GPS Drift ate my pokestop. Appeal is bugging. halp

Wayspot Appeals
1

When submitting a Wayspot Appeal, make sure to include as much of the following information as possible:

Okay so here’s what happened. I just hit level 37 and I’m submitting pokestops for the very first time. My first one works fine, but when I go to submit the 2nd one, a trailhead leading to a national park, I seem to have some GPS drift and accidentally end up putting the pin in the wrong spot in the woods… like very wrong. Like hundreds of meters off. But I don’t yet realize.

Both submissions are approved. Pokestops go live, and my first thought is “Oh sweet! One of them is right by my house! How’d that happen?”

My excitement soon turned to worry when I considered Routes. “I don’t want to send people to my neighbor’s house when all they want is to walk on the nature trail…” I said to myself. But how to fix?

I tried in game, but no dice. Its too far, and scanning the pokestop did nothing. I tried asking for help in game and was sent here: Request modification or removal of a PokéStop or Gym – Pokémon GO

This was the same link I found when I tried the FAQ. So I filled out the form there but was perplexed that my issue, fixing the location, did not seem to be an option. “No worries” I said to myself, “I’ll pick the option about buissness hours and explain in the body of the request.”

Then I mentioned the problem to the local Community Ambassador and he said I’d gone to the wrong place, and that I was actually supposed to submit the request here: Niantic Wayfarer

OOPS. So I did that. Mentioned the other form I’d filled out, went to bed, woke up, and my pokestop was GONE. My worst fears realized!

I looked over the email and got the sense they thought I was the property owner submitting a complaint, despite the steps I took to prevent this. That, or perhaps they think I’m trying to gain the system somehow by like, putting it somewhere more advantageous? When I am, infact, doing the opposite. (If I need to submit geocache photos or video or whatever I’m happy to! Just tell me how.)

I tried the help chat again but they said “We remove Wayspots only if we have conclusive evidence that they are in violation of our policies. We have taken another look but stand by our decision to retire this Wayspot as it did not meet our policy criteria.” But like… they didnt tell me what policy criteria it didnt meet or give me any avenue for follow up steps or questions?!?! Its a trailmarker for a National Forest. A more sure fire Pokestop I can not fathom.

Then I found this place and learned there’s supposed to be an “Appeal” button under Contributions but… I don’t see one…. Am… I supposed to resubmit? Is that part of the map permanently blacklisted?? Is the name of the pokestop blacklisted?? (Theres a property marker nearby I was hoping to submit but now I’m not sure what will happen to it…)

I’ve had a hundo Zygarde for months and I was so excited to finally create some routes along the National Forest trails that I could walk w my neighbors and power him up! Now I have no idea what to do without appearing even more suspicious and risking the one single remaining stop… All over a single misplaced pin…

TLDR: My pokestop had the wrong location and when I tried to report the issue the pokestop got nuked over a misunderstanding.

What do I do?

***mod edit to remove personal information

2

Hello and welcome @LunarFantom

Using the help bubble on the wayfarer site is the correct way to get a location corrected.

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You don’t get an email but a ticket number. You can attach photographic proof and links to web pages. GPSMapcamera is an app that will print co- ordinates on the photo if you go take a picture at the correct location.

Let us know if it’s sucessful

2 Likes
3

I did that when my Community Ambassador told me about it, but by then the Waypoint was already gone.

That’s the part where I tried to explain but they just said “We remove Wayspots only if we have conclusive evidence that they are in violation of our policies. We have taken another look but stand by our decision to retire this Wayspot as it did not meet our policy criteria.”

And then they closed the conversation before I could ask the obvious follow up questions (Which criteria?), or clarify that “The request for removal was submitted by me by mistake, not the property owner. It doesn’t violate policy.”

Or before I could explain that I was trying to have it moved to correct a mistake and thus make it match it’s irl location, not to benefit me. (Cause… the mistake put it at my house. Can’t get any more beneficial than that)

4

It might be easier at this point to make another submission. Just make sure the location is correct - don’t rely on where the marker starts as Pokemon Go cannot adjust for drift.

2 Likes
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Ah sorry I misunderstood.

Yes resubmit make sure it is the correct location.

1 Like
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I won’t get in even hotter water for what could be perceived as trying to subvert their decision? I dont want to be banned or lose the sole remaining pokestop…

Also unsure how to go about that. (Do I reuse old info? Same pic? Title? Description?)

7

You live really close so might as well take new photos. Just be sure about the location and also be sure that this is a location where there are no problems with people being there. (It doesn’t have to be guaranteed public, just not single-family-private-residential-space and not somewhere where the landowner has requested removals.)

It is OK to resubmit when a submission is rejected, normally be amending (improving) the title and/or text. (Repeatedly submitting the same rejection veers towards abuse.) It should be fine to submit something that was accidentally removed but didn’t deserve to be.

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Its a park (apartment complex like space) with a trail leading to a National Forest. And the email contains the “removal request,” which I wrote. So, I can absolutely 100% guarentee the property owner didnt request removal and doesnt care.

