Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will not work on rooted, jailbroken devices, says Niantic

tech2 News StaffJun 25, 2019 15:00:40 IST

Niantic Labs, the developers of the insanely popular AR-based game Pokemon Go has just released its latest creation Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. As the title suggests, the game is based on the Harry Potter universe and is very similar to Pokemon Go in terms of gameplay.

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.

While a lot of countries have now gotten the support for the game, including India, some of your phones are quite likely not going to run the game.

The developer has mentioned on its Twitter handle that "rooted or jailbroken devices are not supported and our games won’t load on them."

As we tighten our efforts to curb inappropriate gameplay, remember that rooted or jailbroken devices are not supported and our games won’t load on them. Learn more by visiting the Help Center or in-app Help.

— Niantic Support (@NianticHelp) June 21, 2019

Rooting and jailbreaking are terms used for Android and iOS devices respectively wherein you use third-party software to modify the software code on the device or install other software that the manufacturer wouldn't normally allow you to.

This has been done because users who have rooted their devices could use techniques such as GPS location spoofing or access the game's backend to make changes using a third-party client. This is cheating and Niantic has strict measures in play to keep the game free of these hacks.

If you do manage to get your game started on a device which is rooted, you will likely get a notification that your device is not supported within 10-15 minutes of playing. Niantic will also employ a three-strike policy against cheaters wherein the company will investigate your account if you have been flagged for suspicious behaviour. This could also lead to the permanent deletion of your account.

Also read: Harry Potter Wizards Unite now available in India: Here's how to download and set up the game