Does Pokémon Go work on your phone or tablet?

By Phil Nickinson
published

So Pokémon Go has had a bit of a rough start. Server problems, mostly. A hijacked APK. (Seriously, folks. Be careful out there.) Limited regional availability.

The burning question for most people? Will Pokémon Go work on my phone. Let's take a look at the official requirements.

Will Pokémon Go work on my phone or tablet?

Here's what you need to play Pokémon Go:

  • Android 4.4 and up: So you'll need to be running KitKat or higher. Niantic — the company that developed Pokémon Go — says that it'll support Android 7.0 Nougat once it's officially released later this year.
  • A strong internet connection: Seriously, this thing's going to suck down the megabytes. Pokémon Go is not an offline game. So keep an eye on your data usage, and your data plan. That means Wi-Fi only tablets aren't really going to work, since you have to walk around ... even adding in a hotspot is sub-optimal, since you need...
  • GPS and location services: Pokémon Go also needs to know where you are. So if you've got your tinfoil hat turned up and your location services turned off, this isn't going to work. If you are receiving GPS errors, head to our guide to learn how to fix it!

More: How much data does Pokémon Go use?

That's it for now. Happy hunting!

Phil Nickinson
Phil Nickinson
123 Comments
  • For those without unlimited data or a plan that throttles data at a certain point, this could be a problem. GPS uses data also right? why cant the game be played offline ? Posted via the Android Central App
  • No GPS doesn't use data. The answer to your second question should be obvious. Why can't you use periscope or Facebook or world of Warcraft offline? Posted via the Android Central App
  • Depends on the phone. Most uses assisted GPS which uses cellular/wifi data to get a rough location before the GPS has kicked in. Posted via the Android Central App
  • It doesn't depend on the phone, GPS doesn't use data. Assisted GPS (high accuracy location) does use data, but GPS (device only location) does not use data. Posted via the Android Central App
  • When you turn on location on VZW S6 it has a data warning. So either the warning of data use is wrong from Samsung, or the doubters are smarter than the manufacturer of the device. Im going with the former. Posted via the Android Central App
  • What you are talking about is assisted GPS. It's the default on most Android devices. It uses cell signal, WiFi, and GPS to figure it where you are. If you just go into GPS mode then you don't use data. Just like GPS receivers don't have a data connection. They have the maps already saved.
  • Under Settings - Location, you'll need to change the Mode to "Device Only", if you want to ensure you do not use data. "High Accuracy" will use mobile towers to triangulate your position. This is assisted GPS, and helps your phone determine your position faster. Naturally, "Device Only" setting will be slower, as your phone / device will need to get positional locks for at least a handful of GPS satellites before it can pinpoint your location accurately.
  • GPS doesn't use data, and the game itself doesn't use much. I've been playing pretty heavily since Friday afternoon, and the app has used 40.08 MB so far. Not bad at all. Posted via the Android Central App
  • This.
    I've played very heavily and found the data usage to be around the 200-250mb per month mark
  • You can use a smarthone that doesn't have any service/sim card an offline map and still have turn by turn directions.
  • So... you want to leave you home, go to a gym, fight the gym, beat the gym, and have nothing matter anyway because you can't leave your pokemon, you didn't actually beat the gym because someone else from your team beat the gym already, and by the way everyone who uses a lure module to attract pokemon won't tell your device that pokemon are on the way... Like that's what you want? A broken, crappy, isolated, version of the game just so you don't happen to use 100MB in a month with light usage maybe 400 if you're obsessive? This game is only fun because of the social component and everyone is talking about it and doing it. You want to disconnect from that social component... You're totally doing it wrong. This is a crappy game. It's an interesting social experience/experiment.
  • I came for the Pokémon and stayed for the social aspect of the game.
  • Thanks for this comment. Do you mind if I quote it?
  • I came for the social aspect and stayed for the Pokemon lol. Sorry I'm a noob to Pokemon.
