A fairly common error in Pokémon GO is “Unable to authenticate” or “Connection failed”.
It doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does, players are forced to cut their gaming sessions unintentionally. The problem becomes especially frustrating when you have to reinstall the app to fix bugs, not even knowing if that will be enough.
It is for this reason that developer Niantic has finally shared the most practical solution to these Pokémon GO errors.
What are Pokémon GO connection and authentication errors?
From time to time, applications that work online often show user account or credentials errors.
These errors in Pokémon GO are known for the messages “Failed to authenticate” or “Connection failed”. These appear from time to time when trying to access the game and can be quite persistent (even if you have a good internet connection).
The errors are due to a temporary problem with the servers which prevents you from recognizing your login. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything about it.
How to Fix Pokémon GO Login and Authentication Errors
Due to the large number of players reporting these Pokémon GO errors, Niantic has just released a solution to the problem.
It seems the best solution is to force quit Pokémon GO. To do this from Android, all you have to do is go to Settings > Applications and notifications > Pokémon GO > Force stop.
On iPhone X or later, you need to swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause slightly in the center to see recently used apps. You will then need to swipe left or right to locate the Pokémon GO app, then swipe up to close it.
On iPhone 8 or earlier, you’ll need to double-press the Home button to see recently used apps, and swipe left or right until you find Pokémon GO. Then you just need to swipe up on the app to close it.
But if that doesn’t fix the errors, there are other alternatives.
Log back into Pokémon GO
Logging back in is the easiest step to fix these Pokémon GO errors.
The first thing you will need to do is log into the same Pokémon Trainer Club account you had before. This way, all your progress will be uploaded again and you can pick up where you left off.
To do this, you will need to select the “Existing Player” option and select the Pokémon Trainer Club option. You can also use other alternatives, but this is the one recommended by Niantic Support. Next, you’ll need to enter the username and password you use for your Pokémon Trainer Club account (it should be the same one you use to log into Pokémon.com).
Of course, you might be a new player who doesn’t have a Pokémon Trainer Club account. In this case, the application will allow you to choose the “New player” option to create your account, by entering a username and password which you must register.
Check if you are correctly logged in
To make sure these Pokémon GO errors don’t happen again, it’s a good idea to check that everything is OK with your connection. It’s best to get everything completely sorted out before you dedicate yourself to battling and catching Pokemon.
Niantic shares the following steps to verify that you are logged into Pokémon GO with your Pokémon Trainer Club account:
- Go to Pokemon.com and select start session in the left navigation bar.
- Enter your user name and password, and verify that you have accepted the terms of use of Pokemon GO. Remember: your username may differ from your nickname or trainer name Pokemon GO.
- In the Edit profile options, select options Pokemon GO.
- Directly above the Terms of Service Pokemon GOthe following text box appears:
“Brilliant! you can now play Pokemon GO. Other additional options can be changed in the app Pokemon GO“. - If you don’t see the text above, be sure to carefully read and then agree to the Terms of Service. Then you can login to Pokemon GO with your Pokémon Trainer Club account!
If the bugs still haven’t been fixed after all of these steps, you can always try contacting Niantic Support for one-on-one assistance.
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