There are a few best practices to follow in order to guarantee a high quality scan:
Check the area to be scanned and the surroundings of the PokéStop to determine if there are any obstacles and to select a scanning route. It is necessary to plan the route you intend to use for scanning before starting the procedure.
Make sure your camera is in focus. Keep your phone as close to your side as possible to avoid blurring. Walk around the PokéStop you are scanning instead of standing in one location and moving your phone.
Walk at a slow and natural stroll pace. Move slowly and smoothly during scanning. Sudden changes of direction are a definite no-no. Move slowly and smoothly with your feet on the ground. If you are scanning in a darker setting, it’s even more important to move slowly and smoothly. Move the phone with you while you are moving (think crab walk).
The PokéStop should always be the focal point. It is important to focus on the PokéStop and capture the full 360° orbit of it. If it is not safe or not possible to get 360° coverage, capture as much as you can.
Vary your distance/angles (0-10m or 0-35ft). It is important that we capture the environment around the PokéStop and have a variety of different scans. It’s important to vary your distance and angles while scanning the PokéStop.
While recording, prompts may appear on screen if issues with the quality of your scan are detected (i.e. light is insufficient, movement is too slow).
Video of recommended scanning technique:
A few things to avoid, if possible:
Avoid scanning while the surroundings are not safe, e.g. in the middle of the road.
Avoid scanning while the PokéStop is too far away (>10m or 35ft) or too big to focus your camera on.
Avoid scanning while you are casually taking a walk or jogging. It is important to keep the PokéStop as your focal point at all times.
Avoid pointing your phone at very bright objects such as a fluorescent light or the sun.
Avoid not moving or moving too fast while scanning.
Avoid scanning if your phone gets too hot.
Avoid uploading any scans that are not representative of the PokéStop you're trying to scan.
Here are some example movement patterns that can be used to take high quality scans of different types of PokéStops that provide the most useful information to our team:
