PokéStops, Wayfarer & the S2 cell system
Everything that decides whether a place becomes a PokéStop — the hidden S2 cell grid, the Gym math, the full Wayfarer nomination and review workflow, the photo rules that sink most submissions, and what changed in 2026 after the Scopely acquisition.
Nominating points of interest is the single most powerful way to shape the game around where you actually live and play. A dead neighbourhood with zero PokéStops can become a genuinely playable area — stops to spin, Field Research to collect, and eventually Gyms — entirely through nominations you file yourself.
But nominations are not a coin flip. Where a stop can exist, how many Gyms an area gets, and whether an approved nomination is even visible are all governed by a fixed grid most players never see. Understand that grid and you can plan an area instead of guessing.
The world is divided into an invisible grid of nested squares called S2 cells. Two cell sizes decide everything about PokéStops and Gyms:
Roughly 80–100 m across (it varies with latitude). A Level 17 cell can hold only one PokéStop or Gym. Nominate a second point of interest into a cell that is already occupied and it will be approved on Wayfarer but never appear in the game.
Several hundred metres across. Each Level 14 cell contains exactly 64 Level 17 cells, and the number of PokéStops inside it decides how many Gyms the area gets.
This is why people keep spotting a “perfect” PokéStop location that never materialises: it is not that the nomination failed — it is that the Level 17 cell already has a point of interest, so a second one there is invisible by design.
Because each Level 17 cell holds only one stop, where you place the pin matters. If two candidates fall inside the same Level 17 cell, only one can ever become a PokéStop. A worked example: three cafés sit in a row on one street. Nominating the middle café’s main sign would have dropped it into the same cell as its neighbour — blocking a third stop entirely. The fix was to nominate a different feature — a smaller sign on a side street — so it landed in a separate cell, freeing the third café to become its own stop. Three stops instead of two, from the same block.
Before you file anything, scout the cell occupancy: the in-game nomination view now shows existing PokéStops and points of interest, and the Wayfarer map shows nominations. Cross-check an S2 cell overlay for the grid itself and you can see exactly which cells are free.
Gyms are not nominated directly — they are generated from PokéStop density. The number of PokéStops inside a single Level 14 cell decides how many of them become Gyms:
Too sparse — the cell needs more density before any Gym appears.
The first Gym is created the moment a Level 14 cell reaches 2 PokéStops.
A second Gym is added once the cell crosses 6 PokéStops.
The third Gym is the ceiling most areas ever reach.
The practical takeaway: if you want a Gym in your area, you are really aiming for the 2-PokéStop and 6-PokéStop thresholds inside one Level 14 cell — and every stop has to sit in its own Level 17 cell to count.
Nominating is locked until level 37. Reviewing other people’s nominations unlocks at the same point — and you will want to do both.
Nominations are handled through Niantic Wayfarer (wayfarer.nianticlabs.com) — sign in with the same account you use for the game. Pass the short Wayfarer criteria course first so you know exactly what reviewers grade against.
Photo one is the point of interest itself, clear and centred. Photo two is the same spot in its surroundings — proof it is real, safe and reachable. The second photo is the single most common reason a nomination fails.
Give it a plain title, a short description, and supporting information that argues why it fits a criterion — somewhere to socialise, exercise or explore. Do not mention the game: Wayfarer feeds several apps, not just this one.
A 2026 update lets you submit a nomination from anywhere as long as you already have the photos. You no longer have to stand at the spot to file it.
You hold roughly 40 nomination credits. Each spent credit returns about 30 days after you used it — a rolling timer, not a calendar-month reset. Submit steadily and you get roughly one credit back per day.
- +Trail markers — hugely underrated and approve fast
- +Statues, murals and public art
- +Historical or cultural plaques
- +Distinctive local businesses (explain what makes them unique — a regional specialty, a landmark sign)
- +Shrines and places of cultural significance
- +Libraries, including Little Free Libraries
- +Outdoor fitness equipment and exercise stations
- +Community and cultural buildings, gazebos, community pools
- −Schools (K–12) and the area around them
- −Cemeteries and other sensitive sites
- −Private single-family residential property — homes, duplexes, your own yard
- −Generic chain businesses — the big franchises already have brand deals
- −Duplicates of a point of interest that already exists
- −Anything temporary, seasonal, or not visually distinct
- −Anything that would put reviewers or players somewhere unsafe (next to a highway, etc.)
The most misunderstood rule is residential property. A single-family home or duplex is always out — there are no “home stops”. But the shared common areas of a multi-unit building — a condo courtyard, an apartment’s shared garden or gazebo — can be nominated even when they are not open to the public, because every resident collectively has access. The line: a space for many people qualifies; a space for one person or one family does not.
Chain-business tip: instead of nominating the franchise itself, look for a mural, a plaque, or a distinctive feature nearby — something unique and permanent — and nominate that.
