Would you like to play Pokemon GO without turning into one of those zombies who are stumbling around cities the world over these day

Pokemon GO is an augmented realityAugmented vs. Virtual Reality: What's the Difference?Augmented vs. Virtual Reality: What's the Difference?Augmented reality. Virtual reality. Mixed reality. What are all these 'realities' and how are they going to impact you over the next few years? Here's everything you need to know.Read More game by Nintendo. Just a few days after its release, some players have gotten in serious trouble by walking into unsafe neighborhoods, discovering dead bodies, or getting robbed. You don’t want to be one of them.

Here’s a way to play Pokemon GO from the comfort and safety of your home. All you need is a Windows computer, a bit of patience, and this guide.

Warning: To play Pokemon GO on your home PC, i.e., without physically moving around, you need to engage a method called GPS spoofing. Strictly speaking, this is a violation of the developer’s Terms of Service and could get you temporarily or permanently banned from the game. Use at your own risk!

What You Need

To set up Pokemon GO on Windows using BlueStacks, you need to set up a bunch of tools in exactly the right order.

Update: One of the apps needed to make this method work is (now?) a paid app. We have added a free alternative using the Nox App Player at the bottom of this article.

If you’d still like to try the BlueStacks route, go ahead and download all the tools listed below. For everything but BlueStacks — the Android emulator for WindowsHow to Emulate Android and Run Android Apps on Your PCHow to Emulate Android and Run Android Apps on Your PCIt's actually pretty easy to get Android apps running on your desktop or laptop! Here, we step you through the best methods.Read More that we’ll use to install the game –, download the Android APK file.

• A Windows PC and admin rights to install software.
• BlueStacks; use this BlueStacks version for Windows 7/8 or when the game crashes with the Windows 10 version.
• KingRoot, a root tool for Android devices.
• Lucky Patcher, a tool to modify app permissions.
• Fake GPS Pro, an app to spoof your location. Unfortunately, the pro version is (now?) $5 on the Google Play store. You can still find the APK file for free, but download at your own risk.
• Pokemon GO, the game itself [No Longer Available]. Don’t install or run until it’s time or it won’t work.

We recommend that you put all these files into a single folder, so you can easily find them later. Don’t rush to install any of the apps without knowing what to do! If you carefully follow the order and instructions below, you’ll be playing Pokemon GO much sooner.

Disclaimer: This article is based on the YouTube tutorial by Travis D, with some adjustments for clarity and simplicity.

How to Set It All Up

1. Install BlueStacks

First, install BlueStacks.

You should also set up your Google accountLock Down These Services Now With Two-Factor AuthenticationLock Down These Services Now With Two-Factor AuthenticationTwo-factor authentication is the smart way to protect your online accounts. Let's take a look at few of the services you can lock-down with better security.Read More. If you do that now, you’ll be able to connect to the game quicker later on.

2. Install and Run KingRoot

To install KingRoot, open BlueStacks, click the APK symbol on the left, open the respective APK file on your computer, and KingRoot will install automatically.

Once installed, run KingRoot, scroll to the bottom, click Try it, then click Fix now.

When you see your Security Index, click Optimize now, then close KingRoot. We won’t need this app again.

3. Restart BlueStacks

Click the cogwheel in the top-right corner of BlueStacks and select Restart Android Plugin.

This will restart your BlueStacks app player. Remember this routine, because you’ll need it again later.

4. Copy Files From Windows

Click the folder icon in the BlueStacks sidebar on the left and openFakeGPS. You don’t actually have to complete the action with any app; it should be copied to BlueStacks automatically. You can close the selection window by clicking a random spot in the background.

5. Install and Run Lucky Patcher

The install process works the same as for KingRoot. Just click APK on the lefthand side of the BlueStacks window, select the APK file on your computer, and it will install. When you open Lucky Patcher for the first time, click Allow to grant the app access.

