UPDATE: Pokemon Go developer Niantic has acknowledged the issue on Twitter, telling fans that it is investigating offline issues.
“We’re investigating an issue which is preventing Trainers from logging in. Thank you for your patience as we look into this issue.”
ORIGINAL: Pokemon Go is down, leaving fans unable to connect to the Niantic smartphone app.
The Pokemon Go server status doesn’t make good reading for fans, who can’t get past the login screen.
There have been hundreds of offline reports on Down Detector, which measures outage reports for popular apps, websites and online services.
Fans are unable to load the app and are told to retry or try a different account when attempting to do so.
Fans are understandably upset on Twitter, and some have even speculated that Niantic is about to insert Gen 3 Pokemon into the game.
One Twitter user writes: “@NianticLabs everyone’s Pokemon Go is down so we all miss a day of the event, will the event be extended??”
Another post says: “Pokemon Go is down. Gen 3 being inserted perhaps? Deoxys being born? Haha.”
It hearkens back to the launch of the app when there were countless of outage reports due to its popularity.
Niantic is yet to make an official statement on the offline reports on the Pokemon Go Twitter page.
Check out some of the best Gen 3 that could be coming to Pokemon Go in the gallery below…
The problems have cropped up during the autumn Equinox event, which runs until October 2.
The big new Pokemon Go event is Niantic’s way of celebrating the autumn season, which means new adventures.
“With cool autumn nights quickly approaching in the Northern Hemisphere and sunny spring days arriving in the Southern Hemisphere, we thought it would be the perfect time to celebrate the coming equinox with an in-game event. New seasons mean new adventures!” reads a blog post.
The Pokemon Go Equinox event also gives players the chance to earn double stardust and triple XP.
Niantic explains: “From 1:00 P.M. PDT on September 22 to 1:00 P.M. PDT on October 2, 2017, you’ll have the opportunity to earn double Stardust for catching Pokemon and hatching Eggs as you walk around your neighbourhood discovering new sights.
“While you’re out exploring, be sure to visit your local PokeStops and Gyms to collect special 2 km Eggs that have the opportunity to hatch Pokemon such as Chansey, Mareep, Larvitar, and more.”
The other major bonus is triple XP, although this is only available when discovering brand new Pokemon for the first time.
“Registering a new Pokémon to your Pokédex during this limited-time celebration will earn you triple the normal XP,” Niantic continues.
“So that makes this a very good time to battle against the Legendary Pokémon originally from the Johto region.
“Don’t forget that Raikou, Entei, or Suicune will each travel to a new part of the world on September 30, so make sure to battle the Legendary Pokémon currently in your area while you can!”