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GhostDex

Troubleshooting

Location not changing? Fix it by symptom

Find your symptom, then the cause and the fix. Most problems come from the iPhone’s own Wi-Fi positioning fighting the Bluetooth location, and setting up NextDNS solves most of them when you jump to another city or country.

Jump to NextDNS setup

Short moves within the same city usually need no setup at all. If you fly to another city or country and get pulled back to your real location, that’s the iPhone asking Apple where it is using nearby Wi-Fi and cell towers, then overriding the location coming over Bluetooth. Blocking Apple’s location servers with NextDNS and setting map apps to “While Using the App” fixes most cases.

Which one are you seeing?

Location doesn’t change at all

Why

The iPhone isn’t receiving GhostDex’s location: it isn’t connected, it’s still verifying, or another tool is supplying the location.

Fix

  1. 1Check that this iPhone shows Connected in GhostDex and the map says it’s sending location. If not, go back to Quick start and pair again.
  2. 2After a long jump the game takes a few seconds to land — give it a moment.
  3. 3Fully close Pokémon GO (swipe it away) and open it again.
  4. 4Don’t use another location tool or a real GO Plus on the same iPhone at the same time.
  5. 5Still stuck? Set up NextDNS as described under “Snaps back”.
Quick start

Flew there, then snapped back

Why

The iPhone uses nearby Wi-Fi and cell towers to ask Apple’s location server (gs-loc.apple.com) where it is, then overrides the Bluetooth location with the real one.

Fix

  1. 1Set up NextDNS with the 5 steps below and turn it on while you play.
  2. 2Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › System Services: turn off Networking & Wireless.
  3. 3Clear the cached location: Location Services off → Wi-Fi off → wait 10 seconds → Wi-Fi on → Location Services on. Then reopen the game.
NextDNS setup: 5 steps to stop being pulled back

Jumping back and forth

Why

Another location source is fighting the Bluetooth one. Most often it’s a map app (Google Maps and the like) with “Always” location access — they run their own network positioning through their own servers, which NextDNS can’t block.

Fix

  1. 1Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services: set every map app to “While Using the App” or “Never”.
  2. 2Turn on Airplane Mode to cut cellular (and cell-tower positioning), then turn Wi-Fi and Bluetooth back on by hand. The game uses Wi-Fi for the internet; GhostDex uses Bluetooth.
  3. 3Make sure NextDNS is active on this Wi-Fi (see step 4).
NextDNS setup: 5 steps to stop being pulled back

Stuck after a long jump, but walking works

Why

iOS treats a sudden jump of hundreds of km as an outlier and drops it, while it accepts a steady stream of small steps.

Fix

  1. 1Wait 5–10 seconds after each teleport before the next one — don’t click every few seconds.
  2. 2Still stuck? Fully close and reopen the game, or disconnect this iPhone in GhostDex and connect again.
  3. 3If that doesn’t help, another location source is probably pulling you back — work through “Snaps back” and “Jumping”.

Stops updating when the phone sits still

Why

After about 2 minutes lying flat, iOS decides you’re not moving and pauses location to save battery.

Fix

  1. 1Pick the phone up or wake the screen — location comes right back.
  2. 2When playing hands-free, keep moving with the joystick or a route so the location keeps updating.

NextDNS setup: 5 steps to stop being pulled back

NextDNS is an encrypted DNS service that can block specific domains; the free tier is plenty. While you play, use the full list — it cuts Apple off completely, which is the most reliable. You won’t need the App Store mid-game, and you can switch it off when you’re done.

  1. 1

    Create a NextDNS account

    Open my.nextdns.io in a browser and sign up for free. A configuration is created for you — find its 6-character ID (e.g. abc123) on the Setup page. You’ll need it later.

    Sign up at NextDNS
  2. 2

    Add the denylist

    Open Denylist and add the domains below. Use the full list while playing; the light list is for when you want App Store and iCloud to keep working.

