In This Article
Are you experiencing failed to detect location 12 or a location not found error in Pokemon GO and unable to play the game? Or maybe you are trying to spoof/mock your location using GPS joystick apps but the game is unable to get the location? Follow our guide to fixing the failure to detect location issues in Pokemon GO.
According to our research, there are two main reasons why many of you are experiencing this error:
- Reason 1 – You are somewhere under the buildings where your Android phone/tablet is unable to receive GPS signals.
- Reason 2 – Mock Locations option is enabled on your Android phone/tablet.
Without wasting any moment, let’s quickly jump into the solutions:
1. Enable GPS Location Services on your Phone
Since the game is unable to detect your location, so we will have to check and make sure the location services and GPS option are enabled on your phone.
- Go to Settings and tap on the Location option.
- Tap on the Mode option and select High Accuracy to set GPS to maximum location accuracy mode.
Once done, try to play Pokemon Go and see if the failed to detect location error disappears. If you are still experiencing the error then I will highly recommend you to move somewhere outside as it could be happening due to low/poor GPS signals.
2. Disable Mock Location Feature from Developer Settings
Here we will go through a little bit advanced route in an attempt to troubleshoot the problem, which is to disable the mock locations feature on Android.
- Go to Settings, find the About Device option and tap it. This option should be located under the System section.
- Find Build Number and tap on it seven (7) times and then you will see a toast message that says, you are now a developer.
- Go back to Settings and now you will have Developer Options. Should be right above the About Device option.
- Tap on the Developer Options. Enable toggle, if you see any option. A new popup message will appear that says, these settings are intended for development use only. Tap OK to continue.
- In the list, look for Allow mock locations checkbox, it should be located under the Debugging section. If allow mock locations is enabled, then tap on it to disable it.
In some Android versions, instead of allowing mock locations checkbox, there would be a select mock location app option. If that’s the case, make sure it says, no mock location app set.
3. Update Pokemon Go to the Latest Version
Running an older version of the game can sometimes conflict and cause location errors. It is always best to keep your game updated as it gives you the latest fixes and there are minimal chances of something breaking.
Here is how you can check for updates:
- Open Play Store.
- Using the search bar, search for Pokemon Go.
- Tap on the game.
- If there is any update available then you will see a green Update button. Tap it.
Once successfully updated to the latest version, you can try opening the game and check if the GPS location error is resolved.
4. Restart Pokemon Go
Yes, simply closing Pokemon Go, clearing it from the recent apps list, and then relaunching it usually fixes the location error. The reason is the game resets and refreshes the request for the location services. This also forces the game to detect location.
5. Log Out and Log-In into the Game
There are certain problems due to which the game sometimes stops getting location data, so to take care of this manually you can log out of your account and then log back in. This cycle is another quick fix to resolve failed to detect the location 12 error in Pokemon Go.
Here is how you can achieve this:
- In the game, go to Settings.
- Scroll down till the very end, you will see the Sign Out button. Tap it.
- Now log back into your account using your username and password.
Try to play the game like you usually would see if the issue is resolved.
6. Clear Data and Cache of Pokemon Go
Just like any other operating system Android also stores data and cache files for every app, which helps speed up the launch and processing speed of the app so you can quickly start playing the game.
However, over time these temporarily stored cache data begin to cause conflicts with the system and show errors. So, it is important to clear the cache and data of any app that causes issues.
Here are the steps to clear that:
NOTE:
You will be logged out from your Pokemon Go account. Make sure you remember your username and password.
- On your phone, go to Settings and tap on Apps. In the list of apps, find Pokemon Go and tap it.
- Tap on the Storage option.
- Tap Clear Cache and Clear Data buttons.
That’s how simple and easy it is to refresh the app. Open the Pokemon Go app and the game will now ask you to log in to your account.
7. Restart Your Phone
As simple as it may sound, restarting your phone fixes a lot of underlying issues that are otherwise left ignored. This method alone will resolve various errors.
On your Android phone, find the power button, press and hold it for a few seconds until the power off menu appears on the screen. Tap on the Restart button to reboot your phone.
8. Use a Location Spoofing App
If you are trying to play Pokemon GO on an Android device with GPS spoofing or GPS hacking apps (like Fake GPS GO, Fly GPS, GPS JoyStick) through Android’s “Mock Location” feature to spoof location, but are unable to play because the game is showing the error ‘Failed to detect location (12)’.
