Here’s Why You Can’t Use the Poké Portal – Troubleshooting Guide

With the release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet comes the implementation of the Poké Portal. The portal is a one-stop shop for all things online-related, moving away from the previously established Pokémon Home service offered by Nintendo. Whether it be trading, battling, or joining Tera Raids, it can all be done through the Poké Portal. When it works its a fantastic way to connect with and make new friends, however, it can be frustrating when the portal does not work. Luckily, there are a few ways of troubleshooting that can help the Poké Portals performance.

Here’s Why You Can’t Use the Poké Portal

Servers may be down

While often not the problem, sometimes game servers can be down for maintenance or other problems. Check official sources to make sure that the servers are up and running.

Make sure you’re up to current-gen

As the Poké Portal is meant to be the new standard for online Pokémon playing, the platform is only supported by current-gen Pokémon games. Meaning games below Sword and Shield will not be able to use the Poké Portal. For those wanting to trade their Pokémon through older games, they will have to use Pokémon Home and then transfer to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Have an active Nintendo Switch Online subscription

Sometimes it’s easy to forget when a player’s Switch Online subscription expires. Without an active Nintendo Switch Online subscription, the Poké Portal is unavailable for players. Make sure that your subscription is active before trying to engage in online play with friends. For those who don’t have a subscription, there is still a feature you can use online. Players are still able to trade, but only with nearby players. Meaning features like the wonder trade and trading with friends are still locked behind a Switch Online subscription.

Check your connectivity

More often than not the source of most problems with online play is the user’s connection. With a lack of signal to the game, it can make it hard for essential communication to occur. Check to make sure that where you play has a strong signal and that nothing else could be potentially hogging the bandwidth. Should drastic action be needed, a stronger router may be needed.

Restart your Switch

Sometimes the best answer is the easiest one. Turning off and on your Nintendo Switch can more often than not fix any issues your connectivity may have with the Poké Portal. It’s recommended to try this first before doing any of the other troubleshooting techniques.