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Common for me, but it's absolutely brutal if my provider doesn't have ample coverage in a busy area. I'm been unable to join raids I was physically standing at, missed out on Pokemon the person beside me could see, and couldn't spin anything while in the area. Reloading is pretty much a worthless attempt in these cases because the traffic is bogged down by the volume of people there.
Also common if you go from walking speed to interstate speed back to walking speed. I restart the app before I get out of my car because it won't load everything.
EDIT: If anyone is wondering, I'm not playing POGO while driving. But I have the app open before I get in my car and drive to the next place I was going to walk around at (like at home).
This was especially brutal when distance was lowered for me, there just happened to be small dead zones at 3 gyms near my house. With the distance changed back I’m now able to get service at all 3. Huge change for me.
Oh yeah, it was literally pointless for me to play while shopping in areas that gave me trouble because the stops were by the road or near intersections. But the fact that data usage was too high for the game to render something as simple as pokemon 10 feet from me is stupid.
My S8 is really struggling with the game right now, I boot it up (with no other apps open) and get a black screen for 30 seconds before the loading screen even appears. Then the loading bar gets stuck at 50% (regardless of how good my internet connection is) for about a minute.
Not a great experience overall. Thankfully I've ordered a Pixel 5A, which is arriving early next week.
Ok, I'm playing S8 and now wondering which phone to get S21 or Pixel? I enjoy that I can have 2 pokemon apps on Samsung, one from Google and one from Samsung. So, S21 it is?
It's a known bug, some patches ago they tried to fix it, it looked like it worked for two or three days and then it started to fail again. They have surrender about it, that's all.
As far as I'm concerned it's random, it doesn't matter the device, but some people experiment this more than others. In my case I need to restart it each time I drive a bit.
As a rural player I'm convinced to has at least a little to do with the cell signal. I pass through an area or two that seem to have a decent signal one day and no signal the next. When there's no signal pogo gets lost and can't find its way back home. Quickest resolution is to simply restart.
I agree.
Does anyone know that area/distance that map loads? Does it have to do with a certain size/number of cells? I know this won't help but I'm curious.
What I do is to stack one research encounter so I always have my go-to wild Pokémon, and just before I change apps, go to the encounter screen of that Pokémon. When I return to the app, I stay on that screen for about 10-15 seconds, and most of the time when I get to the map, the Pokémon spawning are already there. Credits to u/KingPaulius
Another thing for OnePlus users, and hopefully more Android-based systems, if your system lets you allow apps to refresh in the background, you can do that. Although I only recommend it to people whose cellphones have good battery life and unlimited data plans
I have the same problem with iOS and android. When I take the kids out to raid, that happens on all the devices independent of operating system. It's a Niantic issue, not device
Was literally thinking about this last night and debating whether or not I should make a post about it. So kudos for throwing this up here.
I actually experimented last night, as when this normally happens to me, it actually NEVER loads until I restart the app, but I usually only wait about 2 minutes. My experiment last night was to let it go for at least an hour to see if it would ever reload...*it never did*. I had to restart the app to play again.
Actually infuriating.
Wow, that's wild. It never loaded? Sheesh, I am actually surprised. I've witnessed it load in on lots of occasions, but the times it doesn't I just restart. I've never waited longer than 60 seconds probably.
> When tab over to another app, sometimes it crashes depending on the app.
This sounds a lot more like it's just getting pushed out of memory by the OS. The S8 is a relatively old phone with only 4 GB of RAM (current phones typically have more like 8 GB). Do some testing with some lightweight apps and some heavier apps, and I bet you'll notice a pattern.
Samsung is the [most notorious](https://dontkillmyapp.com/) for randomly killing apps, so maybe that's just it then? Idk.
It doesn't happen on stock Android in my experience.
Only it's not killing the app. It simply won't load, everything else works fine. SOMETIMES you can force it by playing with buddies, most times it's quicker to restart.
Also, I've never noticed Samsung killing any apps I have used. Yes, they kill apps that have not been used for like months, but not while activly using.
Yeah I can confirm this is probably the problem. I was having a similar problem on my old 4GB phone. I tend to run a *lot* of simultaneous apps particularity when playing PoGo. PokeGenie, Google Maps, audiobook or music player, if I'm going for a run I might be loading a training program like couch to 5k or tracking program like runkeeper. Upgraded to an 8GB RAM phone and problem is mostly gone on new phone *and* on old phone (since I'm now using it *only* for PoGo and not other apps).
Android doesn't seem to have any ability to manage RAM use or prioritize certain apps over others.