Simply follow the steps below to permanently fix the error and continue spoofing locations in Pokemon GO after the Android security update:
- To be able to spoof your location in Pokemon GO after the latest Android security update you need to root your device. So the first step to root an Android device is to find out the make and model number of your Android phone or tablet by going to Settings and then the About Device section.
- Since the procedure to root an Android device is different for every phone manufacturer, I will suggest you first try an easy and one-click Android rooting app KingRoot.
- In case your phone/tablet is not supported by the KingRoot app then simply perform the following example Google search i.e. “how to root Galaxy S7 SM-G935F” (obviously, you need to replace ‘Galaxy S7 SM-G935F’ with the model number of your device) and you will find many tested and proven ways on how to root your particular Android device.
- For best results, I will recommend you opt for system-less root.
- Once your phone is rooted, download the GPS JoyStick Fake GPS location APK and install it on your phone. (Alternatively, you can download Fake GPS GO apk but here I am using GPS JoyStick app because it provides better compatibility.)
- We will now use a unique Privacy Mode feature of the GPS JoyStick app to hide the presence of the location spoofing app from Pokemon GO. So open GPS JoyStick and under the Quick Options section, you will find Privacy Mode. Tap it.
- It will ask, “Do you want to generate a new copy or update an existing generated one?” Tap on Generate.
- In the provided box, type a new app name. Here I am using “PoGo GPS App” as a new name. Then tap on Start.
- The generation of the new app will take about a minute to complete
- Once the app has been generated successfully, the installation screen for the PoGo GPS App will appear. Tap Install.
- Now first you need to uninstall the GPS JoyStick Fake GPS Location app and then convert PoGo GPS App to the system app. For that, we will use the Link2SD app. This app will let you move PoGo GPS App to the system directory within a matter of seconds and will take care of all the permissions.
- When Link2SD has been installed, open the app and allow it root access.
- You will now see a list of all the apps installed on your device. Find PoGo GPS App and tap on it.
- Tap on the menu button located at the upper right corner and then tap the Convert to system app option.
- A convert app popup, as shown in the screenshot below, will appear. Tap on OK to proceed. It will take a while to convert.
- Once the app has been converted successfully, you will see a “Reboot device” toast message. Please reboot your device for the changes to take effect.
- Now we have to configure PoGo GPS App. Launch the app and tap on the menu button located at the top left corner.
- Tap Settings.
- Under Settings, you need to make sure the following four options are enabled:
In case you are wondering, the Enable System Mode option will let you spoof your location in Pokemon GO without enabling mock locations. And remember, enabling and disabling the Disable Location Service state option will require you to reboot your device.- Enable Indirect Mocking,
- Enable System Mode,
- Disable Location Service,
- Enable A-GPS Reset.
That is all with the setup. 😀
Now you need to unroot your Android device because if you stay rooted then Pokemon GO will not allow you to play the game.
Simply use the SuperSU app’s built-in feature to unroot your phone. In case you are wondering, the SuperSU app must have already been installed after you rooted your device.
On the other hand, if you opted for the system-less root method then you will be able to enable/disable root using a simple switch as shown in the screenshot below using iSU. 😉
We will now check if our Android device has been unrooted properly. For that, we need to install the SafetyNet Helper app.
Open the app and run the test. It will perform several tests on your device and let you know if your device has passed or not.
If the tests are cleared successfully it means your device has been unrooted successfully and you can now play Pokemon GO. Else, if any of the tests failed then you need to perform step #18 again in order to unroot your device.
In case you are unable to unroot your device then please leave your comment in the comments section below. I will help you out! 🙂
Go to Settings -> Location and set the location mode to Device only.
Open PoGo GPS App, select the Set Location option, and then tap on the option that says Click here to open the map. A map will now open and you can select whatever location you want your Pokemon character to spoof. Then tap on the Start button to begin spoofing in the selected location. You will see a hovering menu with a joystick and all the controls.
Now you can launch the Pokemon GO game and control your Pokemon character with the joystick to spoof your location. There won’t be any ‘failed to detect location error’ and you will not see any Pokemon GO blacklist warning screen, all thanks to the GPS JoyStick’s Privacy Mode.
Conclusion
I hope the methods mentioned here in this article have helped you in fixing failed to detect location 12 error in Pokemon GO. And also you must have by now found a working solution to spoofing your location in the game.
In case you have any questions or if you are stuck at any step then leave your question in the comments section below and I will try my best to get back to you with a working solution. 🙂
hello
i have android 5 and i don’t have the “Enable Indirect Mocking” option.
what can i do?
