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You did it. You waited, very patiently, for the Pokémon Go Plus peripheral. The pundits all said the game has "peaked." Classic rock radio DJs cracked wise about this "fad" in between rock blocks of questionable stature. But you ignored them. You kept training, catching, and ... yes, recharging.
But now it's finally here! Nintendo's $35 Bluetooth dongle promises to let you do more of the catching and, if everything works out, less of the recharging. You'll be able to track your steps to hatch eggs and level up your buddy Pokémon, and get alerts for nearby PokéStops and Pokémon, all without pulling your phone. You can even catch Pokémon, so long as you already have that type in your Pokédex. For more on how Pokémon Go Plus works, read our explainer here.
Okay, you read it all? You're totally on board with the idea, but alas ... you can't find a Pokémon Go Plus peripheral anywhere! Yeah, it's a bit of a mess. In the meantime, if you're curious about how this thing looks and how exactly you pair it to your phone, you're in the right place. We've assembled some pictures below for you to peruse. Let us know if you have any other questions in the comments and we'll do our best to answer them.
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This was the last Plus at my local GameStop. They had a delivery of 10, five of which were reserved for pre-orders, one of which was purchased by a store associate, three of which were sold in the minutes before I got there.
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This is the back of the box ... I don't know, maybe you were curious?
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The contents include: the Plus accessory, a wriststrap and a manual.
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The Plus comes with a belt clip pre-installed, which you can remove in favor of the wriststrap.
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"Remove and discard before use" or else it won't work and you'll look like a goofball.
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This is the belt clip.
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And this is the wriststrap. Note the screw hidden underneath the strap.
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In order to swap mounts, you need to unscrew the belt clip. Underneath is the unit's CR2032 watch battery.
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There, that's better. Can't lose it if it's strapped to my wrist.
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[Wrist not included]
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First, make sure your Pokémon Go app is up to date. The 1.7.0 update adds Plus support (and also Buddy Pokémon!). Then, when you open the app and head into Settings, you'll see a new option for "Pokémon GO Plus."
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Tap the button on your Plus and it will immediately appear under "Available Devices." Select it, accept the pairing request (on iOS, that is) and ... that's it, now you're connected!
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Once it's paired to your phone, you'll see an icon for it in the upper left of your Pokémon Go app. Now go catch 'em all, you rascal.