More nominations die on the photos than on anything else — and it is almost always the second photo.
- Photo one — the point of interest. Clear, well-framed, obviously the thing named in the title.
- Photo two — the surroundings. It has to actually show the area around the point of interest and prove it is the same place — a sidewalk, a lamppost, the building it sits on. The classic failure is photo two being a near-duplicate of photo one, or pointed away from the spot so a reviewer cannot tell it is the same location.
- Privacy. No faces, no licence plates, no other identifiable private detail. Reframe or retake rather than submit one with people in it.
A filed nomination enters a community review queue that is often thousands deep. Left alone, a decision can take months. There are two ways to move faster:
When you file a nomination, an automated reviewer can sometimes pick it up and decide it instantly — accept or reject. It is opaque; even experienced contributors cannot reliably predict it. The only lever you control: submit more solid nominations, so there are more chances one gets auto-grabbed.
You earn an Upgrade by reviewing other people’s nominations — roughly every 100 reviews where you land in the majority decision. Spending an Upgrade on one of your own nominations pushes it to the front of the queue, turning a months-long wait into a few days. Review credit only counts once the nomination you graded has gathered enough votes to resolve.
Reviewing other people’s nominations does two jobs at once: it earns the Upgrades that fast-track your own submissions, and it is the fastest way to learn what a strong nomination looks like — you see the good and the bad side by side.
When you review, check three things: does it meet a criterion (somewhere to socialise, exercise or explore — safe, permanent, distinct)? Is it a duplicate of a point of interest that already exists? And is the map pin in the right place — if not, you can suggest a corrected location rather than reject outright.
The honest self-test before you submit your own: would I accept this if it landed in my review queue?
An accepted nomination does not appear instantly. New points of interest sync into the game once a day, at 14:00 UTC. A nomination approved earlier in the day will not be visible until that sync — and even then, the Level 17 cell rule still decides whether it actually surfaces.
Niantic’s games were acquired by Scopely. In the transition, some long-standing community tools were spun off and stopped being updated — most notably the IITC overlay trainers used to map S2 cells. It still works for the cell grid itself (the geometry never changes) but no longer reflects which stops are live.
The upside: Wayfarer added a built-in map, and the in-game nomination flow now shows existing PokéStops and points of interest — including power spots. Between the two you can scout cell occupancy without any third-party tool.
PokéStops drop the Field Research tasks — what each task rewards and how to stack them.
Grunts invade PokéStops as dark stops. Lineups, counters, and how to track the Leaders.
The wider set of current-meta tips and quality-of-life tricks for the season.
▸What level do you need to nominate PokéStops?
Trainer level 37. At that point both nominating new points of interest and reviewing other people’s nominations unlock through Niantic Wayfarer. Sign in to wayfarer.nianticlabs.com with the same account you use for the game.
▸How many PokéStops do you need for a Gym?
Gyms are decided per Level 14 S2 cell, by the number of PokéStops inside it: 0–1 PokéStops give 0 Gyms, 2–5 give 1 Gym, 6–19 give 2 Gyms, and 20 or more give 3 Gyms. The first Gym appears the moment a cell reaches 2 PokéStops.
▸Why is my approved PokéStop nomination not showing up in the game?
Almost always the Level 17 cell rule. Each small Level 17 S2 cell can hold only one PokéStop or Gym. If your nomination is approved but that cell already contains a point of interest, the new one stays approved on Wayfarer but never appears in the game. This is also why people keep nominating "perfect" spots that already exist a few metres away.
▸What is an S2 cell?
S2 cells are the invisible grid the game uses to place points of interest. Two levels matter: small Level 17 cells, which can hold only one PokéStop or Gym each, and larger Level 14 cells, which decide how many Gyms an area gets. Each Level 14 cell contains exactly 64 Level 17 cells.
▸How long does a PokéStop nomination take to be decided?
By default it sits in a community review queue that is often thousands deep — a decision can take months. Two things speed it up: the automated reviewer occasionally grabs a nomination and decides it instantly, and spending an Upgrade pushes one nomination to the front of the queue for a decision within days.
▸Can I nominate a PokéStop at my house?
No for single-family homes and duplexes — private residential property is ineligible. But shared common areas of multi-unit buildings (a condo or apartment courtyard, a shared garden, a building gazebo) can be nominated even when they are not open to the general public, because the residents collectively have access. Spaces locked to a narrow subset of people can still be rejected.
▸What time do new PokéStops appear in the game?
Accepted nominations sync into the game once per day at 14:00 UTC. An approval earlier in the day will not be visible until the next sync — and even then, the Level 17 cell rule still applies.
▸How do I get a Wayfarer Upgrade?
By reviewing other people’s nominations. Roughly every 100 reviews where your vote matches the majority decision earns one Upgrade. Reviewing is also the fastest way to learn what a strong nomination looks like before you file your own.