Hi @dangrinberg:disqus, the reason why “Enable Indirect Mocking” option is not visible for you is that you didn’t convert GPS JoyStick to system app. Please follow step 9 to 14 in the above guide.
Hi and thank you for a great guide, quick question, I can’t get link2sd or titanium to convert to system app, I have root and put on a fresh nougat rom on an s6 edge G925F, any tips on what i need to do ? Many many thanks in advance.
Thanks for the appreciation, @liam_nightingale:disqus! 🙂
You mentioned that you have root. If Link2SD and Titanium failed then the best option is to manually convert GPS JoyStick using any root file manager like ES File Explorer.
If I have already mentioned the procedure to manually convert user app to system app in the comments below. Anyways, here’s how to convert:
1. Download GPS JoyStick from above and then generate a new copy of app using Privacy Mode.
2. Use file manager with root access like ES File Explorer to manually move the GPS app to “system/priv-app” directory.
3. Now change the permissions for GPS app as follows (rw- r– r–):
– Read for all,
– Write for owner, and
– Execute for none.
Now restart your device and the app should be converted into system app.
Hi, @Mohammad Farzan. I too encounter disappearing app after using Link2SD. I have followed the manual copy method as suggested. Thereafter, as soon as I uninstall the original GPS JoyStick Fake GPS Location app, PoGo GPS App disappears. I discovered that as soon as there’s no APK in the data/app, PoGo GPS App disappears even if a APK exists in either system/priv-app or system. Any advise? Thanks.
I am glad that you gave the manual procedure a try before asking.
Here is a suggestion for you:
Download the GPS JoyStick apk and copy it to the “system/priv-app” directory. Then set correct permissions for APK (as mentioned in my previous comment). It should not disappear now.
Hi buddy,
Your question/comment wasn’t deleted, it was under moderation, maybe because of your name.
And if GPS JoyStick app worked first time then it should work every time without any issue. To rectify the issue, I will suggest you to retry all the steps and see if it works or not because it’s working perfectly here.
Good luck! 🙂
HI can not root Samsung S7 edge 7.0 patch level December 2017. Please help
Hi @antarusantarus:disqus,
Since you are using Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge so I will recommend you to opt for system-less root like Magisk so that you can easily bypass safetynet. You haven’t provided your device model number otherwise I would have redirected you to your device specific forum.
Anyways, you can read more about the installation of Magisk on Galaxy S7 Edge here.
I will suggest you to first read all the relevant topics there and then begin with the rooting process. This is just to avoid any unexpected loss of data.
Thanks,great help
1) Link2SD doesn’t ask me about having root access, so I’m not able to change the new app to system app. How do I change the Link2SD to have root access?
2) If we want to use back the real location, do we just open the original Pokemon Go app instead of the newly created one?
Hi @barginstore:disqus,
1(a) There are chances that you don’t have root access. Download any root checker app to check if your Android device is rooted.
1(b) In case you are already rooted but Link2SD didn’t prompt for root access then open SuperSU and check the list of apps, you should see Link2SD there. Tap on it and grant root access from there.
2(a) We are not creating a hacked Pokemon GO apk here. What we are actually doing is creating a unique copy of GPS JoyStick app (using Privacy Mode) to fake our location without letting the Pokemon GO game to detect that we are using any location spoofing app.
2(b) If you want to use your real location then go to GPS JoyStick settings menu and deactivate “Disable Location Service” option and restart your phone. Now play Pokemon GO game without GPS JoyStick app and it should detect your real location.
And it seems like you didn’t understand how this GPS hack really works. Don’t worry, let me explain you a bit:
GPS JoyStick is a simple app that will let you fake your location using a joystick. It imitates realistic walking/jogging to avoid detection. You can enter any coordinates into the GPS JoyStick app and it will spoof you there and show that you actually there. You can then move around that location using onscreen joystick.
Now, the joystick app alone is of no use. So you need to open Pokemon GO game and it will take your character to the same location which you selected in the GPS JoyStick app. You can now control your character using joystick.
I hope this helps you out.
If you have any other question please feel free to ask.
Happy Spoofing! 🙂
Can’t seem unroot please help! 😣
Please share details about your Android device including make, model number, Android version. Also tell me which method did you use to root your phone?
I am unable to uproot please help!
hey bro, whenever i tried to move my GPS joystick to system app, after reboot it always dissapear, care to explain why it is happen?
