One of the most common reasons new spoofers get banned is not hacking or using risky tools — it’s simply not knowing the cooldown rules exist. If you’re new to spoofing, this guide is essential reading before your first teleport.
What is a Soft Ban?
If you violate the Cooldown Rules, your game account will get soft banned.
After a soft ban:
- All Pokémon will flee immediately when you try to catch them
- PokéStops will not drop any items when spun
- You’ll see “Try Again Later” error messages
A soft ban typically lasts 1–12 hours. Repeated violations can escalate to a temporary suspension or even a permanent ban.
What Are Cooldown Rules — and Why Don’t Most Players Know About Them?
Most new spoofers jump straight into teleporting around the world without realizing Pokémon GO has a built-in anti-cheat mechanic watching every move. There’s no in-game warning, no tutorial, and no notification — you only find out after you’ve already been soft banned.
A Cooldown is the amount of time you need to wait after using an in-game action. This is calculated from the distance you travel between your in-game actions.
In simple terms: the further you teleport, the longer you must wait before doing anything in-game.
The cooldown timer runs on Niantic’s servers — not your phone. This means:
- You can close Pokémon GO completely and the timer keeps counting
- You don’t need to sit and wait with the app open
- The clock started the moment you triggered your last action, not when you teleported
iFlowGo Tip: After a big jump, close Pokémon GO and go do something else. Come back when the cooldown is over — the timer has been running the whole time.
Cooldown Chart
The further you jump, the longer you wait. Always check this chart before acting in a new location.
| Distance | Cooldown | Distance | Cooldown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 km | < 1 min | 220 km | < 40 min |
| 2 km | 1 min | 250 km | 45 min |
| 3 km | < 2 min | 350 km | < 51 min |
| 5 km | 2 min | 375 km | 54 min |
| 7 km | 5 min | 460 km | 62 min |
| 9 km | < 7 min | 500 km | < 65 min |
| 10 km | 7 min | 565 km | 69 min |
| 12 km | 8 min | 700 km | 78 min |
| 18 km | 10 min | 800 km | 84 min |
| 26 km | 15 min | 900 km | 92 min |
| 42 km | 19 min | 1000 km | 99 min |
| 65 km | 22 min | 1100 km | 107 min |
| 76 km | < 25 min | 1200 km | < 114 min |
| 81 km | 25 min | 1300 km | 117 min |
| 100 km | 35 min | 1350 km | 2 hours (max) |
The maximum cooldown is 2 hours — applies to any jump over 1,350 km.
Actions That WILL Trigger Cooldown
Doing any of these after teleporting will start a cooldown timer. If you do them before the timer is up, you get soft banned.
Catching a wild Pokémon
Accidentally dropping a ball on the encounter screen (including raids)
Feeding a wild Pokémon with a berry (including raids)
Spinning a PokéStop (even if the spin limit is reached)
Placing a Pokémon in a gym
Feeding a gym defender within screen radar
Gym battles
Fleeing Pokémon (due to catch limit)
Using a Gotcha device to spin or catch
Actions That WILL NOT Trigger Cooldown
These are completely safe to do at any time — even immediately after teleporting:
Teleporting itself
Encountering (but not catching) a wild Pokémon
Remote berry feeding of a gym defender (from long distance)
Autowalk
Hatching eggs
Claiming quest and weekly rewards
Catching a reward Pokémon from quests
Speed raids (ensure you are off cooldown 2 hours prior)- Exchanging and opening gifts
- Evolving a Pokémon
Powering up a Pokémon
Trading a Pokémon
Transferring a Pokémon
Taking snapshots of a Pokémon
Changing a Buddy
Gaining Buddy candies
Using items (healing items, evolution items, TMs) on a Pokémon
Using Stardust and Candies for a second move
Using Incense, Lucky Egg, and/or Star Piece- Deleting items from storage
- PvP battles
Team leader battles
Placing a Lure Module or Special Lure on a PokéStop
Purchasing coins and shop items
Changing avatar items/clothes
Transferring a Pokémon to Switch (Mystery Box)
Obtaining a free raid pass by tapping a gym with an active raid
Encountering & catching Photobomb Pokémon (e.g. Smeargle, Party Hat Pikachu)
Pro Tips: How to Spoof Safely with iFlowGo
1. Use Cold Start to skip cooldown entirely
Most spoofers don’t know this trick. If Pokémon GO has never been opened at your current spoofed location, the game has no previous location to calculate distance from — so no cooldown applies.
How to do it:
- Close Pokémon GO completely
- Open iFlowGo and connect your iPhone
- Teleport to your target location in iFlowGo
- Open Apple Maps or Google Maps — confirm your blue dot has moved
- Now open Pokémon GO — it loads directly at the new location
- Play immediately with no cooldown
2. Use Autowalk during cooldown
While waiting out a cooldown after a big jump, use iFlowGo’s Autowalk feature to hatch eggs and earn buddy candies — you stay productive without triggering any additional cooldown.
3. When in doubt, wait 2 hours
If you’re unsure how long ago your last action was, just wait the full 2 hours. It’s always safe — and it’s far better than risking a soft ban.
Quick Summary
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Just teleported, haven’t acted yet | Wait based on the cooldown chart |
| Used Cold Start correctly | Play immediately, no wait needed |
| Not sure when last action was | Wait 2 hours to be safe |
| Soft banned | Stop all actions, wait 1–12 hours |
| Want to hatch eggs during cooldown | Use iFlowGo Autowalk — safe! |
Ready to spoof safely? iFlowGo handles the hard part — Bluetooth-based GPS spoofing on the official Pokémon GO app, no jailbreak needed. Download iFlowGo and start your free 5-day VIP trial.