It’s a big, wild world out there, with dangers galore. Or maybe you’re tired, or disabled, or generally unable to leave your house for other reasons. Whatever the problem, you can still get out there virtually and play some Pokémon GO. You can be the very best, like no one ever was, with the help of a little GPS spoofing.
And we can help!
Important note: Niantic, the company behind Pokémon GO, does not like GPS spoofing. It can get your account banned. Proceed at your own risk.
How to Spoof Your Location in Pokémon GO
Besides your phone, and the game itself, there are two things you’re going to need: a good VPN for Pokémon GO, and a GPS spoofing app. And yes, you will need both.
The initial process will take a few minutes at least, but once everything’s set up, it shouldn’t take more than a couple of taps to go catch some shinies. The hardest part, for iPhone users, will be jailbreaking your phone.
Just follow these steps:
- Enable Mock Locations in the Android Developer Settings / jailbreak your iPhone
- Get CyberGhost VPN to help you change your IP address
- Connect to the server of your choice
- Change your GPS location to match
- Open Pokémon GO and catch ’em all!
The 7 Best Spoofing Apps for Pokémon GO
1. Fake GPS location
Fake GPS location (the “L” is officially lower case) is one of the highest-rated GPS spoofing apps on the Google Play store. It’s also free, and it keeps things simple. Some people might say it’s too simple, but I’m quite happy with a free app that does exactly what it says it’ll do, with no ads.
Platform: Android
Free/Paid: Free, no ads
2. iOS Roaming Guide
iOS Roaming Guide is generally regarded as one of the best GPS apps for iOS, period, but it’s a little tricky to get. As with most of these advanced iOS apps, you’ll need to jailbreak your iPhone to get it working. You’ll also need to download it via an app called Cydia, as it’s not in the iOS App Store.
Platform: iOS
Free/Paid: Free, no ads
3. Fake GPS
Fake GPS (without the word “location”) is another highly-rated GPS spoofing app for Android that might have a couple more features than other free apps, but the tradeoff is that you’ll have to deal with some ads. If you don’t want to, and you’d like a couple of extra features, there is a paid pro version.
Platform: Android
Free/Paid: Free with ads, paid pro version
4. Mock Locations
Mock Locations is another Android app with ads, a paid pro version, and a generally good track record. One feature that particularly stands out is the “realistic travel simulation,” which lets you set up a route, and makes your phone “move” along said route. If you want to make your phone “take a walk” instead of just bouncing around, this is a good option.
Platform: Android
Free/Paid: Free with ads, paid pro version
5. iPoGo
iPoGo is a cross platform app that supports both iOS and Android, and you can get it for free. The free version comes with all the big features: custom routes, overlays, joystick for walking emulation, cooldown tracker, Shiny scanner, and more. It’s a GPS spoofer specifically designed for Pokémon GO, and must be downloaded and installed manually on either platform.
Platform: iOS, Android
Free/Paid: Free, V.I.P. version with a monthly subscription
6. Dr. Fone
Dr. Fone is a suite of tools designed to let you manage your phone from your PC or Mac, with all kinds of advanced features, including data recovery, system repair, WhatsApp transfer, and more. The GPS tool can be controlled from your PC, and offers custom routes, the virtual joystick, automated walking, and more.
You can purchase a subscription to this feature alone, or the full toolkit.
Platform: iOS, Android
Free/Paid: Paid subscription
7. iTools by ThinkSky
iTools, like Dr. Fone, is a suite of tools that lets you do a lot of things on both your iPad and iPhone devices. Again, like Dr. Fone, it also lets you control all of these functions from your PC or Mac, including the GPS. Set up your routes, simulate travel, all that good stuff. I just wish it worked with Android too, because it’s a lot cheaper than its direct competitor.
Platform: iOS
Free/Paid: Paid, one-time fee for multiple licenses
Why You Need a VPN for Pokémon GO
I wish I could tell you that a spoofing app is all you need. Well, it’s really not. If you’re only spoofing locations very close to you, it might be okay, but if you’re going to be collecting Pokémon in other areas of the world? Get a VPN.
You see, Pokémon GO doesn’t just check your GPS data for your location. It also judges that data against your IP address. If your GPS data and IP address region don’t coincide, it looks wrong to the system, and can cause issues.
