Pokémon Go has taken Australia and the US by storm, so much so that its developer, Niantic, has had to slow down a worldwide rollout, meaning UK users will have to wait.
The app has been downloaded more than 5m times on Android alone, and recently surpassed dating service Tinder for active users, being used by nearly 6% of US Android users, according to data from Similar Web. It is also rapidly approaching the daily active Android users of Twitter, while third-party app store APKMirror saw just under 4.5 million visitors to its hosted version of the Pokémon Go Android app in one day.
The popularity has forced Niantic and the Pokémon Company to put the brakes on its rollout. The official Pokémon Go Twitter account said:
Thank you for your patience. We have been working to fix the server issues. We will continue rolling out #PokemonGO to new countries soon.
— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) July 8, 2016
No specific date has been given for when that might be. The game is still experiencing server issues dealing with the sheer number of active users as Niantic hurriedly adds greater capacity.
Some users outside Australia and the US have taken sideloading the Pokémon Go Android app. While safe versions of the app are available, so too are malware-infected versions produced by criminals attempting to seize upon the game’s popularity. Once installed it gives the hackers full access to the user’s phone and information.
How to get it right now
Meanwhile, iPhone users have felt left out, unable to simply sideload a copy of the game because of Apple’s restrictions.
However, it is possible to set up a US iTunes account from outside of the US and download and install Pokémon Go that way.
Here’s how:
- Log out of the App Store on your iPhone by tapping on Apple ID and Sign Out
- Change your region to the US in Settings > General > Language & Region > Region
- Go to the US Pokémon Go App Store listing and tap on Change Store
- Install the app as normal
- When prompted create a new US iTunes account and select None for billing information
- Verify your email address
- Go back to the US Pokémon listing and install the app using your US iTunes account
Once Pokémon Go has been installed you can log back out of the App Store in the same way you did at the start, change back your region and sign back in using your normal iTunes account.
Android users can easily sideload the app, but must verify that they downloaded the app from a safe source and verify that it does not ask for permissions not required by the original game. Permissions can be found in Settings > Apps >Pokémon Go > Permissions.
