Pokemon Go – The Ban Hammer Is Coming Down!

Pokemon Go - Banned!Late last night Reddit and social media began to blow up with people who were having issues with Pokémon Go.  Users were reporting that they were getting an error message that read, “Failed to get game data from the server.”  The error message wasn’t uncommon when Pokémon Go first rolled out but has become more and more rare.  When users checked servers they all showed as online.  When they would log out and try using another account, they got right in.  What was going on?  Nobody knew and everybody started panicking.

With no official announcement from Niantic it was beginning to look like they were starting to ban users who had violated the terms of service.  When users started comparing notes it came out that most of those users had used bots to “play” the game.  There are some users who had spoofed their locations that are also affected.  Then there are the obligatory few who claim they did nothing wrong.

Shortly after people started posting, Niantic added a page to their FAQ.  The new page allows users to submit a ban appeal if they feel they were banned in error.  It may not be ready for public use yet though as you can’t get to it unless you use the direct link.

Niantic’s new page lists the possible reasons for a ban as follows. “Falsifying your location, using emulators, modified or unofficial software and/or accessing Pokémon GO clients or backends in an unauthorized manner including through the use of third party software.”  So basically, if you cheat, you’re gone.

If you feel you were banned in error you can appeal Niantic’s decision here: Submit a ban appeal.