As some of you are probably aware, all Pokémon GO maps are offline at the moment. This includes scanners, trackers, Gym Huntr and all other map solutions that rely on accessing Niantic’s servers for data. Before we go any further, I want to emphasize that Pokémon GO Hub does not endorse ToS breaking tools and practices. However, we are not oblivious to the widespread usage of maps and trackers, and we are publishing this post in a best effort to keep our readers informed.
What is going on, why are the maps down?
All Pokémon GO clients (the official game client, maps, various apps) rely on accessing Niantic’s servers via a built in server side API layer. The API layer dictates the minimum app version that can access the data and maps use/emulate a set version API client.
Yesterday, a new version of the API was forced: 0.95.3. As of the time of this writing, none of the community written APIs that maps use have been updated — mainly pogobuf-vnext. As a result, all third party apps that rely on the API are down.
Well ok, but is anyone working on a fix?
The short answer is yes, but it will take some time. In order to provide our readers a longer answer, we reached out to a PogoDev member associated with reverse engineering activities that take place behind the scenes. Our source requested to stay anonymous.
“Yesterday the newest Pokemon GO version was so called “forced”. That basically means that the Niantic Pokemon GO servers are not accepting any requests from older game versions. In the last 2 years we have 2 big down times (1x 3 weeks, 1x 5 weeks) and traditionally, for all other updates we have been faster than Niantic. This time we are not faster cause niantic added new “security”.
This includes dropping wolfSSL and replacing it with RakNet from Facebook. Prior to this, the game used proprietary http stack with wolfSSL. Now, we’re back to the system provided stack with RakNet, new anti jailbreak and a ton of new anti-debug measures. Additionally, the request / response envelope seems to be changed and we have no idea if anything underneath has changed. All of this happened in the last version, 0.95.3.
This new security feature seems to be prepared a long time ago. The last time we saw this was almost a year ago when they changed encryption, hashing and added wolfSSL. Yeah, Niantic is doing a very good job of keeping us away here.”
The source admitted that there is no timeframe for a potential fix — it could be anywhere from 3 to 5 weeks, nobody knows at the moment.
Disclaimer
We do not want to delve into legal ramifications of maps, trackers or any other third party tools. We are just a news outlet that is dedicated to bringing news to our readers. The Hub is not responsible for existence, usage and maintenance of any third party Pokémon GO tool. We do not endorse or promote their usage.
P.S. This situation reminds us of the days when FastPokeMap was about to go under. FPM’s downfall was emotional and well documented on the Hub. You can read more about it here, here, here and here.