    Full list · recommended while playing · 11
    DomainWhat it is
    gs-loc.apple.com

    Apple Wi-Fi / cell-tower positioning (the key one)

    apple.com

    All Apple services, location included

    akadns.net

    DNS aliases Apple’s services (including location) resolve through

    akamai.net

    Akamai CDN used by Apple (also used by many other sites)

    edgekey.net

    Akamai edge network used by some Apple services

    apple-dns.net

    Apple’s DNS load balancing

    aaplimg.com

    Apple image and asset CDN

    mzstatic.com

    App Store and iTunes assets

    icloud.com

    iCloud

    iphone-service.com

    iPhone activation and device services

    bluedot.is.autonavi.com

    The server Apple positioning actually uses in mainland China

    While it’s on, the App Store, iCloud, Apple ID sign-in, notifications and iOS updates won’t work, and some other apps and sites that use the Akamai network may not load. Switch NextDNS off in its app when you finish playing and everything comes back. If you sign in to Pokémon GO with Apple, sign in first, then turn it on.

    Light list · only Apple’s location servers

    App Store, iCloud and notifications keep working. It blocks Apple’s location servers, but on some networks it may not stop every pull-back — switch to the full list if it happens.

    Light list · only Apple’s location servers · 6
    DomainWhat it is
    gs-loc.apple.com

    Apple Wi-Fi / cell-tower positioning (the key one)

    gs-loc-cn.apple.com

    Apple positioning (mainland China)

    bluedot.is.autonavi.com

    The server Apple positioning actually uses in mainland China

    gs-loc.ls-apple.com.akadns.net

    Alias of the domains above — add it to be safe

    gs-loc-new.ls-apple.com.akadns.net

    Alias of the domains above — add it to be safe

    gs-loc-cn.ls-apple.com.akadns.net

    Alias of the domains above — add it to be safe

    Full or light — which should I use?

    The iPhone asks Apple where it is using nearby Wi-Fi and cell towers, and those requests can go through Apple’s own domains or through the Akamai CDN Apple uses. The full list blocks all of those paths, so nothing can overwrite the Bluetooth location — but everything else from Apple stops too. The light list blocks only Apple’s location servers, so the rest of the phone works normally. Gaming: full. Everyday: light or off.

    Never block *.nextdns.io — NextDNS would stop working. With the light list, also leave *.ls.apple.com alone (Apple Maps tiles and search, not location).

  3. 3

    Turn it on on the iPhone

    Install NextDNS from the App Store, enter your configuration ID in its settings and switch it on. Then check Settings › General › VPN & Device Management › DNS on the iPhone and make sure NextDNS is selected.

  4. 4

    Check it’s working

    Open test.nextdns.io in Safari. It’s working only if you see "status": "ok" and your configuration ID. Check again on every new Wi-Fi: some networks can’t reach NextDNS and the iPhone silently falls back to the router’s DNS — as if it were off.

    Open the test page

    The Logs page on the NextDNS website shows which domains were blocked, so you can confirm gs-loc.apple.com is being stopped.

  5. 5

    Clear the old location and reopen the game

    Location Services off → Wi-Fi off → wait 10 seconds → Wi-Fi on → Location Services on. Then fully close Pokémon GO and open it again.

Most reliable setup — checklist

Run through it before flying to another city or country.

  • NextDNS is on and test.nextdns.io says ok
  • Networking & Wireless is off in System Services
  • Map apps are set to “While Using the App” or “Never”
  • Airplane Mode cuts cellular; Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned back on
  • No other location tool or real GO Plus connected
  • Wait 5–10 s after a teleport; respect the cooldown before catching

What NextDNS can’t fix

  • Map apps’ own network positioning — they connect to their servers by IP, so only location permissions can stop them.
  • Apps that guess your city from your public IP — those need a VPN that exits in the target region.

Common questions

Do I have to set up NextDNS to change my location?

Not always. Short moves within the same city usually work without it. You only need it if you fly to another city or country and get pulled back to your real location.

Will blocking these domains break anything else on my iPhone?

With the full list, the App Store, iCloud, Apple ID sign-in, notifications and updates stop while NextDNS is on, and some apps on the Akamai network may not load — turn it off after playing. With the light list, all of those keep working; the only trade-off is slower or less accurate location in Apple Maps indoors.

Why does switching away from the game send me back to my real location?

The iPhone looked up your real location from Apple using Wi-Fi and cell towers and overrode the Bluetooth location. Block gs-loc.apple.com and the other location domains with NextDNS, and turn off Networking & Wireless in System Services.

Still not working?

Post in our Discord: say which symptom you see and whether you use Mac, Windows or Android, and attach the logs exported from the app. We’ll take a look.

Discord