What is Pokemon GO's 'failed to detect location' error 12?

Pokemon GO is no stranger to bugs and glitches. However, some players have noticed an increase in the occurrence of error 12, depending on how they play the game. This error is normally accompanied by the message "failed to detect location." Thankfully, it is very easy to pinpoint what causes it to occur.

Luckily, most trainers will never encounter error 12, as it only appears when players are spoofing their location. This is a form of cheating, according to Niantic's terms of service, so it is fitting that they would implement a way to stop players from doing it while avoiding the deletion of accounts.

What triggers Pokemon GO's error 12?

Players often use an external tool to set their location to another place (Image via The Pokemon Company)

As previously stated, error 12 occurs when Pokemon GO detects that the player's in-game location is different from that of their device. While there were ways around this in the past, Niantic has added an additional failsafe to check if someone is cheating. The current hypothesis as to why this happens is that the game checks a player's SIM card on their device.

With the latest versions of the game now having permission to check a device's SIM card if it has one, the title can gain access to information regarding a player's location through their cellular service provider. If the device location is different from the one given by their service provider, error 12 will appear.

Since cheating is not encouraged in Pokemon GO, this will result in a ban from the game in most cases.

Read more: 5 common Pokemon Go Bugs in 2024

What is spoofing in Pokemon GO, and why do players do it?

Players normally spoof to gain access to region-exclusive creatures or to participate in Raid Battles without remote raid passes (Image via Niantic)

Spoofing in Pokemon GO is the use of external tools like VPNs and joystick tools to move one's location in-game away from their actual location. Given that GO is a game that involves moving and being active, spoofing is the exact opposite of what Niantic wants players to do in their game.

There are many reasons why players would want to spoof their location. By doing it, they can trade with friends, attend Raid Battles using the free raid pass provided from spinning gym photo disks, hatch eggs, complete gym battles, and obtain region-exclusive Pocket Monsters.

While it may seem enticing to cheat, this goes against Niantic's terms of service. As such, many players who still choose to use tools to spoof their locations often get banned. If a player's account is banned for cheating, it will likely stay that way forever, and they will lose everything that the account had on it.

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Edited by Rachel Syiemlieh