  • Same. I only got this because I liked Ingress. Posted via the Android Central App
  • The reason why the game requires data is simply because the location of each pokemon and when they pop up is determined by a central server, and not your phone. That means that, everyone in the same location would see the exact same set of pokemon. It's the multi-player elements of the game that require the most data (even though players do not actually interact with each other).
  • Not true my boyfriend and I have been standing right next to each other and are nearby Pokemon have not been completely the same
  • Acutally ur wronge it is true an has been proven any pokemon u see he will see unless u use an incence other then that your statement is false
  • O an the nearby thing may look diff but thats cause one of u has a crappy connection so it dosent refresh as quick but ya if he sees an catches one u can get the same so learn a little more before u start telling people there wronge
  • It doesn't use that much data, several hundred megs a month for most people if you play often. GPS does not use data, and assisted GPS uses so little data it's negligible. Why do you think you can play an online game, offline?
  • Not for us that are on T-Mobile lmao and the game uses really small amount of data Posted via the Android Central App
  • I've been following the data usage closely and after about 2 hours of play wondering outside it used about 10mb of data. Which isn't bad at all compared to other apps, Facebook for example, which can eat up that much data just by opening the app before you even browsed through your news feed. I'm really impressed by how the game plays the only thing that confuses me is why the cemetery next to my house has more Pokéstop's than most of DC. Posted via the Android Central App
  • There's a pokestop field on the other side of my town and I went to check it out.... it's a cemetery.... 4 gyms and at least 8 stops. I do also wonder what's up with that Posted via the Android Central App
  • Hiiii my phone is micromax spark.is there any way to play Pokemon go in my phone.when I was opening the game my phone is rebooting why plss help me to play
  • The cemetery is where you capture ghost/psychic-type Pokemon.(At least in my case) I got a buttload of gastlys, abras Mr. Mimes, Drowzees, and for some reason geodudes near the cemetery.
  • From what I understand, wifi only models don't work because they don't have GPS built in. I have an data plan on my iPad Air2 and it seems to work so far. On the flip side I also have a Wi-Fi + 3G iPad 2nd gen which no longer has a data plan and I only use via wifi but that doesn't seem to work. I'll keep testing.
  • WiFi only models can still have GPS. The two aren't mutually exclusive. You can have a WiFi only device with GPS. However, even if the GPS works, without a data plan, you lose connection to the internet.  
  • I believe only Apple devices have this limitation. Most (if not all) Android tablets from reputable manufacturers have GPS receivers, whether it's WiFi only or SIM-enabled.
  • I don't get the point of this game. I played Ingress for quite awhile and that was good, but this games just doesn't resonate with me
  • Doesn't work, I'm on Android N! Posted via the Android Central App
  • Android N is a developer preview, basically, if you're using it, you have no right to complain about incompatibilities. :D
  • Works fine for me :P Posted from m̶y̶ ̶N̶e̶x̶u̶s̶ ̶6̶P̶ the Fortress of Solitude
    H982 FKl
  • Sorry, your fault! (And, no, you're actually running a DEVELOPER PREVIEW of N. It's not an official release of Android, so it's only common sense to not expect it to be compatible with certain apps and features of Android.) If it doesn't work, you shouldn't be surprised at all. I'm sorry for being rude, and I don't say this to any one particular person, rather, EVERYONE COMPLAINING ABOUT POKÉMON GO NOT WORKING ON THE DEVELOPER PREVIEW OF N!!! (Seriously tho, stfu) Posted via the Android Central App
  • My friends with iphones were able to download the game from apple's app store. Me though?
    "this item cannot be installed in your device's country"
  • Couldn't get the game to load on my Nexus 5x running the beta version of Nougat . Posted via the Android Central App
  • Did you even read the article? " Niantic — the company that developed Pokémon Go — says that it'll support Android 7.0 Nougat once it's officially released later this year."