Now, inside Lucky Patcher, go to Rebuild & install in the bottom right, then head to sdcard > Windows > BstSharedFolder. Here, select the APK file for FakeGPS and Install as a System App. Confirm with Yes to install.

You need to reboot BlueStacks to apply those changes. You can hit Yes or use Restart Android Plugin, as described under step #3.

6. Install Pokemon GO

As for KingRoot and Lucky Patcher before, just install the APK file you downloaded previously. Don’t launch the app at this point because it won’t work yet.

7. Check Your Location Settings

In BlueStacks, click the cogwheel in the top right, select Settings, go to Location, and make sure the Mode is set to High accuracy.

Any Windows GPS service needs to be disabled, because it can mess with BlueStacks. In Windows 10, press Windows key + I to access the Settings app, then head to Privacy > Location and make sure the Location for this device is set to Off.

In other versions of Windows, open the Start Menu, search for location, and ensure the feature, if available, is disabled.

8. Set Up FakeGPS

Head back to Lucky Patcher and you might see FakeGPS in the list of apps. If not, don’t worry.

To see FakeGPS, go to Search at the bottom, then select Filters in the top right, check System Apps, and click Apply.

Click FakeGPS from the list and select Launch App. A How to operate window will pop up that explains how to use it. Read the instructions carefully and click OK to close the window.

Click the three dotted button in the top right, go to Settings, check Expert Mode, read the warning message, and confirm with OK.

Click the back arrow in the top left to get back to the map. Now select your preferred location, either somewhere close to your real location or your favorite and, ideally, highly populated place on the planet. For me that would be downtown Vancouver.

Click the entry and select Save to add that location to your favorites. Click the organge Play button in the bottom right to engage the fake location.

9. Play Pokemon GO

Finally, we’re ready to play the game! If the Pokemon GO app takes a while to launch, that’s okay. You’ll set Pokemon GO up exactly like you would on a regular Android or iOS device. You can log in with Google and the app will automatically load your previously set up Pokemon GO account, should you have attached one to your Google account.

When the game finally launches, you should find yourself in the fake location you engaged earlier. If the game doesn’t immediately detect your location, go back to FakeGPS (inside Lucky Launcher), pick a spot on the map, and engage a fake location again. We had to restart BlueStacks (see step #3) and fake a location we had actually visited in real life.

Every time you want to move to a different spot, you have to go back to FakeGPS and engage a new fake location. That’s why it’s handy to set a few favorites, which will help you to go back and forth between Poke Stops, for example. Avoid long-distance map jumps, as this can reveal GPS spoofing.

Note that you don’t have to turn off your camera. When the first Pokemon is detected and your camera doesn’t work, the app will ask you whether you want to turn off AR mode (AR = augmented reality). Just confirm with Yes and you can catch the Pokemon in the virtual environment.

If you have a touch screen, you can use it to interact with the app and throw your Poke Balls.

Troubleshooting Tips

Setting up this game in BlueStacks isn’t easy and you can easily miss a couple of things along the way. Here are some tips in case the game fails to detect GPS or your locationHow to Use GPS Location to Make Your House Welcome You HomeHow to Use GPS Location to Make Your House Welcome You HomeSetting up your GPS technologies to welcome you home is a great way to save time on lots of things, from turning on the air conditioning to starting dinner.Read More.

• In Windows, make sure the Location for this device is Off.
• In FakeGPS, double-check that Expert Mode is enabled.
• In BlueStacks’ location settings, confirm that Google Location History is Off and Mode is set to High accuracy.
• Launch FakeGPS and engage a new fake location.
• Use a location you have visited in reality on your Android or iOS device.
• Restart BlueStacks and try again.

Alternative Solution: Nox App Player

An easier way to play Pokemon GO on Windows is using the Nox App Player. This emulator even comes with Pokemon GO pre-installed and you can navigate inside the game using your keyboard. Another welcome feature is that the emulator window automatically minimizes to the dimensions of the game.

