In a recent update, Battery Saver mode has been removed from Pokemon Go. (Niantic)
UPDATE 8/4: Niantic has issued the following statement regarding battery saver mode: “We had removed this feature as several users were experiencing it to be buggy, but we are fairly confident that a fix for this should roll out within the next several days.”
Rarely do app updates actually remove key features rather than add them, but that’s exactly what happened to Pokemon Go this past weekend. After updating the game, millions of players were frustrated that battery saver mode appeared to be missing. So what happened? Is it gone?
Yes, Niantic Labs did indeed remove battery saver mode from the game in the recent iPhone update. This is likely due to a recent glitch some were experiencing where their app would freeze after returning to the game from battery saver mode. It’s not clear if the feature is gone for good, but fans are hoping that Niantic simply removed the feature temporarily so they could fix it and add it back in with a later patch. The footsteps displayed next to Pokemon on the nearby tracker were also removed, again due to a glitch associated with them.
For now, there are still plenty of ways you can save battery without the game’s internal feature, though. The easiest one is simply to lower the brightness on your device while you aren’t using it.
Another method is to turn off key features of the game like Augmented Reality mode. This is the feature that uses your camera to make it appear that Pokemon are in front of you in the real world, and although it’s pretty nifty, it also takes up quite a bit of your phone’s juice. To turn this off, when you go to catch a Pokemon, simply hit the switch in the top right corner, which disables AR mode. Finally, to save battery you can turn off music and sound effects, both of which are found in the settings tab when you hit the Poke Ball.
If you’re out there catching Pokemon quite often and are constantly running out of battery, it may also be worthwhile to invest in a portable battery back, which can be charged up and taken with you so that you can give your phone some juice on the go. Here are some of the best ones on the market.
Battery saver mode also prevented your phone from being accidentally touched while in your pocket, but unfortunately with the mode removed, there doesn’t appear to be much of a solution to that issue for now.