As for accuracy. Its easy w signs cause you can use the map and road placement. But a trail under a thick tree cover? It’s harder to tell if your pointer is hovering over the correct cluster of trees.

I have spent much of the day checking different landmarks to compare against the green to be super sure I have it right this time, yet I’m still sorely tempted to walk a few feet up the trail when I submit just to be really really sure.

9

I am a little concerned as to why it was ruled not to meet the policy criteria, although it may have been because it was off by 100 meters or so.

You seem worried as well. If you don’t mind, why don’t you suggest that everyone review your submission?

10

Okay! But like… how tho? Is there a way I can link it

Edit: the nomination ID is BAFWAVQDAQUGXFQGBFoEBVpWBlcBWQRQAlJXUVECWgNLBwcH

Idk if theres a place to plug that in though. (It was already Accepted and still has Accepted Status)

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Please log in to Wayfarer and show these three screenshots on the Contributions page.

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I am a bit perplexed. Perhaps the sign was deemed temporary. What are others’ opinions?

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It wasnt rejected by voters. Everyone seemed to agree it was good and it got “approved.”

The claim it was ineligible was only made when I attempted to correct an inaccurate location.

I suspect it was therefor deemed inelligible for one of 2 reasons.

  1. Private property. (If they misunderstood and believe the park owner submitted a request to remove it, that would make it ineligible. The park owner didnt. That was literally me, I have the receipts, but still)
  2. Abuse. If they think I put the pin in the wrong location on purpose, they may think that I’m trying to abuse the system to gain an edge. Again, I’m trying to fix a mistake. I can prove that too. Its literally my first day submitting pokestops ever, I was bound to trip and mess up somewhere in that process.

Edit: I should add… if I had been trying to abuse… I wouldnt have called attention to it and risked removal by submitting Help tickets and such. I already had a pokestop literally right outside my house, and a gym a stone’s throw away. What more could I possibly want at that point?

And I tried to fix it the day it went live. Why not procrastinate and enjoy those free spins? If I waited till the rocket event ended, I could get a ton of chances to get the collection challenge done from the comfort of my own home. Instead I said “Oh no!” And tried to fix it as soon as possible, even though that would have meant moving all viable gyms and stops out of range.

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The title, description and supporting are good. The photos are also decent. To be pedantic, I would take the main photo closer and the supporting photo from an angle that shows more of the road/track (to assist with confirming location), but that’s not essential and there may not be anything around that would show to match with.

I can imagine the sign being perceived as temporary, whether fairly or not. It’s possible that by it getting flagged to Niantic, they re-evaluated the wayspot and decided it didn’t meet criteria. Can you share the text of the first email in which Niantic said they had removed the wayspot?

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Lets wait and see if the Wayfarer Team comment they might have better insight.

2 Likes
17

Stone steps for the trail make this not temporary, hence the zoomed out pic. (I was trying to make sure the steps are visible)

I included the email in the first post as an attachment, but heres the text copy-pasta incase its not loading:

### Do not reply below this line ###
undefined ----
Roy
August 14, 2025, 06:02 -0700
undefined ----
Hello,

Thanks for reaching out to us.

We have removed the PokéStop “Pet-Walk Butte Connector Trailhead” in question as it did not meet our policy guidelines. You should see these changes reflected soon.

Best, | |
undefined|----|----|
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undefined|----|
Niantic Support
August 13, 2025, 21:52 -0700
undefined ----
Hello,

Thanks for taking the time to write in. In order to proceed with your request, you must be the President of the Homeowner’s Association or a senior executive of the property management company. If you haven’t already, please send one of the following items to ensure that we can process your request without any delays:

  • Attach a scanned copy of your business card.
  • Attach a letter written on official letterhead of the organization.
  • Submit the request using an email address from the organization’s domain.
  • If you are not the owner/senior executive but are reaching out to us on their behalf, please include their name, title, phone number, and email address.

Thank you! | |
undefined|----|----|
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undefined|----|
August 13, 2025, 21:52 -0700
undefined ----
Not a Removal Request but a Modification Request! I accidentally got the coordinates wrong when I submitted a request for a pokestop! I meant to put the coordinates for the trail but instead I accidentally put it by someone’s house. (See attached photo) The correct coordinates are:[[redacted in copy-paste]]
undefined ----
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My thoughts exactly. I dont want to risk being punished for resubmitting until I know for certain that I have to…

I guess if I do have to I could wash the stone steps. Feels silly to wash dirt off a nature trail though.

19

I apologize if I gave you the impression that I doubted you.

1 Like
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Washing the stone steps to make them more obvious wouldn’t change the nature of the wayspot. It does look as though it was removed for not meeting criteria, not because of any abuse or complaints, and that it only got removed because it was brought to their attention (I can see why that is frustrating).

It does have a problem of looking temporary and there’s not a lot that can be done apart from getting “proper signage” installed. You can’t use the history of streetview images as they don’t go into the mobile park.