  • TWO OPTIONS: 1. Find my other comment on this article and read it. 2. Read. (THE ARTICLE) Posted via the Android Central App
  • Enough with Pokémon please! It's big, I get it. But I guess I'm like Phil, of the wrong generation and don't care about this. A story suggestion though, while I'm here. Ask Niantic why all their efforts, and money, are poured into PoGo and Ingress is dying on the vine. PoGo was seeded with data gathered from Ingress, yet Ingress has no development effort put into it. It almost appears that Niantic wants all the Ingress players to quit so that they can justify their lack of effort there. Posted via the Android Central App
  • I was thinking this morning that Ingress was actually just a huge beta test for PoGo. Think about it Ingress was the first game of it it's kind and it certainly had patches of being quite buggy. But that was OK because nobody was paying a Nicole for it. They had to work out the kinks before they could monetize it with the PoGo app. Posted via my Nexus 6P on fi
  • I've noticed that the images for some of the Pokestops were "imported" from Ingress. Not all the portals from Ingress carried over to Pokemon Go though.
  • Niantic is probably getting paid a good chunk o change from whomever owns the trademark for Pokemon and the gaming rights, so therefore it's seeing a bit of love. Ingress suffers because not enough cash is coming in to maintain the financing to keep it going at a reliable level. Pretty simple concept actually. Aside from that... Pokemon Go is going to continue to receive heavy attention as long as the demand is there. Just cuz you're not one of the supporters doesn't mean sites like AC should neglect to cover it. In a couple weeks, the hype will have died down to a point where you won't even remember it was there.    
  • Can't create as account Posted via the Android Central App
  • States my phone is not supported LG G 4 Posted via the Android Central App
  • Why not? Mine is fine Posted via the Android Central App
  • Nothing but a black screen on my Nexus 6 running the N developer preview. I assumed the N developer preview was to blame....
  • Same here. Nexus 6, N preview. The game installs, launches, asks for permissions, shows me a Niantic logo, and then hangs on a grey screen.
  • Just to offer another data point, it runs fine (well, except for the bugs and server issues) on my Nexus 6 with stock Marshmallow. So, probably the beta N at play.
  • Wish it would work on my galaxy s3 Posted via the Android Central App
  • My S3 has 4.4.2 but Pokemon Go does not show up in its Play store. I read in a Reddit thread that this is because our S3s are not officially on a level of Android that is supported by this game (i.e., mine was manually upgraded). https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemongo/comments/4ri59i/is_there_a_way_to_get...
  • It kinda works on mine, the character's not moving :T
  • Are you moving?
  • I'm running Cyanogenmod 13 on mine. I had to download the apk from somewhere else but I checked and it's the retail signed file. Installed and working fine. A little slow maybe. Something weird though. Ingress runs fine on my S3 and installs from Play. Also, I have several android devices, most older. And the only one the Play Store says is compatible with Pokemon Go is an old Nook Color that is NOT running 4.x anything and is slow as molasses.
  • My sister has my old Note 2. I'm still trying to figure out why the play store says Pokémon Go won't work on that thing
  • so i have a note 2 and i guess it needs android 4.4... i havven't figured out how to upggrade outside of buying a new phone
  • Your note 2 never got the 4.4 update?
  • I've spent the last several hours trying to research how to update my old Note 2 to the 4.4 Operating system, so my little girl can play this with me, without having to physically share my phone (Note 5)... I figured out how to use my note 5 phone as a hotspot so that the note 2 could piggyback off my note 5's data plan, and was pleasantly surprised with the results. My issue is that, while my phone stated that after running diagnostic testing, the phone IS capable of handling updating of the OS to 4.4 - the down side is I can't figure out how to accomplish switching the OS!!! Please help! !!!! Thanks so much in advance for any advice!
