Why Won’t My ‘Pokémon Go’ … GO?

Pokémon Go is a great mobile game to play on the fly, but sometimes it doesn’t work as intended, much to the frustration of players. We’ll explain what the error message “Pokémon Go Failed To Authenticate” means down below.

First and foremost, error messages like “failed to log in” or “unable to authenticate” are almost always indicative of server issues. It could be a temporary outage server-side, but sometimes it might be a problem on your end. Here are a few solutions you can try.

Android users can shut down and reopen the app to see if this fixes the problem. You’ll need to go to recently used apps by clicking the Home Button twice. Once you find the Pokémon Go app, you’ll need to close it by swiping up.

iPhone users can swipe up on the home screen to get to the recently used apps menu. Find the Pokémon Go app and swipe on it to close it. If you need additional help, you can also go to Niantic’s official support page here.

If all else fails, try reinstalling the game. This could clear up some problems with the current installation. Another solution is updating Pokémon Go if you’re on an older version. Make sure to keep your app up to date on the latest version.

Restarting your smartphone device can also fix a ton of issues sometimes. After restarting your phone, try to log back in. Make sure to check your Wi-Fi connection as well. Restarting your router might also fix a few issues. If you are on mobile data, check your connection and see if it is spotty.

Sometimes these issues can’t be fixed and you just have to wait for Niantic to fix the servers. You can use a website like Down Detector to see if the servers are up or not.

Keep calm and carry on, fellow Pokémon trainer. You’ll be playing the game again in no time at all.

(featured image: Niantic)