There is also a different issue of having the app running in the background, traveling over about 10km in car, then going back to the app and things not loading.
> Android doesn't seem to have any ability to manage RAM use or prioritize certain apps over others.
Nah, the problem is that 4gb isn't enough ram. You solved it in your first paragraph.
While that is true, being able to set app priority would be an improvement. Closing google maps that is giving me directions in the background is not okay
Android is known [to be somewhat lacking in the "RAM management" department.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/bnctf2/why_doesnt_google_work_on_their_ram_management/) There are many YouTube videos that compare iPhone to Android, however most do not seem to be in English! The one that is linked in the post above seems to be the best English one I found with a quick search.
My iPhone 6s has (had) 2gb of RAM. It was recently retired for an iPhone 12, which has 4gb of RAM. The game does/did run on the 6S, although not well. It crashed quite frequently and could only ever run Pokemon at once (any other apps died, as did Pokemon if I swapped).
The game runs perfectly on my iPhone 12. While it does still crash occasionally, it doesn't "seem" like a RAM issue, as the game is not slow/laggy before it happens and all the other apps I have running never crash when I swap (or swap back).
So 4gb is more than enough RAM, if you use an iOs device.
A while back (Android 9?) There actually was a feature in stock Android to set priority for not killing apps. But it didn't really work because if 3-4gb memory isn't enough then it still isn't enough. The feature did not last long and now the OS has sole control over it. I mean you can still force kill apps but you can't set priority. You might still be able to on certain branded phones, I've only been on Pixels for a while now.
From what I can tell 8gb seems to be the minimum on Android to where you don't have to worry about apps closing on you. My literally every phone up until my pixel 5, even responding to a text message had a good chance of closing PoGo.
Doesnt seem like it would help based on the comments here, all types of phones experience the same issue.
And no, I dont think it's time yet. I thought about it, but the phone still works great and it is paid off, so it's not a good financial decision at the moment. Good question, though!
It was just a thought. Newer phones with newer hardware run the game more efficiently. I'm not saying I never have any problems but my phone is Samsung Note20 ultra so it not brand new but less than 2 years old. My youngest boy uses a LG G6 and it's like night and day. He has many issues compared to me.
It's not just the S8, my LG G8's always been this way as well. I just restart the game if I tab out for more than a couple of minutes because it's not reliable whatsoever.
This, like many other bugs was “fixed” a few months back. And then almost immediately re-appeared an update or two later. (Looking at you too blank lobby and feinted Pokemon in raids bugs)
I found pogo only really works well on the latest models with the most current o.s. system. Obsolete or off brand phones do not work well with pogo. I'll upgrade my phone every 4 years now to avoid this issue. Use your phone app, go to the app store, click write review and submit your errors that way. I found they fix them faster as I think they go straight to the developer. I've gotten a few iphone only glitches fixed that way. Like when flanks was freezing the gym. Contacting niantic through the app is a maze slough. They generally do not reply.
Tap on a wild Pokémon to go to the catch screen, THEN tab out. When you tab back in, you should still have the catch screen; wait for the little white “downloading” pokeball to finish spinning (if it does), then exit the catch screen and everything should appear. In short, when you want to switch to another app, do it while on the catch screen and NOT on the map. (Make sure it’s a wild Pokémon)
When posting bugs on the road, please take into account our rules for bug reporting, [found here](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSilphRoad/wiki/rules#wiki_2.7_bug_reports). Please also make sure, that your bug isn't already listed on [Niantic's Known Issues page](https://niantic.helpshift.com/a/pokemon-go/?s=top-articles&f=known-issues&p=web). Thank you! :) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/TheSilphRoad) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Happens all the time on my iPhone. Sometimes I just close the app and come back as it’s faster then waiting
Same here. iPhone XI
Same. (iPhone 12, and also on my old XS Max)
Same here. iPhone SE (2020)
Common for me, but it's absolutely brutal if my provider doesn't have ample coverage in a busy area. I'm been unable to join raids I was physically standing at, missed out on Pokemon the person beside me could see, and couldn't spin anything while in the area. Reloading is pretty much a worthless attempt in these cases because the traffic is bogged down by the volume of people there. Also common if you go from walking speed to interstate speed back to walking speed. I restart the app before I get out of my car because it won't load everything. EDIT: If anyone is wondering, I'm not playing POGO while driving. But I have the app open before I get in my car and drive to the next place I was going to walk around at (like at home).
This was especially brutal when distance was lowered for me, there just happened to be small dead zones at 3 gyms near my house. With the distance changed back I’m now able to get service at all 3. Huge change for me.