  • Me too...I have Android 4.4.2 on my Note 2 and it meets all the other requirements as well: Supported devices Android Android 4.4 to Android 6.0.1
    (Android N will not supported until the official Android release)
    Preferred resolution of 720x1280 pixels (Not optimized for tablet)
    Strong internet connection (Wi-Fi, 3G, or 4G)
    GPS and Location Services
    Intel CPUs are not supported
  • I have the same Phone and still can't get the game
  • Same here. I can't get my note 2 to play pokemon go to even though It's 4.4.2
  • Oddly enough, I tried to install it on my kids' N7 and it says that the device isn't supported.
  • After a week of using pogo, i only used around 73MB.
    A game like this requires small amount of data actually Posted via the Android Central App
  • It was working with the beta, but now it said my device is not compatible . I have the Asus Zenfone2 Laser.
  • What is the deal with software developers not making their stuff work on an OS until AFTER the new OS release is widely available? Seems like they should want to go ahead and be aiming to having it working by the time that's available... and even better, ahead of time somewhat to iron out problems before then. Too many are waiting around for the OS to come along before even starting to work on it.
  • The whole point of a developer preview is for developers to get a stable app release BEFORE the public os release...ugh.
  • I think the fact that Pokémon GO can't be downloaded on versions of Android lower than 4.4 is ridiculous, since there are plenty of phones that run on slightly older Android versions that are fully capable of running the app. This has led to many people, including myself, to not being able to play the game. I've started an online petition to try to get Niantic to make Pokémon GO compatible with more smartphones and OS versions. So please go and sign it, every signature counts! https://www.change.org/p/nintendo-pokA9mon-go-compatibility-improvem...
  • Please share that petition with more people, I have the same problem!!!
  • pokemon go wont work on my huawei y520-U03 it starts then closes
  • So if you have a device with under 2 GB RAM, you're SOL?? I have a Galaxy Tab4, and have everything required except enough RAM apparently. Don't supposed they can so anything about that...disappointing!!
  • Pokemon Go is available in Singapore just a week ago. initially, i had problem running this game on a Samsung Tab 4 with sim card slot.. tonight i was able to download the pokemon go apk and di an install.. so far so good. It works!
  • i have 1.3Ghz quad core with 768mb ram, it sucks, only can play 10mins at a time then it crashes with low memory.
    my brother has a samsung GS3 that has 2GB ram, but only Jellybean so it wont install, i installed an APK on his phone and it worked.
    i installed it onto my mums Ipad Mini 3G and it worked but crashes with camera so turned AR off. im confused if an iphone 6 of 1GB RAM will work flawlessly considering its the same as every other iphone 6 so it will work, considering the phones below both have 1GB ram and a fair processor will they work just like the Iphone 6. my question, will it work on any of these two phones
    $139 locked with vodafone = Samsung Galaxy J1 MINI 4G (1.5Ghz quad core, and 1GB Ram)
    $149 locked with vodafone = Samsung Galaxy Core Prime 4G (1.2Ghz quad core, 1GB Ram)
    difference is between these 2 phones is one is 4" screen (mini) the other is 5" Amoled screen (Core prime) if pokemon works on both ill get the better option and will root it so i can make it the same as my J1 ACE 4G i have now. just better specs.
  • I've heard of people doing this and unfortunately getting banned. Have you received anything sayin b that you are banned. I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 Active and it says that it
  • It isn't comparable with my device. Have you been fortunate enough these last few days to still be able to play without getting bad on any of your devices
  • Nah not yet. My device that is compatible but on 768mb ram well i downloaded a apk for it it alowd me to update through the play store even if it was an apk. My brothers that wasnt compatible because it was a S3 which had 2GB ram but only 4.3 jelly bean meaning it couldnt download. The apk i installed on it hasnt come up you are banned yet i dont think it would. I downloaded my apk from Apkmirror.com
  • I'm trying to figure out how to install an upfated OS on my old note 2 so my daughter and I can go Pokewalking together.... What an APK, please? Sounds like you know some way to upgrade my phone manually?