For us, this emulator was generally slower than BlueStacks, both when starting up and inside the game, which made it harder to catch Pokemons. Moreover, we couldn’t get the location switching feature to work. Overall, however, it’s a smoother experience.

If you also see a white map and can’t leave the default location (Sydney, NSW), close Nox App Player and manually add your preferred coordinates (right click a spot on Google Maps > What’s here?) under C:Users<username>AppDataLocalNoxconf.ini. Fortunately, you don’t have to switch your location a lot because you can walk around using keyboard navigation.

Pokemon Ready, Set, GO!

Right now, Pokemon GO is the hottest app on the planetPokemon GO Boosts Nintendo, Twitter Kills Archived Tweets... [Tech News Digest]Pokemon GO Boosts Nintendo, Twitter Kills Archived Tweets... [Tech News Digest]How Pokemon GO is taking over the world, Twitter doesn't want you seeing deleted tweets, RAM compensation is incoming, Tidal adds support for the Chromecast, and the complicated psychology of trolling.Read More.

Unfortunately, it’s not available on the Windows Store. This triggered some disgruntled users to start a Change.org petition to convince Nintendo to develop an app for Windows 10. The petition has gathered close to 25k votes, but Nintendo isn’t impressedMiitomo, My Nintendo, and More: What's New with NintendoMiitomo, My Nintendo, and More: What's New with NintendoNintendo had a huge day at the end of March. Let's take a look at everything they showed us!Read More yet.

Fortunately, you don’t have to wait for Nintendo to make Pokemon GO available on Windows. While this solution might not be perfect (or legal), it does work and may give those living in rural areas or unable to leave the house an opportunity to safely participate in the hype.

How do you like playing Pokemon Go on Windows? Have you found any major downsides? What prevents you from playing it outdoors?

Explore more about: Emulation, Location Data, Nintendo, Pokemon GO, Windows 10.

1. If i try to log in with my google account it says: 'Verification failed. Pls try again'.
   I already have a google account and played on my smartphone. Do u have any solution for this problem?

2. stop trying to break games!!!! play them the way they are intended!!!!
   if you are smart enough you could hack it yourself but if not don't beg others for their cracks, play it the way it is or play something else!

3. after following all the steps , and launching pokemon go , the app says that the device is not compatible with pokemon go. pls help

4. I, now the current pokemonGO
   PC position the virtual is, can I use? Also, can you pokemonnGO over start-up has been version UP? Thank you very much.

5. Nox app not working, cant seem to start it up?

6. i cant get the Fake GPS apk.. please someone give me link to dll..

   • now i have solve the problem.. but, when i trying to enable my AR, its stuck..someone pls help me

7. I followed all the steps above regarding to not finding the location and i still cant find any. My p go map is all empty... Any advice?

8. My Bluestacks is stuck on 'Android' tab for hours/days already. It never load.

   • i downloaded all other kinds of bluestacks and still same thing. i'm stuck in loading 'android'

9. it dosent allow me to catch pokemon on either they run away after 1 pokeball

   • me too

   • Thats because you're Soft-banned

10. I downloaded nox and pokemon go is nowhere to be found. It is not on the home screen at all.

11. Cant spin pokestop

    • On nox app player

12. im stuck at how to install fake gps inside lucky patcher. I cant seem to download it to any folder after I paid 2.99. it wants to download to my old phone.

13. You should note that Nox tries to install a ton of malware on your system and will not install unless you select to install some of those apps. I attempted to deselect everything and it doesn't install at all.

    • NM. It looks like the link I got it from was a different source. All better.

14. So Niantic has recently stated any players who are found using spoofers or falsifying their gps location will be banned forever. How can we be sure using bluestacks like this won't get our accounts banned?

    • I know you wrote use at your own risk, so I've never used it where I would change my location so quickly to be inhumanly possible. Are there any tips to not getting banned??

