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How to fix the bug in the latest Pokemon Go update that’s driving players insane

Published Aug 11th, 2016 10:51AM EDT
No Pokestops Fix
Image: Niantic

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Pokemon Go mania marches on, but some users have hit a roadblock on their quest to catch ’em all.

The latest update to Niantic’s wildly successful augmented reality game brought with it a number of new features that users have been enjoying. Namely, the latest version introduced a new means to track Pokemon after the developer had previously removed the only in-app tool that helped users locate Pokemon. Of course, the new nearby locator isn’t quite as useful as some of the other tools out there — check out this free app, which helps you find all the Pokemon in your area — but it’s certainly better than nothing.

Sadly, the new nearby feature has been overshadowed for many users by a crippling bug that makes Pokemon Go completely unplayable.

DON’T MISS: Everything new in iOS 10 beta 5 and iOS 10 public beta 4

Pokemon Go players have swarmed Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and other sites with complaints that upon installing the new Pokemon Go update that was released earlier this week, the game has become unusable. It loads and appears to be working fine… until one realizes that there are absolutely no Pokemon, Pokestops, or gyms anywhere on their maps.

Here are a few examples of tweets from players impacted by this aggravating bug:


https://twitter.com/NGUYEN_REVS/status/763692407179321348
https://twitter.com/squishdbean/status/763687842165821440
https://twitter.com/HEELRaphAwesome/status/763685452465319936


https://twitter.com/cy2mantos/status/763593721426305026
https://twitter.com/eliseorms768/status/763580042039275521

The good news is that there’s a relatively simple fix — though the bad news is that it doesn’t seem to work for everyone. If you go into your iPhone or Android phone’s settings app and then open the cellular settings page, you can disable 4G/LTE and then restart the phone. Upon rebooting, open Pokemon Go again and you should see all of the Pokemon, Pokestops and gyms in your area.

Again, some people have found that this quick fix doesn’t work for them. But many others have had success with this method and since it only takes a few seconds, it can’t hurt to try.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.