‘Pokémon GO’ New Tracking System Downsides: Nearby Feature A Failure Among Rural Players

It appears that there's something wrong with the "Pokémon GO" tracking system again. New updates have been introduced recently but they didn't completely fix how the Nearby feature works.

Niantic has expanded the "Pokémon GO" tracking system or Nearby feature outside of San Francisco, California, where the company's headquarters is located. Kotaku reported that the newly-updated Nearby feature can only be used by "Pokémon GO" players close to a PokéStop. This means that trainers in rural sites, or those far away from PokéStops, are unable to use the new tracking system.

The "Pokémon GO" tracking system was released alongside the game back in July, but Niantic took down the feature immediately due to the overwhelming number of players. The tracking system was still having issues back then and the developer worked on improving it.

Just recently, Niantic announced that they "changed the feature to only show the Nearby feature if a PokéStop is close to your location." How does this affect "Pokémon GO" players in rural areas, then?

PokéStops can be miles away from each other in rural locations. For a "Pokémon GO" trainer to reach a PokéStop, he/she would have to travel to another town miles from where they are to catch Pokémon.

Traveling for several miles can be impractical and thanks to a new speed limitation on tracking Pokémon, it's hard to do it from a car or a moving vehicle. "Pokémon GO" players have complained over on Reddit that the tracking system's Sightings feature (displays Pokémon spawns inside a radius of several kilometers) always shows nada.

The new "Pokémon GO" tracking system is currently available to players in Western North America, Australia, and Canada. For now, disappointed trainers would have to rely on third-party, unofficial apps to track Pokémon in the wild.

"Pokémon GO" players in rural areas can also join Ingress and share clear photos of important buildings and landmarks. Some trainers have claimed that numerous Ingress pictures became PokéStops in less than a month after they were submitted by players. Trainers can also email Niantic as a group so their complaints about the Nearby feature will be addressed properly.

Have you used the new "Pokémon GO" tracking system yet? What are your thoughts about it? Share your thoughts below and be sure to follow Parent Herald for the latest "Pokémon GO" news and tips.