15. it's showing 'failed to detect location'

16. Pokemon GO doesnt show up on my homescreen on NOX or let me download from the play store did something happen is it not available anymore?

17. my person doesnt stop moving ???

18. ok i finished everything it says.. but when i load the game my character doesnt move.. pls help

19. install lucky patcher and got to rebuild and install and find fake gps but it don't show install as system apps

20. If I was to buy the fake gps spoofer, how would I add it to bluestacks on my computer like he did in the video?

21. Any idea on how to disable location on windows 7 home premium?

22. I didn't get why you should play Pokemon Go on PC. I thought that its main peculiarity is that you can play and live your everyday life, isn't it? For example, going for a walk with your dog and catch these pokemons on your way? or shopping.. What's the point of playing it at home?

23. I tried Bluestacks, Andy, and Nox but I had issues with all of them. LeapDroid is the only emulator that seems to work for me. Bummer... I actually enjoyed using Andy.

24. Hey guys, I tried both BlueStacks and Nox App Player on my computer. They work really well when I make a new account, but when I try to play my original account, I get a background of water, my avatar doesn't show up at all. I can still see my pokemon and items, but I can't move and I'm nowhere near a city. Anyone know why this is happening/how to fix it?

25. Hi, when I play on NOX app player, pokemon go just doesn't load anything, not even my user or anything on the map, im just spawning on the sea, nothing else, HELPPPP :(

26. It just don't work I'm even putting my own location or disabling the FakeGPS app and do with my own GPS and it just show me the ocean without showing my avatar or anything else.

27. After using the bluestaks app on pc i got a soft banned so i go out and now i open pokemon on my phone and the screen appears like im on the ocean and my avatar wont come out .. i only see the shadow on the top of the ocean nothing else .. it pass like 9 hours since i got soft-banned.. Anyone can help?

28. i cant not move around in my game i got everythign to work and load just am unable to move my player

    • disregard my comment i just read deeper into the comments and found i just drag my gps on the map to move...i wish there was a more efficient way but i am not one to complain this is freaking awesome

29. bluestacks won't root, and i can't activate the expert mode option .

30. I cannot do anything. It says get pro version. all I can do :/

    • No matter. I reinstalled and it works. :D

31. My game crashes everytime I try to turn the ar off. Game just freezes and stays stuck there forcing me to restart bluestacks in its entirety. Can you help with this?

32. i can not find the fake gps data in the lucky patcher :c
    cant go on in the installationprocess

33. So this works method for anyone, not just android users? Iphone users can also, as we're actually using the computer, not our cellphones anymore? The bluestacks shows up as android and I'm not sure if that holds any significance or not...

34. work good (nox)
    but i have 2 problems .
    first is that when i go into pokestop , i roll it and nothing happend .
    the second is that when im trying to catch a pokemon , when i hit a ball , the pokemon is getting away everytime and runs away , no matter what pokemon .

    • you have been banned because you jumped between two far points in a short time...but don't worry it's a soft ban it will take time then the game will be back to normal.

      here is a list of how long the ban lasts

    • You've been softbanned for traveling over too many distances. They found out you're using a spoof... Wait a couple hours and it should work again from what I've heard.

35. WASD is not working in bluestacks ...Give me some solution Tina.

36. Hi, I do anything you write and when game load I can't move and anything else and bump a message 'Failed to detect location'

37. Hi Tina, it work perfectly.
    But recently I heard we can move using cursor in map so we dont need to set another position on map to 'jump'.
    It is called (what I heard) Xposed. Can it work here (using bluestack) and how?

    Thanks!

38. why all apk i install, no in bluestack

    • I don't think you installed those apk's in Bluestack itself. First, download the apk file (make sure you know the location). Second, Open Bluestacks, on the left hand corner there is a button that says 'APK', click that, open your apk file and it will be installed in bluestacks. I hope that answers your question

39. An update: it is working perfectly. Just one issue, when I catch a Pokemon, the app crashes and closes down.

40. Hi.
    I am using BlueStacks. I'm able to move around using the GPS Spoof app but I don't see any Pokestops, gyms or Pokemon on the map. Just empty streets.