  • Nah sorry, the galaxy S3 was an official Update and found out it was running 4.4.4 as it was the only model was upgradable to 4.4.4 instead of 4.3 like the other models. I think there is a way but can brick your phone but againcim pretty sure there is isnt though. Whats the model number of the Note 2... should say in About Phone option in settings
  • I have a Samsung Galaxy J1 and it does not work on my phone. Whenever I open the app, it loads on the first screen then goes white then black. I tried deleting the app and downloading it again but it still does the same.
  • Mine still works but i no longer use the phone. I was given my Brothers Galaxy S3 and found out it Was 4.4.4 all along. But still didnt let it download officially. So i used the Apk (android package) from Apkmirror.com which is the only way to Update it. Dont know why it wont work for you. My brother was getting the same issue on his Ipod aswell he has a Iphone 5 now which works.
  • I have a Note II Android Version 4.4.2, and pokemon go app says Your device isn't compatible with this version. What is up with that . My phone is up to date as of today. So my kid can not play the game, I am not buying a new phone for just a game. Sounds to me like they got in a hurry and forgot that people still have phones that are a few years old.
  • Same here, all requirements seem to be met per their website...
  • you could try a custom rom but the phone may not be up to the task, i tried on a one x it runs but crashes in seconds
  • A brick won't do me any good.
  • Any suggestions on one that might work for a note 2? It doesn't matter if it ends up screwing it up. .. I hadn't thought to touch it in years anyway. I just want it so my little girl and I can play together and pokewalk.. lol
  • I also have a Galaxy Note 2. running Kitkat 4.4.2. The reason that they are incompatible is that these phones are just short of the required 2 Gigs of ram. Mine shows 1.74 Gig. Ain't going to work, but I still really like my 3 1/2 year old phone.
  • I have a Galaxy Note, 2 also running Kitkat 4.4.2. and I have 5,94 GB free ram space on the phone, it still doesn't do the trick. My phone is not supported.
  • I'm thinking you have hard drive space and RAM mixed up. .. These phones (note 2) never had anywhere near 6gb ram, at least as far asi know. ... usually around 1.75gb ram, and 10gb or so hd space unless upgraded.
  • I have a Galaxy Note 2 also running Kitkat 4.4.2. and I have 5,94 GB free ram space on the phone, it still doesn't do the trick. My phone is not supported.
  • The Note 2 came with 2 Gb Ram. Perhaps you are confusing storage memory with system RAM.. Try an ap called CPU X. It will show you the RAM that is available to the kernal.
  • well i know its not functional on a htc onex with CM12.1 it starts bu locks up very quickly, im guessing the tegra 3 just isnt up to it
  • No luck on my Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 (GT-I8160). Currently running 4.4.4. It only has 768mb of RAM though. 2GB RAM seems like a really steep minimum requirement (though it isn't mentioned on the website? It is mentioned in the Play store). Haven't played it yet but the app itself doesn't look that spectacular to need that much ram...
  • I'm running lollipop on my moto e2 but PG won't run on it. Does anyone know if it will run on Blu Pure XL? I was planning on upgrading in the next few weeks.
  • Well that's not fair... Not even the strongest internet cable would help on my tablet to go far even if it is offline. :(
  • Samsung Note 2 here as well kitkat 4.4.2
    We need to sign a petition lol
  • Pokemon go is **** Posted via the Android Central App
  • Does **** mean Fun!
  • I've been defending AC with this Pokemon publishing, but I can't defend this. This is out of hand and taking the AC widget off my devices until this Pokemon stuff blows over. They're getting me angry now. Posted via the Android Central App
  • CMON! ENOUGH POKE CRAP ALREADY! EVERY OTHER WEBSITE HAS MOVED ON!
