Links are created between Portals using the Portal Key  of the distant Portal (the Portal Key  is consumed in the process). Three Links arranged in a triangle create a Control Field Δ. Creating a Link gains 313 Access Points (AP) and consumes 250 XM.

Creating a Link

To create a Link, the Agent must stand within access range of the Portal to be linked from, select the Portal to view its data, then press the 'Link'-button. The Scanner will then query the Agent's Portal Key  library for Portals that meet the criteria below. Upon selecting a target Portal, its Portal Key  is consumed, the Link is established, and the AP is earned. The Portal Key  of the target Portal may be reacquired later.

Linking follows these rules:

• Both Portals must have 8 Resonators .
• Both Portals must be controlled by the Agent's Faction.
• The target Portal must be in range of the start Portal, based on the start Portal's Resonators  and Link Amps . See the Link Range tables below.
• A Link cannot cross another Link, regardless of Faction.
• For Links longer than 2 000 m the source Portal must not be below an existing Control Field Δ^[1] -- however, Control Fields Δ terminating at the Portal itself are allowed even if they connect all sides.
• No more than 8 Links can be made starting from a given Portal. The 8-Link limit can be increased by the use of SoftBank Ultra Links.^[2]
• The maximum number of Links that can be made to a given Portal is unknown.
• There is a limit on how many Resonators  of each level a single Agent can add to a Portal; see Resonator#Deployment_and_Upgrading

Medals

The following Medals can be earned by creating Links:

Bronze	Silver	Gold	Platinum	Onyx
50	1 000	5 000	25 000	100 000

Link Range

See also: Link Amp#Range Amplification

Link range depends on the levels of individual Resonators . Contrary to some other Portal mechanics, it does not rely on the rounded "Portal Level" value. Below is a table of the number of Agents needed for some Link range (for perfectly deployed Resonators ). Of course, usually it is easier to just deploy a Link Amp  -- the below "Link Range" value is then multiplied by Amplification factor.

Link Amps	Amplification
0	1 x
1 × Rare	2 x
2 × Rare	2.5 x
3 × Rare	2.75 x
4 × Rare	3 x
1 × SoftBank	5 x
2 × SoftBank	6.25 x
3 × SoftBank	6.875 x
4 × SoftBank	7.5 x
1 × Very Rare	7 x
2 × Very Rare	8.75 x
3 × Very Rare	9.625 x
4 × Very Rare	10.5 x

Agent Levels	Deployed Resonators	Link Range
L1	L1 L1 L1 L1 L1 L1 L1 L1	160 m
L2	L2 L2 L2 L2 L1 L1 L1 L1	810 m
L3	L3 L3 L3 L3 L2 L2 L2 L2	6.25 km
L4	L4 L4 L4 L4 L3 L3 L3 L3	24.0 km
L5	L5 L5 L4 L4 L4 L4 L3 L3	40.9 km
L6	L6 L6 L5 L5 L4 L4 L4 L4	81.4 km
L7	L7 L6 L6 L5 L5 L4 L4 L4	110.3 km
L8	L8 L7 L6 L6 L5 L5 L4 L4	160.1 km
Multiple agents:
2 × L8	L8 L8 L7 L7 L6 L6 L6 L6	332.1 km
3 × L8	L8 L8 L8 L7 L7 L7 L6 L6	412.3 km
4 × L8	L8 L8 L8 L8 L7 L7 L7 L7	506.2 km
5 × L8	L8 L8 L8 L8 L8 L7 L7 L7	540.8 km
6 × L8	L8 L8 L8 L8 L8 L8 L7 L7	577.2 km
7 × L8	L8 L8 L8 L8 L8 L8 L8 L7	615.3 km
8 × L8	L8 L8 L8 L8 L8 L8 L8 L8	655.3 km

Range Formula

The range of a Portal can be calculated using the following formula: ${\displaystyle \mbox{Link Range} = 160m \times (\mbox{Average of all Resonator Levels})^4 \times \mbox{Link Amp Amplification}}$

Example:

Suppose a Portal has 4 L3 Resonators , 4 L2 Resonators , and no Link Amps .

${\displaystyle \begin{matrix} \mbox{Link Range} & = & 160m \times ((4 \times 3 + 4 \times 2)/8) ^ 4 \times 1.0 \\ \mbox{Link Range} & = & 160m \times (20/8)^4 \times 1.0 \\ \mbox{Link Range} & = & 160m \times (2.5)^4 \times 1.0 \\ \mbox{Link Range} & = & 160m \times 39.0625 \times 1.0 \\ \mbox{Link Range} & = & 6250m \end{matrix}}$

When a Portal is selected, you will see a 'Link'-button, when tapped the Scanner will search for Portals within range and of which you own the Portal Key .

See also: Link Amp#Range Amplification

Inbound Link Limit

It was believed that there is a limit at 8 192 (which happens to be 2¹³; as powers of 2 are very frequently used in computing).^[3] But this limit was exceeded with 8 282 simultaneous incoming links on 27. April 2019.^[4] It is now believed that the number of maximum Links is limited by a server side resource limit for processing the Link request. It is also possible that Niantic has increased the limits in between.

Destroying a Link

Any enemy outbound or inbound Link can be destroyed directly by attacking the anchor's Portal. Once the Portal has less then three Resonators , any and all attached Links will fail. Each destroyed Link yields 187 AP, and has a fixed chance to drop Portal Keys  to the Portals previously linked.

If friendly Links are the issue, using a Flip Card will remove all Links from/to that Portal. This can still drop Keys . All Links destroyed using a Flip Card or a Very Rare Battle Beacon, whether friendly or enemy, yields 0 AP. ^[5]

Trivia

• The maximum length of a Link, using four Very Rare Link Amps, is 6 881.28 km, or about 17.2% of the Earth's equator.
• On 10. September 2025, Resistance Agents  created the longest known Link of 6 881.279958 km, 99.9999993896% of the maximum.^[6]
• In January 2017, Enlightened Agents  created a Link Star connecting multiple Northern European countries to Sweden, reaching 8 192 inbound Links -- this was thought to be the maximum number of Links at the time.
• On 27. April 2019, Enlightened Agents  created a Link Star originating from Antwerp with over 8 200 Links active at the same time, breaking the earlier world-record mentioned above.^[4]
• Links also increase the damage reduction. Approximately, 4 Links mitigate like a Rare Portal Shield ; 11 Links like a Very Rare Portal Shield .

References