Pokémon GO “GPS Signal Not Found” on Android? 11 Fixes

You’re standing in the open, your maps app knows exactly where you are — and Pokémon GO insists it can’t find you. The avatar drifts, the map greys out, and Error 11 blocks the screen.

Despite the wording, this is rarely about satellites. It’s a phone-settings problem nine times out of ten: location accuracy set to the wrong mode, a permission that’s “Approximate” instead of “Precise”, battery optimisation throttling the GPS chip, or Mock Locations sitting enabled in Developer Options from something you installed months ago. The eleven fixes below run through them in the order that actually resolves the error.

Find Your Situation

How to Fix “GPS Signal Not Found” on Android

Fix 1: Get a Clean Sky View and Restart the App

1. Step outdoors, away from tall buildings, tunnels, and dense tree cover — reflected signals in city streets genuinely break the fix.
2. Force-close Pokémon GO (swipe it from recents) and reopen it; give it 30 seconds to acquire a lock before judging.
3. Toggle Airplane Mode on for ten seconds and off — it forces every radio, GPS included, to reconnect.

Fix 2: Turn On Google Location Accuracy

The most common fix. With location set to “Device only”, the phone uses satellites alone — slow, weak, and hopeless indoors.

1. Settings → Location → make sure it’s on.
2. Tap Location services → Google Location Accuracy → turn Improve Location Accuracy on. (Older Android: Location → Mode → High accuracy.)
3. In the same Location services menu, enable Wi-Fi scanning and Bluetooth scanning — these let the phone use nearby networks to sharpen the fix even when you’re not connected to them.

Fix 3: Turn Off Mock Locations

The hidden trigger. Pokémon GO’s anti-cheat rejects your location if any app holds mock-location permission — even if you never spoofed anything and installed that app for something else entirely.

1. Settings → About phone → tap Build number seven times to enable Developer options.
2. Settings → System → Developer options → Select mock location app → set to None (or turn “Allow mock locations” off).
3. Uninstall any location-changing or “fake GPS” apps entirely, then restart the phone.

Fix 4: Grant Precise Location Permission

1. Long-press Pokémon GO → App info → Permissions → Location.
2. Choose Allow all the time (or at minimum “Allow only while using the app”) and enable Use precise location.
3. “Approximate” location is a guaranteed Error 11 — the game needs metre-level accuracy, not neighbourhood-level.

Fix 5: Recalibrate the Compass and Sensors

1. Open Google Maps, tap the blue dot, and choose Calibrate — then move the phone in a figure-eight motion a few times.
2. This recalibrates the magnetometer that both Maps and Pokémon GO rely on for direction and position stability.
3. Keep the phone away from magnets and magnetic car mounts while playing.

Fix 6: Stop Battery Optimisation Throttling the GPS

Power-saving features reduce how often the GPS updates — which the game reads as a lost signal.

1. Long-press Pokémon GO → App info → Battery → set to Unrestricted.
2. Samsung: Settings → Battery → Background usage limits → remove it from Sleeping apps and Deep sleeping apps.
3. Turn off Battery Saver and any “adaptive battery” mode while playing.

Fix 7: Turn Off the Randomized MAC Address (Wi-Fi Users)

A niche but genuinely reported cause — randomised MAC addresses can interfere with Wi-Fi-assisted positioning.

1. Settings → Network & internet → Wi-Fi → tap your network’s ⚙️ → Privacy → choose Use device MAC.
2. Reconnect and retest. Switch it back later if you prefer the privacy setting.

Fix 8: Update Pokémon GO and Google Play Services

1. Play Store → update Pokémon GO. The game depends heavily on Google’s location APIs, so also update Google Play Services and Google Maps.
2. If Play Services misbehaves generally, our Play Services keeps stopping guide covers it.
3. Install any pending Android system update too.

Fix 9: Clear the Game’s Cache

1. Long-press Pokémon GO → App info → Storage & cache → Clear cache. Your account lives on Niantic’s servers, so nothing is lost.
2. Restart the phone, reopen the game outdoors.
3. If it still fails, clear storage and log back in — have your login method (Google, Facebook, Pokémon Trainer Club) ready.

Fix 10: Reset Network Settings

1. Settings → System → Reset options → Reset Wi-Fi, mobile & Bluetooth.
2. It clears misconfigured connection settings that interfere with assisted GPS; you’ll rejoin Wi-Fi networks afterwards.
3. Restart and test outdoors.

Fix 11: Check It Isn’t a Server-Side Day

1. Niantic’s servers wobble during major events, and errors surge for everyone at once.
2. Check Downdetector or the game’s social accounts before dismantling your settings.
3. Also confirm your internet works — the game needs a data connection alongside GPS.

A Word About “GPS Spoofer” Tools

Search results for this error are dominated by paid location-changing software, usually presented as the fix. Two honest points before you click any of them:

• They don’t fix Error 11 — they’re a common cause of it. Anti-cheat detects mock locations and blocks the fix, which is exactly why Fix 3 exists.
• Spoofing violates Niantic’s terms and gets accounts banned — warnings first, then suspensions, then permanent loss of everything you’ve caught. A years-old account is not worth risking on a settings shortcut.

Every fix in this guide is free and uses settings already on your phone.

Still Showing Error 11?

• Test with another app: open Google Maps and see whether the blue dot is accurate and stable. If Maps is also lost, it’s your phone’s GPS — not the game — and every fix above still applies. If Maps is fine while the game isn’t, focus on Fix 3 and Fix 4.
• Try a different network: switch Wi-Fi off and use mobile data (or the reverse). Assisted GPS pulls satellite data over the internet, and a bad connection slows the fix to a crawl.
• Old or budget hardware with a weak GPS chip struggles in cities regardless of settings — a phone-holder mount near the windscreen rather than in a pocket helps more than any toggle.
• Location problems across the whole phone? Our mobile data guide and no signal guide cover the connectivity side that assisted GPS depends on.

More Android & app fixes on MozPK

• Google Play Services keeps stopping
• Apps not opening on Android
• Android battery draining fast after update
• Mobile data not working on Android
• App Fixes Hub

Frequently Asked Questions

What does “GPS signal not found (11)” mean in Pokémon GO?

The game couldn’t get a reliable location fix from your phone. Causes include location accuracy set to “Device only”, missing precise-location permission, Mock Locations enabled in Developer options, battery optimisation throttling GPS, or a genuinely weak signal indoors.

Why does Error 11 appear even though Google Maps works fine?

Maps tolerates approximate positioning; Pokémon GO doesn’t, and its anti-cheat also rejects locations when mock-location permission is active. Set the app’s location permission to Precise, and set the mock location app to None in Developer options.

What’s the difference between Error 11 and Error 12?

Error 11 is “GPS signal not found” and Error 12 is “Failed to detect location” — both are location-fix failures, and the same settings, permission, and battery fixes apply to each.

Do GPS spoofing apps fix this error?

No — they typically cause it, because the game blocks locations when mock-location permission is granted. Spoofing also breaks Niantic’s terms and leads to account suspensions and permanent bans.

Why does the error only happen indoors?

Satellite signals struggle through roofs and walls. Turning on Google Location Accuracy plus Wi-Fi and Bluetooth scanning lets the phone use nearby networks to fill the gap, which is the single biggest improvement for indoor play.