Hi bro, sometimes there are issues with specific Android phone or version which causes the app to disappear after reboot. There are other apps too (like Lucky Patcher) that allows you to move any app to system directory but I have given you a manual method below that works on almost any phone. Give it a try and let me know if it worked for you! 🙂
Here’s what you can do to move GPS JoyStick to system:
1. Download GPS JoyStick from above and then generate a new copy of app using Privacy Mode.
2. Use file manager with root access like ES File Explorer to manually move the GPS app to “system/priv-app” directory.
3. Now change the permissions for GPS app as follows (rw- r– r–):
– Read for all,
– Write for owner, and
– Execute for none.
Now restart your device and the app will not disappear.
This worked perfectly, but a recent update to Pokemon Go now IDs blacklisted apps and displays the warning message if it detects any blacklisted apps. Has anyone used an App Cloner to clone GPS spoofing app, change app name then convert it to a system app and still be able to use all the GPS spoofing app functions? Wanted to see if cloning would hide the app from detection.
Hey @kawikakaanohi:disqus, thanks a lot for your valuable input and a valid query. I tried this method after recent Pokemon GO updates and it showed me the following Pokemon GO blacklist warning message about apps that falsify your location.
Now since you have pointed it out so I searched and found out that there is actually a workaround for this problem and to help you guys I have completely updated the method #3 in above article along with relevant images. I hope the guide helps you to continue spoofing in Pokemon GO. 😉
For those of you who don’t know, the whole Pokemon GO blacklist warning message reads:
“We have detected software that can interfere with the operations of Pokemon GO on your device. This includes applications that falsify your location. Using unauthorized software that directly impacts Pokemon GO is a violation of Niantic’s Terms of Service and can result in the loss of your account. You will need to uninstall any such applications in order to continue gameplay.”
Thanks!!! I was babysitting and when I wasn’t looking the brats screwed with my phone to see if it would work without risking theirs. I didn’t think my phone would ever work again. I’m trying this on my sons phone now because why break one persons phone when you can break two! Again Thanks. You’re a lifesaver!
So sorry to hear that! But I would like to mention that Android phones are generally not THAT easy to break.
Anyways, I am here to help you out. You can share your problem here in comments and I will help you fix your phone. 🙂
I have a gun you can borrow for yourself (kill yourself) u can have it for free in 3 days then 50usd per day
And please kill yourself
on my case everything worked out, and I ain’t getting the detect thing anymore, but the flygps go app just doesnt work, neither the teleport neither the joystick, what can I do?
Hi @ayronpereira:disqus, many people are having problem with Fly GPS app. I will suggest you to give a try to another location hacking app i.e. GPS JoyStick. You can download it from here.
Give it a try and let me know if that works for you or not! 🙂
fly gps app just disappear after unroot.. any suggestion?
Hey, I rooted my Samsung A5. So I wanted to start with step 4 method 3. But when I tried to convert Fake GPS Go, FakeGPS Free or Fly GPS to a system app with Link2SD I got this error: “mount: ‘/dev/block/platform/13540000.dwmmc0/by-name/SYSTEM’->’/system’: Device or resource busy”. So what can i do?
If Link2SD is not working then you can download and use “Titanium Backup” to convert any app to system app. It is available on Play Store.
this is exactly what my s6 says, on stock with root and on CarHD nougat rom with root, titanium wouldnt do it either, tried to manually do it with ES but I can/t see any option for moving the App.Sorry , don’t want to be a pain but would love to get this to work.
Trying to test this on an old Experia E3 I had lying around.root king unlocked it but when I try to put the fake GPS into the system I get “mount: operation not permitted”
I wanted to test this before I root my good phone as I have to root it the hard way as its not supported by rootking and sure if I got it working on my old Experia maybe I might leave it at that
Seems like your phone isn’t properly rooted. And since it is an old phone so there aren’t much information available regarding this particular phone.
Which other Android phone do you have? Maybe you will be able to use Magisk on it, which is far better than KingRoot/SuperSU?
In case you don’t know, Magisk is powerful and allows you to switch the root on/off at your convenience. 😉
Vodafone smart ultra 7 running running android 6.0
Stupidity install the security update last Friday which killed my fake GPS no root hack.
There isn’t a simple way to root my phone as I have to flash it as its not compatible with root king ect
This seems to work youtu. be/WuJk0hxRsRY as the guy who uploaded it linked it to me on fda developers forum but this is something I haven’t done before so. I’m struggling to follow and scared ill mess it up. Again this doesnt unroot it
What I’m thinking of doing is getting someone to roll back the security patch or would I be able to do it myself?