41. It was working fine with bluestacks the first time i launched it. But then bluestacks frooze during the game (1.5hr play). I restarted, everything works, turn around on the map, pokestops, open gym, catch pokemon, but my trainer does not want to move anymore... :(

42. Hi Tina I've got a big problem, all you've said worked for me except that i can't move. I can use pokestops, but moving is not possible
    Could you help me ?

43. there are no sign up with google account on my nox, do i need to create new account or what ? thanks :D

44. It doesn't move me when my location is too close to my current one

45. I'm trying to play using Nox, I can see my avatar in Pokemon Go, but the map around me won't load. It says 'GPS signal not found', even though I did enter a location and click 'OK'... :(

    • Nevermind! I fixed it :)

      • yes how???

46. This trick works flawlessly at home, when I installed this on the work's PC I can't open Expert mode, it's grayed out... what to do?

47. Anyone else experiencing 'Failed to detect location' as of july 24? I tried the the tips to fix but i believe they patched the current spoofing methods

48. Everything works except i cannot move! Anyone got a solution? Great tut btw!

49. it says failed detect location and it dosent show any pokestops/ gyms
    fyi jst started the game nd took charmander as 1st poke.

50. I think they tackled the gps spoofing method... I can't get pokemon either, nor can i get anything from the pokestops. Outside however, the fair way, i have no issues.

51. fake gps not opening

52. In Bluestacks I do not have the entire left bar, so I cannot find the APK button.

53. Please help how do i catch the pokemon using my keyboard

54. my pokemon stop working when i swicth location.. i can't take any pokestops and can't catch pokemons, they get in the ball rolls 2 times and then they get out and run away instend
    pls help me

    • You have been soft banned. Pokemon GO figured out you were cheating, so they soft banned you for a while. This means you can't catch pokemon, get pokestops (it just keeps spinning), or do gym battles.

55. Not sure what i'm doing wrong, but I load into the game everything works, except I can't collect at stop and everytime I try to catch a pokemon, it runs away.

56. hi , i can move and collect items from pokestops but i cant catch pokemon they apper on the radar but in the map all i see is its shadow and circels around it ... also there is no image of any pokemon in the gyms

    • hey guys.. me and a friend had the same problem! Just try to restart bluestacks 5-10 times and it will work to close the ar. once u made it it will stay non-ar (worked for us) its annoying but it worked here...sry for bad english ;-)

57. When i click to disable ar mode in bluestacks pokemon freezes. What can i do?

58. Hi, I cant turn off the AR every time y try it crashes blue stacks :( everything else works perfecetly.

59. Hi.
    I got a bit of a problem.
    Game loads up fine and i can move around. but evertime i trow a pokeball at a pokemon it just shuts down the app.
    any fix for this?
    thanks

    • Same problem

60. Hello, I have been fiddling with bluestacks (3 different versions) for hours now. I can get the fake location up and running and all set to go but then, I install the pokemon go app, open it up and it crashes right after the white intro screen. Am I doing something wrong everytime?? weird. (Ive tried being logged into my google account as well as having no google account installed at all). Thank you!

61. so, if i dont have touch screen i cant interact with poke stop and catch pokemon?

62. what i can do if i have win 10?

63. For the writters of this article in regards of having trouble with the performance on Nox. When you select the options on Nox, it's by default set on a 1GB android phone with 1 core, you can change it to 2 or 4 cores and more ram, it will smoooth things out. Also, in order to make Nox work using less processor power and ram, you need to enable virtualization on your BIOS options since Nox uses a virtual box (bluestacks does it too but it doesn't rely that much on it for performance, but you'll still get bluestacks to be lighter by doing that).
    Hope this helps.

64. ty so much
    but i got 'failed detect location'?
    how fix this?

