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How To Fix Pokemon GO Incense Not Working Issues

What incensed you to do this?

Developed by Niantic, Pokemon GO was released for mobile devices a few years ago and quickly became a worldwide phenomenon where people were absolutely obsessed with running around and trying to see what Pokemon they could catch. Things in the game have changed considerably, though, and if you’re wondering how to fix the Pokemon GO incense bug, here’s what you need to know.

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How Incense Works in Pokemon GO

The incense item increases your Pokemon spawn rate for a duration of time when you have it active. However, if you have it active and it doesn’t seem to be doing much for you, it could be because you’re stationary.

If you’re moving around with the incense active, it should work as per normal. For players who are stationary, spawns will only pop up every five minutes or so, making it a lot less effective.

Fixing General Incense Errors

Aside from simply moving around with your phone when you have the incense active, if you’re still seeing a lack of spawns every five minutes when you’re stationary, the problem likely stems from your device’s time settings.

To fix the bug, you’ll need to make sure that your device’s time is set to automatic.

  1. If you’re on iPhone, open your Settings app.

  2. Tap on General.

  3. Tap on Date and Time, then make sure Set Automatically is active.

  4. If you’re on Android, open your System app.

  5. Tap on Date on Time, and make sure that Automatic Date and Time and Automatic Timezone are active.

Once you’ve sorted out your time zone settings on mobile, your Pokemon GO incense should start working as intended again.

Fixing Daily Incense Problems

Daily incenses are great! Unless you can’t use them… They last just 15 minutes, and if you try to use one in the 15-minute window before a new calendar day, you might experience some issues. That said, try not to activate one between 23:45 and 23:59! Also keep in mind that you have to be moving in order to see any benefit. Don’t want to move? Don’t use an Incense.


That’s all you need to know about how to fix the Pokemon GO incense bug. Be sure to check our guide wiki for more tips and information on the game. Happy Pokemon hunting!

About the author

Zhiqing Wan

Zhiqing is the Reviews Editor for Twinfinite, and a History graduate from Singapore. She's been in the games media industry for nine years, trawling through showfloors, conferences, and spending a ridiculous amount of time making in-depth spreadsheets for min-max-y RPGs. When she's not singing the praises of Amazon's Kindle as the greatest technological invention of the past two decades, you can probably find her in a FromSoft rabbit hole.

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