You’ll want to connect to a VPN server in your chosen city before you fire up the game, just to be sure.
How to Stay Safe When Spoofing Your Pokémon GO Location
Use a VPN
On top of using a VPN to corroborate your GPS data, it’s just generally a good idea to use one for safety reasons. All data that goes between your phone and the VPN server is encrypted, which makes it harder for third parties to see what you’re doing on the internet.
This is especially true if you happen to be connected to public Wi-Fi networks, which are notoriously unsafe. The fact that a VPN also hides your true IP address can protect you from other kinds of attacks, so it’s just a good idea to have one around.
Stay away from any spoofing app with bad ratings
As always, not all mobile apps are made equal. While you don’t have to go with any of the options we picked, be sure to look at ratings and reviews for any app before installing it on your phone. This is especially important for jailbroken or rooted phones, which can be a little more vulnerable.
At best, a sketchy app might be collecting your data to sell to advertisers. At worst, they might infect your phone with anything from a run-of-the-mill virus, turn your phone into part of a botnet, or turn it into the world’s worst crypto-mining machine.
Don’t spoof too many different locations close together
If you’re collecting Pokémon in New York one minute, and in Tokyo the next, that’s going to look kind of wrong. If you want to keep your account safe as you play, stay local most of the time. Then, once in a while, you can virtually venture out into other parts of the world.
Of course, if you really want to keep your account safe, you should…
Play the game properly as much as you can
Exercise is good for you, and so is using Pokémon GO while you’re actually on the go. The more you play the game legit, the better, because you’re less likely to get dinged for cheating. Of course, as mentioned above, this may or may not be possible due to various circumstances.
Use your best judgment, and try not to wander onto government property. That… that happened a lot when Pokémon GO first came out. You’d hear a new story every other day about players that wandered into the wrong places.
Conclusion
Spoofing your GPS to play Pokémon GO is only a little tricky at first. Once you have everything set up, it’s easy. Turn on the spoofing app of your choice, turn on the VPN, and go. But again, proceed at your own risk.
As for which VPN you should use, try out CyberGhost. It has VPN servers all over the world and top-notch security. It’s available on iOS and Android, and you can try it risk-free with our 45-day money-back guarantee.
Now (don’t) get out there! Catch a shiny or three for your team, dominate your local gym, and make Ash proud! Or maybe join Team Rocket. I’m a games writer, not a cop.
FAQ
We are, as you might expect, quite partial to CyberGhost VPN. It has a truly massive network of servers all over the world, is available on every platform, and boasts impressive speeds. With servers all over the world, you’re all but guaranteed to find a server that’s close to where your phone needs to pretend to be.
You can try it out risk-free with our 45-day money-back guarantee. Once you’re sure it works for you, try out our 2-year plan for the best possible price.
That depends on whether you use an iPhone or an Android phone. Fake GPS location is the top choice for Android enthusiasts, while iOS Roaming Guide from Cydia is quite well regarded on iPhones. Best of all? They’re both free and ad-free.
But, if you’re looking for a dead-simple option, and the ability to control your GPS route from your PC or Mac, then Dr. Fone is a pretty compelling option.
Fake GPS location and iOS Roaming Guide are both about as safe as any of the better GPS spoofing apps. But, being free apps, they don’t come with official support if anything goes wrong. If you want guaranteed customer service, you’ll need to go with one of the paid options like Dr. Fone or iTools.
iPogo has support for both free and paid tiers, but that support is provided via a Discord channel.
But really, the best thing you can do for your safety is stick to the highly-rated apps for your platform, do your research, and keep on top of updates. And if the app stops updating? Get a different app.
Yes, you can! You’ll need a GPS spoofing app (see our list of the best options above), and a good VPN. This is because Pokémon GO uses your GPS data to determine your location but also checks it against your IP address..
By routing your phone’s data through a VPN server in the right city, you can make sure that your IP address matches your GPS location more accurately.
This is a tricky one. GPS spoofing is technically against the Pokémon GO and Niantic Terms of Service, so if you get caught, then you’ve technically been rightfully banned. You can go to the Niantic website and use the contact form to appeal your ban, of course, but your mileage may vary.
Your real best option is to just not get banned in the first place. To that end, make sure you use a VPN to change your IP address in conjunction with the spoofing app, and don’t get ridiculous about the locations you use to farm Pokémon.
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