Pokémon GO Adventure Sync not working on iPhone
On iPhone, Adventure Sync doesn't measure your walk itself — it reads the distance the iPhone recorded in Apple Health. Distance, not steps: in Health that is Walking + Running Distance. So look there first. If today has a distance, the iPhone is recording and the problem sits between Health and the game: Location, the link to Health, or a sync that the Pokémon GO help center says can take up to several hours. If Health is empty too, the recording itself has stopped, and nothing inside the game will fix it.
First, look at Health
Open the Health app and tap the Browse tab, then Activity, then Walking + Running Distance; that is iOS 27. On iOS 26 there is no Browse tab: tap Search, the magnifying glass at the bottom right, then Activity, then Walking + Running Distance. Whether today has a number decides where to look next.
Is Adventure Sync on?
It is an option you turn on, and only from Trainer Level 5. In the game, tap the Main Menu button, then Settings, then General, then Adventure Sync, and give Pokémon GO access to Health when iOS asks.
Distance is in Health, but not in the game
The iPhone is recording; Pokémon GO isn't receiving it. Check three things.
- Location set to Always. The help center says Adventure Sync turns off unless Location stays at Always. After you close the game, iOS asks again: choose Change to Always Allow. Or set Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Pokémon GO to Always first, then turn Adventure Sync on. This is the usual reason it “keeps turning off”.
- Pokémon GO is a source in Health. In Health, tap your profile button at the top, then Apps under Privacy, and check that Pokémon GO is listed and its categories are turned on.
- Give it time. The help center says syncing with Apple Health can take up to several hours, and restarting the app may help. On the game's widget, distance can take up to an hour.
Health is empty too
Then the iPhone has stopped recording, and changing settings inside the game won't help.
- Fitness Tracking. Settings → Privacy & Security → Motion & Fitness → Fitness Tracking. It is the phone-wide switch: when it is off, the iPhone records no steps or walking distance for any app. The rest of this is on step counter not working on iPhone.
- Low Power Mode. The help center says battery saving modes can disable the sensors Adventure Sync needs.
- Was the phone on you? A phone on a desk, or deep in a bag that doesn't swing, can't feel your walk.
- Typed-in workouts. The help center says fitness data you enter by hand doesn't count.
Two games, one distance
If you play more than one Niantic game with the same login, the help center says the distance matches across them, and when the games disagree you get credit for the highest one. A Pikmin Bloom walk and a Pokémon GO walk are the same walk.
Walked with an Apple Watch
On days you carry both, Health merges what the watch and the phone recorded. Apple says that when several sources supply the same kind of data, the source at the top of the list wins; you can reorder them under Data Sources & Access, at the bottom of that data's screen in Health.
Where Angel Step fits
We make Angel Step, so take this as ours. It reads your step count from the same Health app and puts today's number on your Home Screen and Lock Screen as a widget. The iPhone records steps and walking distance from the same walk, so a number that keeps moving there tells you the phone is recording, without opening anything. If it moves and the game doesn't, the problem is on the game's side.
Questions
Why is Adventure Sync not working on my iPhone?
On iPhone, Adventure Sync doesn't measure your walk itself: it reads the distance the iPhone recorded in Apple Health. If today's Walking + Running Distance is in Health, the cause is between Health and the game: Location not set to Always, Pokémon GO missing from Health's apps, or a sync that the Pokémon GO help center says can take up to several hours. If Health is empty too, the iPhone has stopped recording: check Fitness Tracking and Low Power Mode.
Why does Adventure Sync keep turning off?
The Pokémon GO help center says Adventure Sync turns off unless Location stays at Always. After you close the game, iOS asks again whether to keep Always: choose Change to Always Allow. Or set Location Services for Pokémon GO to Always in Settings first, then turn Adventure Sync on.
Does Adventure Sync count steps or distance?
Distance. The Pokémon GO help center describes it as recording the kilometers you travel, read from Apple Health on iPhone. In Health that is Walking + Running Distance, not Steps.
How long does Adventure Sync take to update?
The Pokémon GO help center says syncing with Apple Health can take up to several hours, and restarting the app may help. Distance can take up to an hour to show on the game's widget.
Do workouts I enter by hand count for Adventure Sync?
No. The Pokémon GO help center says manually entered fitness data does not count toward Adventure Sync.
Sources
- Location set to Always and the repeated iOS prompt, Pokémon GO as a source in Health, sync delay, battery saving, typed-in data: Pokémon GO Help Center, Troubleshooting Adventure Sync, read .
- What Adventure Sync records, Trainer Level 5, Main Menu → Settings → General, the widget delay, and the highest distance across games: Pokémon GO Help Center, Adventure Sync, read .
- The profile button → Apps under Privacy, and which source wins when there are several: Apple Support, Manage Health data on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch.
Updated