Can Pokemon GO's "friend list error" be fixed?

Pokemon GO has existed since 2016 (Image via Niantic)
Pokemon GO has existed since 2016 (Image via Niantic)

A common "friend list error" has been affecting many Pokemon GO players, and it can be an incredibly frustrating experience.

One of the most important things that avid Pokemon GO players do is interact with their in-game friends. Other than the fact that it’s nice, sharing gifts can raise friend levels, increase XP, and also provide several other benefits to both players. Receiving this error, though, means that all their interaction with other friends is halted for the moment.


What is the "friends list error" in Pokemon GO?

The friends' list issue is known as Error 0. Basically, what happens is when a player loads up Pokemon GO and looks at their friends list, they'll find no one there. The only thing that shows up on the screen is a message reading "Failure to get Friend List."

Fiddling around with the app doesn't really affect this issue. No matter how many times a player either exits the page and refreshes, the error will continue to appear. This affects both Android and iOS users alike.


How to Fix the “Failure to get Friend List”

Pokemon GO friends issue (Image via Niantic)
Pokemon GO friends issue (Image via Niantic)

While Niantic is aware of the issue, there is no official “fix” to the problem yet. The only thing players can do at the moment is uninstall Pokemon GO and reinstall later.

This can really annoy players, especially those who’ve had the game for a while, collected many legendary Pokemon, etc. These players don’t need to worry about losing progress, though. As long as they remember their login information, they should be able to keep all of their Pokemon and items.

Niantic, in general, has been making sincere efforts to improve its service. In a blog post on the Pokemon GO website, Niantic announced a new initiative that involves improved communication with players.

Part of this is a developer's diary. This will be a bi-monthly update with the app, including planned events, patches, and things of that nature. Error 0 could possibly be touched upon in a future developer diary.

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