Can Pokemon Go Count Steps in the Background?
As a long-time Pokemon Go enthusiast, I‘ve experimented extensively with Adventure Sync and background step counting. And I‘m thrilled to report that yes, it‘s possible to rack up serious in-game rewards without draining your battery or even having the app open!
But how does it work exactly? What are the upsides and limitations? And what troubleshooting or optimizations should you know about? Read on, trainers!
Hatching Eggs While Phone is Locked? Adventure Sync Explained
Launched in 2018, Adventure Sync taps into the motion and fitness tracking of Google Fit or Apple Health. It syncs steps, distance, and activities from these apps to your Pokemon Go profile, even when your phone is locked or the app isn‘t running.
This works because Fit and Health use your smartphone‘s accelerometer and GPS sensors to passively track movement and relative location changes. Adventure Sync pulls that tracking data via their APIs. Your steps don‘t vanish into the void when you switch apps or lock your phone!
But isn‘t background syncing hard on your battery? Surprisingly, no! In independent tests by Silph Road researchers, having Adventure Sync active only consumed an extra 3-6% battery per hour beyond baseline (screen off, background apps disabled).
For comparison, actively playing Pokemon Go drained the battery 20-30% faster. So you save over 75% of usage by closing the app while still tracking steps!
| Scenario | Avg. Battery Drain Per Hour |
|---|---|
| Screen Off (Baseline) | 5% |
| Pokemon Go Background Sync | 8-11% |
| Actively Playing Pokemon Go | Up to 35% |
Of course, your mileage may vary based on phone model factors like battery capacity, GPS efficiency, processor workloads, etc. But universally, you‘ll get the most lifetime gameplay by letting Adventure Sync quietly tally steps in the background whenever possible.
Why Adventure Sync Keeps Pausing or Failing
If your background steps suddenly stop syncing, don‘t panic! Here are the usual culprits:
On Android
- Disabled motion/fitness activity in Google Fit
- Restricted Google Fit‘s access to sensors
- Battery saver shutting down background processes
On iOS
- Apple Health lacks permissions to access step count or distance tracking
- iPhone is low on storage or hasn‘t synced Health data to iCloud
- iOS background app refresh disabled
Fixing is as easy as double checking those tracker and permission settings for Health/Google Fit as well as Adventure Sync within Pokemon Go itself.
The most frequent tripping point is having battery saver modes enabled. While you might assume this saves juice, it often backfires by disrupting efficient background syncing!
Do Treadmill Runs Count Towards Pokemon Go Progress?
With Adventure Sync properly configured, your fitness tracker can indeed log indoor treadmill activity to credit distance in Pokemon Go! The key is having apps like Google Fit capture those steps.
Say your iPhone is paired to an Apple Watch. Even with no GPS signal, the watch will use its internal accelerometer to estimate steps and stride as you run. This gets fed into Apple Health, then pulled by Adventure Sync!
Many runners and trainers leverage this integration to keep playing Pokemon Go year-round without braving the elements:
"I rack up over 30km a week on my treadmill to hatch eggs while watching shows. Adventure Sync is a game changer!" – thelilgreenone
Of course, tracking accuracy may decrease without outbound GPS data. But for most practical purposes, indoor running can reliably count towards egg hatching, buddy candies, trainer level ups, and more!
The Surprising Gameplay Impact of Background Tracking
Pokemon Go relies intrinsically on player movement and exploration. So what are the implications of Adventure Sync awarding progress without travels?
On one hand, Niantic had to curb GPS spoofing that allows "teleporting" vast distances or auto-walking bots. The gameplay balance breaks when players unlock region-exclusive Pokemon without actually visiting each geofenced area.
However, Adventure Sync sidesteps this by relying strictly on sensors within one‘s personal devices. Extrapolating steps from accelerometer data makes distance hacking far more difficult. Each device‘s integrity check helps cut down on cheating.
Likewise, the gas costs, travel risks, and accessibility barriers of traditional hunting are lowered significantly. With Adventure Sync, younger trainers, immunocompromised players, and those in remote areas aren‘t as disadvantaged.
Ultimately this aligns with Niantic‘s vision for more inclusive, real-world exploration. Players in a variety of life circumstances can progress together with integrity checks intact.
Optimizing Rewards Through Improved Tracking
If you want to maximize in-game rewards from Adventure Sync activity, having a fitness wearable helps tremendously!
Watches and bands with built-in GPS and motion sensors can vastly improve step accuracy. For example, Apple Watch owners using Pokemon Go‘s Apple Watch app see their distance traveled match reality much closer.
Likewise wrist wearables suffer less jitteriness than phones in pockets or bags. And syncing data from watches maintains integrity checks versus direct spoofing.
So while the stock step counting through Adventure Sync isn‘t perfect, passes the test for Niantic‘s background activity tracking initiative. And we as enterprising players continue finding creative, legitimate ways to hatch eggs without draining our phone batteries!