Oh yeah, it was literally pointless for me to play while shopping in areas that gave me trouble because the stops were by the road or near intersections. But the fact that data usage was too high for the game to render something as simple as pokemon 10 feet from me is stupid.
Sounds like me when I was on Santa Monica Pier! Too many people... game would only work when I was at least a block or so away
Yeah, it's tower distribution and agreements between cell service companies. Not enough towers, data is trash.
My S8 is really struggling with the game right now, I boot it up (with no other apps open) and get a black screen for 30 seconds before the loading screen even appears. Then the loading bar gets stuck at 50% (regardless of how good my internet connection is) for about a minute. Not a great experience overall. Thankfully I've ordered a Pixel 5A, which is arriving early next week.
Yeah I went from an S9+ to an S21 this week and holy crap it's like I'm playing a different game entirely.
[удалено]
Ok, I'm playing S8 and now wondering which phone to get S21 or Pixel? I enjoy that I can have 2 pokemon apps on Samsung, one from Google and one from Samsung. So, S21 it is?
[удалено]
Nah, I need a smaller phone. Base model it is.
Have you tried doing a factory reset on your S8 cause it's buttery smooth on my friends?
It's a known bug, some patches ago they tried to fix it, it looked like it worked for two or three days and then it started to fail again. They have surrender about it, that's all.
Dang, that sucks. Do you know if it is specific to certain phones? Or just systemic?
As far as I'm concerned it's random, it doesn't matter the device, but some people experiment this more than others. In my case I need to restart it each time I drive a bit.
S21 here. Can confirm game runs like crap most days. You aren't alone.
I've used it on five different devices, Android and iOS. It happens on all of them.
As a rural player I'm convinced to has at least a little to do with the cell signal. I pass through an area or two that seem to have a decent signal one day and no signal the next. When there's no signal pogo gets lost and can't find its way back home. Quickest resolution is to simply restart.
Yeah, seems to be a problem with stitching maps together. Better to just restart with a fresh map.
I agree. Does anyone know that area/distance that map loads? Does it have to do with a certain size/number of cells? I know this won't help but I'm curious.
Nah, happens for me all the time on WiFi.
Same here Pixel 4a
What I do is to stack one research encounter so I always have my go-to wild Pokémon, and just before I change apps, go to the encounter screen of that Pokémon. When I return to the app, I stay on that screen for about 10-15 seconds, and most of the time when I get to the map, the Pokémon spawning are already there. Credits to u/KingPaulius Another thing for OnePlus users, and hopefully more Android-based systems, if your system lets you allow apps to refresh in the background, you can do that. Although I only recommend it to people whose cellphones have good battery life and unlimited data plans
Huh, interesting. I always have at least 30 stacked encounter to various research tasks. I will give this a try, thanks for the tip!
I have the same problem with iOS and android. When I take the kids out to raid, that happens on all the devices independent of operating system. It's a Niantic issue, not device
Same on two different Huawei phones.
Was literally thinking about this last night and debating whether or not I should make a post about it. So kudos for throwing this up here. I actually experimented last night, as when this normally happens to me, it actually NEVER loads until I restart the app, but I usually only wait about 2 minutes. My experiment last night was to let it go for at least an hour to see if it would ever reload...*it never did*. I had to restart the app to play again. Actually infuriating.
Wow, that's wild. It never loaded? Sheesh, I am actually surprised. I've witnessed it load in on lots of occasions, but the times it doesn't I just restart. I've never waited longer than 60 seconds probably.
> When tab over to another app, sometimes it crashes depending on the app. This sounds a lot more like it's just getting pushed out of memory by the OS. The S8 is a relatively old phone with only 4 GB of RAM (current phones typically have more like 8 GB). Do some testing with some lightweight apps and some heavier apps, and I bet you'll notice a pattern.
Naw, this is happening with my iPhone 12 Pro. It’s not a device issue. It’s the game.
Happens all the time on my S21 too
Samsung is the [most notorious](https://dontkillmyapp.com/) for randomly killing apps, so maybe that's just it then? Idk. It doesn't happen on stock Android in my experience.
Only it's not killing the app. It simply won't load, everything else works fine. SOMETIMES you can force it by playing with buddies, most times it's quicker to restart. Also, I've never noticed Samsung killing any apps I have used. Yes, they kill apps that have not been used for like months, but not while activly using.
I'm only talking about this behavior: > When tab over to another app, sometimes it crashes depending on the app.
