Fix: Failed to get player information from the server

Pokémon GO is a game which revived everyone’s 90s nostalgia by bringing back our beloved Pokémon in a new game which is different from all of its predecessors and it brought something new to the entire gaming industry. The game is a free-to-play, location based, augmented reality installment in the Pokémon series and it was developed by Niantic. It took the world over as soon as it came out and people were thrilled by it. However, a lot of people experienced certain difficulties when they started playing because the game had some bugs that followed its release.

The Most Common Issue

Users who downloaded the game weren’t able to play at all since this infamous message “Failed to get player information from the server” kept appearing all the time. This isn’t an isolated incident since a lot of people tried to play the game but kept receiving the same issue. The error usually pops up after they have already installed the game, signed up for it but as soon as they try to play, it shows up. It was quite frustrating since most of your friends probably played it and you weren’t able to. Let’s look at some possible solutions.

Solution 1: The Most Common Fix

A lot of users kept receiving this error message and it was only a matter of time before someone found a successful solution which worked for them immediately.

1. Start off by closing the Pokémon GO app if you opened it beforehand.
2. Turn on the “Airplane Mode” on your phone.
3. Open up Pokémon GO.
4. A red bar should pop up with the message stating that you have no active Internet connection. Wait until it shows.
5. Turn off the Airplane Mode and connect either to a wireless network or use your phone’s mobile data.

Solution 2: Reopen the Game

This simple solution actually worked for some people and it’s worth giving it a shot.

Close the game entirely and wait for a couple of minutes or even half an hour before reopening it. This fix is not permanent but it may help you start playing.

Solution 3: Official Response from Niantic

Players who were frustrated by this issue reported it to Niantic and they responded with an auto-generated email which was probably sent to everyone who had the same issue. Unlike other auto-generated emails which include the basic fixes such as reopening the game and checking your Internet connection, this one actually worked for some folks.

Android devices:

1. Open your Settings app and visit the Applications >> Application Manager (Touch Apps on some OS versions).
2. Locate Pokémon GO and click on Force Stop once you open it.
3. Click on Storage right below and delete the game’s cache by clicking Clear Cache.

iOS devices:

1. Open the Settings app from your Home screen and open Privacy >> Location Services.
2. Locate Pokémon GO and turn its Location Services off and back on.

Solution 4: Wait for the Servers to Go Back to Normal

Sometimes it’s Niantic’s fault as their servers experience high traffic. If the issue is server-related, there is not much you can do besides hoping they will become more stable after a while. You can try looking for some websites which offer 24/7 updates on whether the Pokémon GO servers have gone back to normal.

Solution 5: Your Account Might Have Been Banned

Niantic has notified its users regarding some of the things you shouldn’t do while playing Pokémon GO such as GPS spoofing or faking your location in order to download the game before it came out in your respective Play Store or App Store. There are some things you can do to avoid the ban.

Permanent and Soft Ban

1. First of all, look for an email by Niantic in order to check whether you received a permanent ban.
2. If you do find one, you are on your own and nothing can really help you besides creating a new account with another email.
3. If you find nothing, there is a chance you received a soft ban which simply logs you out and makes you wait for a while. Disable anything that may have caused the ban and try again.

IP Ban

1. If your IP was banned because you used a VPN connection to fake your location in order to play the game, you might have received and IP ban.
2. Don’t use this software because Niantic has implemented defenses which can identify this.
3. Google “what is my IP” and save it somewhere.
4. Turn on Airplane Mode and leave it for around five minutes.
5. Google the same thing again and you will hopefully see a different IP. If you don’t restart your device and check again.

Device Ban

1. In order to check whether you received a device ban, try signing into your account from another device. If it works, your device might have been banned.
2. In order to fix this, download the Device ID Changer from the Play Store and follow the instructions.
3. For iPhone users: Uninstall all Niantic apps and open Settings >> Privacy >> Advertising. Click on Reset Advertising Identifier and reinstall the game.