65. help me please!! whenever i open this app ( pokemon go) it shows black screen for a while and i can see nothing in this game clearly except roads and closes quickly help me please!!!

66. is windows 10 pro i try nex but dont work

67. dont can see poke stops what is wrong any hellp

    • and i got on scren filed to detect location any can hellp

68. Ummm The Expert mode for the Map DOESN'T WORK PLEASE HELP

69. Hi... I already installed as per your guiding, and I did try twice, but the Pokemon go still failed to detect the location... any idea how to check if this face GPS is really working ?
    One more thing, how I can disable location for win 7, 64 bit ??

    • Finnally I could go into the Pokemon by creating new account, but the message Failed to detect GPS location still there, and I also have the same problem with Jerb, I cannot find any pokestop, while if I play using SmartPhone, on the area that I put on the FakeGPS, there are several PokeStop, but on the Bluestack, nothing...

70. I can't get items in the Pokestops and when I try to catch Pokemon, they run away after my first ball. Does that mean I'm soft banned? If so, how long does it usually take to get unbanned?

71. Any help. Game freezes every time I try to turn off AR mode? :( can't get it thru

    • I had the same issue to avoid this when clicking on a pokemon dont try to switch the AR mode off just try and catch the pokemon even if the screen is blank, click as if you were and then the game will ask you if you wish to turn off the AR mode since it can’t sense your phone’s calibration. After that it has been working for me.

72. Expert mode isn't available in the free version anymore, otherwise this works quite well. So basically it costs you about $2 a little over.

73. Hey Tina, whatever location i set it to, it doesn't seem to show any pokestops or anything at all. But it does relocate me to the correct matching fake gps locations

74. Instead of using Bluestacks, wouldn't it be more efficient to use an actual VM, like AMIDuos? Or, here's a novel idea, use an actual Android phonetablet.

75. well all works btw everytime i try to disable AR pokemon go crashes so i cant catch any s**t because this version of blue stacks (windows 7/8 linked here) totally suckz

    • I had the same issue to avoid this when clicking on a pokemon dont try to switch the AR mode off just try and catch the pokemon even if the screen is blank, click as if you were and then the game will ask you if you wish to turn off the AR mode since it can't sense your phone's calibration. After that it has been working for me.

76. all working perfectly till... found a poke went to catch screen n it was all black... then pushed the button up in right to set off camera and... pokemon go app gets blocked.... closed all tryed to restart bluestacks n now stucks at loading screen.. this program suckz really

    • I had the same issue to avoid this when clicking on a pokemon dont try to switch the AR mode off just try and catch the pokemon even if the screen is blank, click as if you were and then the game will ask you if you wish to turn off the AR mode since it can’t sense your phone’s calibration. After that it has been working for me.

77. I can't check the Expert mode in Fake GPS Location app (I used the updated link) - you have to download Pro version to unlock all the settings, so this doesn't work. :(
    Thanks for instruction :)

78. Thanks for tutorial. However I am not able to use Expert mode in fake GPS even so it root checker tells me it is rooted correctly. In kingoroot I have to request of fake GPS app for root authent. Any suggestions`?

    • Same problem. Help us Tina :P

79. hey tina, for some reason I cant turn on the expert mode on fakegps. what might be the issue?

80. i have followed all steps and done all troubleshooting and it cannot detect my location. im in my own home and it wont work

81. i got everything working with one exception. the pokestops don't drop items when i spin them. is there anybody who can tell me what setting i need to change to make them work?

    • You have been soft banned
      you need to wait before you can lay again

82. King root is full chinese and does it work with iphone?

83. That FakeGPS that you have there to download doesn't work, it's paid...

84. always when i press yes to turn of AR it crashes any fixes?

85. It's dickbags like you that clog up the servers and crash them for the rest of us.

86. Kinda convoluted. bignox.com's new version of their NoxPlayer App will let you download an installer of their program with Pokemon Go already installed and ready to play.