Pokemon-go – Must I hold the phone out with the app prominent to register walking

pokemon-go

A lot of Pokémon Go players walk around with their app on and phone in their hands, but sometimes I like to walk the dogs; I need to put my phone in my pocket or a bag. Also, I don't want to trip and drop my phone, so I'm not keen to carry it open in my hand.

Besides travel speed, what phone factors affect walking being registered; what can I "get away with" and still register my walking to the app? What is an optimal "passive mode" for those who don't want to show their phone to the world?

  • Must I keep Go on-screen at all times?
  • What if my phone goes into sleep mode?
  • Can I turn it sideways if I have auto-rotate on?
  • Can I go into another app (for example, to write this question via the StackExchange app) and leave Go in the background?
  • Will walking register if Go is in the background?
  • I don't want to hold the phone out; can't I just put in a pocket? What if the phone turns sideways and the screen goes black?

Best Answer

  1. Most importantly, the app must be the foreground, active app to register your virtual distance. If you put the phone to sleep, the app cannot register distance.
  2. The app does not support screen rotation. However, the app has a battery saver function which blanks the screen when pointing the phone down.
  3. If placing it in your pocket, try pointing it down. Also try the vibration feature to alert you of pokemon.