  • Why do these 4 week old articles keep going to the top of the list again? So many replying to 4 week old comments lol. Posted via the Android Central App from my S7 edge
  • Who is this Phil Nickinson? Posted via the Android Central App
  • super rare Pokemon earned by hatching a 20KM egg...lol Posted via the Android Central App
  • I been away for awhile. I notice Android Central loves Pokemon. Posted via the Android Central App
  • It's out of hand. I get having a few articles, after all it's one of the most popular apps currently. However it's not Android specific and most of these "articles" like this one are just a few paragraphs about nothing or very detailed (which belongs on a video game blog). A quick check of the competition shows much less of this PM click BS. Posted via Nexus 6p
  • Lol so much for Phil being away for awhile to work on "big projects"  must be working on just Pokémon stuff 
  • It looks like Intel processors are supported now. Actually our 8" tablet with Intel ran the game just fine when they weren't ;)
    Huawei Y3 - can install, does not run. Not enough RAM, I guess. Honor 5C and Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5") work well, the latter has also AR ;)
  • Nexus 7 2013 works great!!! Posted via the Android Central App
  • Hi, my nexus 7 2013 on 6.0 is not comptaible with the last update Pokemon Go.
    Could you tell me how to proceed. .A big thank you
  • I don't know where they go...but they don't go and work on phone or tablet....
  • All of my devices say "cannot install this BS" so I gave up Posted via the Android Central App
  • Sounds like you need a phone that was made later than 2012.
  • I play this game at least 5 hours a day on cellular and I've used about 230 MB of data. I wouldn't say it eats data. I use it A LOT. Posted via the Android Central App
  • Pokemon what? Is this new? Nvr heard of it. Posted via the Android Central App
  • With my family, I can confirm the game working on the Note 3, Note 4, Tab S, Tab S2, Tab Pro 8.4. We also have a Note 2 that Google Play said was incompatible with Pokemon Go, so therefore, wouldn't allow the install. I sideloaded it, of course, and I see no difference in performance with the Note 2 compared to any other device we own. I continually have to sideload updates, but it's not that big of a deal.
  • My son has a Note 2 and we cannot get Pokemon Go to work on it. I tried a custom ROM, but it broke his Texting. I had to re-install the standard T-Mobile ROM. How do you "sideload" Pokemon Go and the updates? I would really appreciate a step-by-step answer. Based on all of the Note 2 posts here and the other websites, a lot of people will appreciate your answer! Thanks.
  • Go to APKMIRROR dot COM and simply download it and RUN it once it's downloaded.
  • I've spent the last several hours trying to research how to update my old Note 2 to the 4.4 Operating system, so my little girl can play this with me, without having to physically share my phone (Note 5)...I figured out how to use my note 5 phone as a hotspot so that the note 2 could piggyback off my note 5's data plan, and was pleasantly surprised with the results. My issue is that, while my phone stated that after running diagnostic testing, the phone IS capable of handling updating of the OS to 4.4 - the down side is I can't figure out how to accomplish switching the OS!!! What does side loading mean please and do you possibly have a web page, link, or walk through of sorts on how to accomplsh the necessary note 2 reprogramming/updates required to allow pokemon go to function, even if it does cause the phone to need to be reset semi frequently as needed. Please help! !!!! Thanks so much in advance for any advice!
  • Has anyone already suggested creating a PokemonCentral.com?
  • Good idea. Grap all those domains, just in case:) Posted via the Ferrari of Smartphones: LG Flex 2
  • I don't use this **** posted with nokia 3310
  • N7 2013 runs it perfectly, and so does my n6 Posted via the Android Central App
  • I have no idea. I've never tried to install it.
  • Moto G⁴ Plus. Works like a charm. Posted with a Moto G⁴ Plus
  • Has anyone figured out how to install Pokemon Go on the Samsung Note 2?
  • POKE CRAP IS NUB
    ghahahaha
  • I was told Pokémon Go would not work on the Moto G4 Play, although it seems to meet all the requirements, other than compass and gyroscope. Can anyone here verify if it it works or not?