Anyone successfully done it on a metro samsung j7? I want to do it but not waste my time.please and thanks
I have Samsung Galaxy J7 and this guide worked for me but I did not unroot my phone I simply opted for Magisk which is a systemless root so I can easily switch off the root when I want to play Pokemon GO and switch on the root when I am not playing.
This way I am able to enjoy the best of both worlds.
im almost worn out on trying to do this- it’s been several hours and i cant figure out what the hold up is. I was able to root, and when i did, the fake gps app dissapears. When i unroot and reboot, i install the fake gps app again and toggle the mode the root mode. Pokemon GO does let me play, and the joystick thing is up- but when i try to move my character around, it wont move. I have set the location mode to device only, and turned off the scanning things as you have advised in previous comments, and i still cant get the guy to move around using the joystick or manually selecting a location in the fake gps app. I feel like i have done literally everything and i cant get it to work. Im using an s5 model sm-g900h , running 6.0. It’s been like 10 hours over the past two days and i’m about to give up. Any ideas for something i haven’t tried? Thanks
I am glad you tried things on your own and then left a comment for help.
Don’t worry, you didn’t waste your time. Seems like Fake GPS GO isn’t working well with your phone. Please give a try to GPS JoyStick app, it is available here.
I have already suggested this same app to someone else in the comments section. It worked for him.
i think it has something to do with fused location which i am currently trying to figure out because i still get the failed to detect location even after following all these steps to a t
There is a manual way to disable fused location on Android but that only works well if you have systemless root. The easier way is to give a try to the app (GPS JoyStick) I have recommended to Dave in the comment below and enable all these options shown in the screenshot. Then restart your phone. It will take care of fused location for you. 😉
I have the same problem as dave. I installed the GPS Joystick app now, but I can not enable the system mode and disable location service. I moved the app to the system and rebooted the phone, but it does not work. what should i do ?
one does not “simply unroot with supersu”
Depends on the Android device you are using. In majority of cases, that ‘simply’ works well. 🙂
my pokemon go is using my original location….
fake gps not working
Make sure the location mode is set to “GPS only/Device only”.
Also, check that the “WiFi scanning” and “Bluetooth scanning” options are turned off.
Sometimes changes in these settings reveal your true location.
that fixed the problem of pokemon go detecting my original location, thanks a lot
I have tried 3rd method after march security update. it still showing failed to detect location ,i checked everything that is fake gps go is my system app and safetynet is also passed .still its showing “failed to detect location”.
then I went to developer options and mock location was disabled.but when i run fake gps go ,mock location starts automatically .I set it to none and reboot my device.Then it was selected as no mock location app but when I start snoffing in fake gps o it turned on automatically and pokemon go shows failed t detect location. When i turned it off again still it shows failed t detect location .
If anyone has a solution for this ,please help me.
Hey @disqus_Ylu7FLPINm:disqus, thanks for stopping by.
Before I can suggest you anything, please try to play Pokemon GO without running Fake GPS GO. This is just to check if the game detects your location or it is still unable to detect location.
Yes, it shows my location without fake gps. And pokemon too but where I live there are no pokestops.
As I told U fake gps automatically set mock location to itself. Or my phone set mock location app as fake gps go. But It is set as system app in my phone. I don’t know why this is happening. The point is that mkck location app is setting automatically to fake gps. Even when I set it to none and reboot my device then in mock location app fake gps go is already set up when I start spoofing. Also I have magisk installed can u tell any other method to hack it by root.
@disqus_Ylu7FLPINm:disqus that’s strange. I never experienced this type of problem :/
Anyways, to find a solution for you, I have tried few other GPS spoofing apps and luckily found an app that works better than the one mentioned in article. Also, it has a couple of more settings like that might solve your mock location issue. The app is GPS JoyStick Fake GPS Location available here.
Give it a try then let me know. And don’t forget to make it a system app. 😀
In case you are wondering, check the screenshot to see the settings I am talking about 😉
Does the rooting option work also on old operating systems like lollipop? I don’t really wanna risk making damages to my a5 7.0
Yes it should work on Lollipop too. And as far as I am aware, Google has not released a security update for Lollipop yet, so what you can do is first try location spoofing using Fly GPS app on your old device. Tutorial for that is available here: https://bestforandroid.com/fake-location-pokemon-go/
In case Fly GPS didn’t work or your old device has already received a security update, then simply use the Fake GPS GO rooting option.