Since the launch of "Pokémon GO" in early July, millions of people around the world have caught billions (trillions?) of Pokémon.
And they might have caught even more if the game's servers weren't down so often.
It's a frustration we at Tech Insider know all too well — the three screens above were captured by me across many days.
The frustration is compounded by the amount of time the game takes to load. Is it just loading slowly, or is it really broken? Maybe I should try restarting?
What would be really nice is a simple way to know if the game's servers are up.
Turns out that exists.
IsPokémonGODownOrNot.com is one of two solutions I found online. A quick check on mobile or on a computer will save you a lot of time. I bookmarked it in Chrome for easy access when I'm out of pocket.
But perhaps you want to be extra sure?
There's another service that's been running for years, from the folks at MMO Server Status. An "MMO" is a type of game where large groups of people playing together in a shared virtual space ("MMO" literally stands for "massive multiplayer online," and is usually followed by another acronym for the game genre).
To be clear, this is a long-running site with a reputation for monitoring the online status of online-only games. "Pokémon GO" is its latest addition.
Of course, with any site like this, there's always a chance of error. Checking the official "Pokémon GO" website is a more official, albeit slower, option. And the game's official Twitter account has been useful as well.
If you're ever in doubt, you already know the solution: Open up "Pokémon GO" on your phone and find out.
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