Pokemon Go has been a long anticipated release, and has drawn plenty of discussion around its mechanics and flaws. The game had an oddly soft release this week (6/7/16) and unfortunately for many users their region has yet to be given access to the game. Some clever folks are however getting around the region based release in a number of ways detailed below..

Disclaimer: If you follow the steps below you may lose all progress when switching back to your main account or changing back to your normal region.

iPhone/IOS

Pokemon Go is arguably the trickiest to get on IOS, fear not however, here is how to do it; although it’s not a simple matter of searching the App Store, it won’t take more than five minutes to get it onto your iPhone. How? All you need is an Apple ID registered to a region where the game has already released eg Australia, New Zealand or the US.

1. Log out of your current Apple ID on your iPhone.

Hit the App Store, tap the Featured tab, scroll to the bottom of the page, tap your Apple ID and tap ‘Sign out’.

Alternately..

Go to Settings -> Apple ID and sign out.

2. Create a new Apple ID

This is easiest to do at your computer; simply go to https://appleid.apple.com and create a new ID using a different email account to the one you used for your main Apple ID. Make sure to choose either New Zealand or Australia as your region.

Make sure to choose the correct region!

3. Sign into your new ID on your iPhone

Go to Settings -> iTunes and App Store. Click Sign In and sign in using the details of the ID you just created.

4. Install the APP

Now head back to the App Store and search for Pokemon GO. Bingo! As this is your first ‘purchase’ (although the app is free), you may be asked to verify your account details. Simply follow the instructions, making sure to select ‘None’ in the Billing menu and adding a New Zealand, American or Australian address and phone number. Once done, just download the app, simple as pie! The servers are chockablock at the moment though, so don’t be surprised if it takes a little while to connect and catch your starter. It took me 20 minutes to log in and play once the app was installed. Stay tuned for my first impressions tomorrow.

Android

Getting the app on Android is a much simpler affair than on IOS. Simply get the Pokémon Go APK file from APKPure.com, either directly on your phone or on a PC, the file is fairly hefty for a data plan (around 60mb) so beware if you plan to download off WiFi.

If you’re choose to download via PC, attach your phone to the computer by USB and drag the downloaded APK file to your Downloads folder. On your phone go to Settings -> Security and enable the installation of apps from unknown sources. Now find the APK on your phone and install Pokémon Go.

Were you expecting more steps? There are none! Enjoy wandering the country in search of rare and elusive Pokemon. Gotta catch em all!