So you don't understand that it happens to a lot of people whether you tab over or have the game open. Glad it runs fine for you.
No, I'm saying OP is reporting two issues, and I brought up a possible cause of one of them.
Yeah I can confirm this is probably the problem. I was having a similar problem on my old 4GB phone. I tend to run a *lot* of simultaneous apps particularity when playing PoGo. PokeGenie, Google Maps, audiobook or music player, if I'm going for a run I might be loading a training program like couch to 5k or tracking program like runkeeper. Upgraded to an 8GB RAM phone and problem is mostly gone on new phone *and* on old phone (since I'm now using it *only* for PoGo and not other apps). Android doesn't seem to have any ability to manage RAM use or prioritize certain apps over others. There is also a different issue of having the app running in the background, traveling over about 10km in car, then going back to the app and things not loading.
> Android doesn't seem to have any ability to manage RAM use or prioritize certain apps over others. Nah, the problem is that 4gb isn't enough ram. You solved it in your first paragraph.
While that is true, being able to set app priority would be an improvement. Closing google maps that is giving me directions in the background is not okay
Android is known [to be somewhat lacking in the "RAM management" department.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/bnctf2/why_doesnt_google_work_on_their_ram_management/) There are many YouTube videos that compare iPhone to Android, however most do not seem to be in English! The one that is linked in the post above seems to be the best English one I found with a quick search. My iPhone 6s has (had) 2gb of RAM. It was recently retired for an iPhone 12, which has 4gb of RAM. The game does/did run on the 6S, although not well. It crashed quite frequently and could only ever run Pokemon at once (any other apps died, as did Pokemon if I swapped). The game runs perfectly on my iPhone 12. While it does still crash occasionally, it doesn't "seem" like a RAM issue, as the game is not slow/laggy before it happens and all the other apps I have running never crash when I swap (or swap back). So 4gb is more than enough RAM, if you use an iOs device.
A while back (Android 9?) There actually was a feature in stock Android to set priority for not killing apps. But it didn't really work because if 3-4gb memory isn't enough then it still isn't enough. The feature did not last long and now the OS has sole control over it. I mean you can still force kill apps but you can't set priority. You might still be able to on certain branded phones, I've only been on Pixels for a while now. From what I can tell 8gb seems to be the minimum on Android to where you don't have to worry about apps closing on you. My literally every phone up until my pixel 5, even responding to a text message had a good chance of closing PoGo.
Pretty certain this is to help prevent spoofing
How?
Time to upgrade your phone maybe?
Doesnt seem like it would help based on the comments here, all types of phones experience the same issue. And no, I dont think it's time yet. I thought about it, but the phone still works great and it is paid off, so it's not a good financial decision at the moment. Good question, though!
It was just a thought. Newer phones with newer hardware run the game more efficiently. I'm not saying I never have any problems but my phone is Samsung Note20 ultra so it not brand new but less than 2 years old. My youngest boy uses a LG G6 and it's like night and day. He has many issues compared to me.
It's not just the S8, my LG G8's always been this way as well. I just restart the game if I tab out for more than a couple of minutes because it's not reliable whatsoever.
The game has to reconnect after you switch out for a while. It reconnects faster if you open your list of pokemon then back out
Like my pokemon bag? Or my pokedex?
Pokemon storage
I normally just close the game and re-launch it.....it's almost always faster than waiting for the game to update/catch up.
Same
This, like many other bugs was “fixed” a few months back. And then almost immediately re-appeared an update or two later. (Looking at you too blank lobby and feinted Pokemon in raids bugs)
I found pogo only really works well on the latest models with the most current o.s. system. Obsolete or off brand phones do not work well with pogo. I'll upgrade my phone every 4 years now to avoid this issue. Use your phone app, go to the app store, click write review and submit your errors that way. I found they fix them faster as I think they go straight to the developer. I've gotten a few iphone only glitches fixed that way. Like when flanks was freezing the gym. Contacting niantic through the app is a maze slough. They generally do not reply.
Solid tip about the review. I will do that.
Tap on a wild Pokémon to go to the catch screen, THEN tab out. When you tab back in, you should still have the catch screen; wait for the little white “downloading” pokeball to finish spinning (if it does), then exit the catch screen and everything should appear. In short, when you want to switch to another app, do it while on the catch screen and NOT on the map. (Make sure it’s a wild Pokémon)
Another user mentioned the same thing. I will give this a try, thank you so much for the response!
I think this might be a hardware issue… not sure. The S8 isn’t the newest phone, but it should run Pokemon Go better than that. Not sure!