‘Pokemon GO’ Sightings Feature: How To Get the New Nearby Tracker

pokemon Go tips

(Nintendo)

Pokemon GO is replacing the old “Nearby” pane with a new Sightings panel and an enhanced Nearby section. Niantic announced today that it was testing a new tracker that “select” trainers will receive. If you haven’t seen it yet in your app, how can you get the new sightings feature?

Here’s what you need to know.

Not everyone is going to get the new Tracker update, but everyone is going to get the “Sightings” change. According to the latest Version 1.3.0 update for iOS and 0.33.0 for Android:

We’re currently testing a variation of the ‘Nearby Pokémon’ feature with a subset of users. During this period you may see some variation in the nearby Pokémon UI.”

This means that only a limited number of players will get the best new tracking feature, and those who do might not all see the same variation of it. You may, however, have noticed that your Nearby panel has changed. Keep in mind that just because you see a new “sightings” feature that has grass behind your Pokemon, this does not mean that you have the best new enhanced Nearby feature that is being tested. This is what the enhanced feature looks like:

To have a chance at getting the beta test update (or even to see the fixed “Sightings” feature), you’ll need to make sure your Pokemon GO is updated to the latest version. Check your app store and see if it indicates that there is an update available for Pokemon GO. If you don’t have your apps set to automatically update, then you could be missing out on testing this new feature. After you update the app, go to the Nearby pane to see if the Nearby panel has been changed to Sightings.

If you see not only this, but two sections — one that reads “Nearby” and one that reads “Sightings” — then you have the enhanced version that’s being tested with a small group of people. Take screenshots of this and share it with your friends! (We have photos shared so far in our story here.)

On Reddit, some players are theorizing that the new feature is being tested more on iOS users than Android users. Other players have suggested that the enhanced test is being used mostly in the San Francisco region. Let us know in the comments below if you were able to get the tracker, if you’re seeing both new sections in it, what OS you are using, and what region you’re in.

To learn more about the new tracking feature, please see the stories below: