Pokemon GO: All Known Glitches and How to Fix Them

With such a massive launch, it’s no surprise that Pokemon GO has been suffering from a plethora of bugs and server problems recently. Here is a known list of glitches we’ve both experienced ourselves and ones that have been reported on. We will provide solutions to these issues and constantly update this as developer Niantic Inc. address them. Sadly, attaching Magnemites to your phone doesn’t fix anything. Not like we tried or anything…

Gym Glitch

What is it?: During a gym battle, an opponent’s Pokemon will drop to 1HP and not die, regardless of what you do. None of your attacks will affect the Pokemon and if you restart the gym it has a chance to lock you out of even using it.

Solution: No official word from Niantic. However, it is possible to wait it out. Sometimes the game will reconnect and the battle will continue, though the time for this is wildly inconsistent. If this does happen, we recommend letting the opponent Pokemon knock yours out so you don’t end up being shut out from using the gym entirely. While it may cost you a few potions, it’s better than the game completely glitching out on you.

Frozen Pokeball

What is it?:  Sometimes when you throw out a Pokeball to catch a Pokemon, the game will actually freeze once the capture animation begins. You can tell by both the Pokeball not wiggling around and the loading symbol appearing in the top left.

Solution: No official word from Niantic. If this happens, you can either wait for the game to load (which can take several minutes) or exit out of Pokemon GO entirely. If you do exit out, make sure to not move because there is still a high chance that Pokemon will be right around you again to capture.

Distance Not Changing

What is it?: This bug probably happens more frequently than you’re aware of it. Sometimes the game will not register that you’ve been moving forward in a certain directions and won’t update the footprint markings for the Pokemon, thus making it appear as if the Pokemon is always the same distance away regardless of where you go.

Solution: This one is a fairly easy fix, if you are chasing down a Pokemon and nothing seems to have changed, restart the application. It will then show you any updated information on said Pokemon, allowing you to see if you’re getting closer. Also, when you’re walking always check your Pokemon GO list in the bottom right to see if it’s altering at all. If it isn’t, the game may have bugged and need to be restarted.

Black Screen

What is it?: Sometimes when you pull your phone out of your pocket, Pokemon GO will not open up and just be nothing but a solid black screen. This should only happen if you have Battery Saver turned on in the Settings menu.

Solution: If you find this frequently happening to you, we would recommend switching Battery Saver mode off. While you can simply restart the application to bring it back up, the easiest way is to remove the problem entirely. The screen will only ever go black if this mode is activated and will activate far more frequently if you are constantly taking your phone out of Battery Saver mode.

Servers are Down

What is it? When you go to log into Pokemon GO and are prompted to login only to find that the servers are down.

Solution:  Sadly this one comes down to just waiting it out. There’s nothing you can really do to lighten the load of the servers, so it’s best to step away for a little. If you’re planning to go on walks specifically for hunting Pokemon, make sure to check the servers before you get ready.

Extreme Battery Drain

What is it? Your phone’s battery seems to have vanished in the blink of an eye. When using the app you notice that the battery seems to deplete quite quickly, regardless if you have other applications open.

Solution: There’s actually a few solutions to help save your precious phone’s energy. The most obvious is turning on Battery Saver mode, which will put your phone to sleep when it’s upside down while running the application. Another is actually turning the AR systems off completely as that can really take a toll on your phone’s life if you are using Pokemon GO a lot. Finally, you can download the maps via Google Maps and play offline. This will not only save your battery but cut down on your data usage as well. Just make sure to turn the online on if you want to battle in a gym.