(Solved) Pokèmon GO Error 12: Failed to Detect Location

“So when I start the game I get the location 12 error. I tried disabling mock locations but if I turn it off the GPS joystick doesn’t work. It needs mock locations enabled. Any way to fix this issue?”

Pokèmon Go is a very popular AR game for both iOS and Android, which uses the device’s GPS and provides gamers a virtual environment. It has attracted many players due to its fantastic graphics and animations. However, since its release, players have still faced numerous glitches in the game and failed to detect location is the most common one.

Have you ever encountered failed to detect location or GPS not found error in Pokèmon Go? Not to worry. In this article, we will discuss the main reasons for Pokèmon Go failed to detect the location and several methods you can try to resolve the problem.

Part 1. Why Pokèmon Go Failed to Detect Location

Many possible reasons could initiate this location error, and the most common reasons why you are experiencing this error are listed below:

• Error 12 might prompt in the game if Mock Location is enabled on your device.
• You might experience error 12 if the Find My device option is enabled on your phone.
• If you’re in a remote area where your phone is unable to receive GPS signals, Error 12 might arise.

Part 2. Solutions for Pokèmon Go Failed to Detect Location

Below are the solutions you can troubleshoot the failure to detect location error in Pokèmon Go and enjoy the game.

1. Turn On-Location Services

Many people tend to keep their device’s location off for battery saving and security purposes, which can arise error 12 in Pokèmon Go. To fix it, follow the steps below to check and ensure the location services are enabled on your phone:

1. Go to Settings and tap on the “Location” option. If it is turned off, turn it “ON”.
2. Then open Location Settings, tap on the “Mode” option and set to “High Accuracy”.

Now try to play Pokèmon Go and see if the failure to detect location issue has been fixed or not.

2. Disable Mock Locations

When the Mock Locations is enabled in your Android device, you may encounter Pokèmon GO failed to detect location error. You can follow the steps below to find and disable the Mock Locations feature on your Android phone:

1. Navigate to Settings on your phone and scroll down until you find the “About Phone” option, then tap on it.
2. Locate and tap on the Build Number seven times until a message appears saying “You are now a developer”.
3. Once Developer options is enabled, go back to the Settings and select “Developer Options” to enable it.
4. Go to the Debugging section and tap on “Allow mock locations”. Turn it off and then restart your device.

Now, again launch Pokèmon Go and see if the failure to detect location error persists.

3. Reboot Your Phone and Enable GPS

Performing a reboot is the most basic yet efficient technique to solve various tiny errors on your device, including Pokèmon Go failure to detect location. When a device restarts, it clears all background apps which might be malfunctioning and causing errors. Follow these steps to restart your device:

1. Press the Power button of your device and wait for a couple of seconds.
2. In the popup options, choose the option “Reboot” or “Restart”.

The phone would shut down and reboot itself within seconds, then turn on the GPS and play the game to check if the error has been solved.

4. Log Out Pokèmon Go and Log Back In

If you’re still struggling with the failure to detect location 12 error, you can try to log out of your Pokèmon Go account and log back in again. In this way, you can re-enter your credentials which might be the cause of the error. To do that, follow the directions below:

• First, run Pokèmon Go on your phone. Find the Pokèball icon on the screen and click on it.
• Next, tap on “Setting” in the top right corner of the screen. Scroll down to locate the “Sign Out” option and tap on it.
• After logging out successfully, enter your credentials again to log in to the game, then check if it works or not.

5. Clear Cache and Data of Pokèmon Go

If the error still persists, you must be very annoyed by now and think about quitting the game. But don’t lose hope, you can try to clear caches and data of Pokèmon Go to refresh the app and then fix the error 12. This method mainly works for people who have used the Pokèmon Go app for a long time.

1. On your device, go to Settings > Apps > Manage Apps and tap on it.
2. You will see a list of the apps that are installed on your device, find Pokèmon Go and open it.
3. Now tap on the options “Clear Data” and “Clear Cache” to reset the data on the Pokèmon Go app.

Bonus Tip: How to Play Pokèmon Go without Regions Limitation

If you have tried all the methods above but still did not work, don’t worry, there is another solution to fix this problem. You can use MobePas iOS Location Changer to change GPS location on your iOS or Android device to anywhere and play Pokèmon Go without regions limitation. Here is what you need to do:

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Step 1: Download MobePas iOS Location Changer on your computer, install and launch it. Click on “Get Started” and connect your phone to the computer.

Step 2: You will see a map on the screen. Just click on the third icon at the upper-right corner to choose the Teleport Mode.

Step 3: Enter the address you want to teleport to in the search box and click “Move”, your location will be changed for all location-based apps on your phone.

Conclusion

Hope that the solutions mentioned in this article would prove to be helpful for you to fix the failed to detect location error in Pokèmon Go. Also, you can learn a trick way to play Pokèmon Go without regional limitations. Thanks for reading.

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