you can do about it. The best solution is to wait until the service gets back up and running.

This concludes our troubleshooting guide when Pokemon Go isn’t working on your device.