Android: Over the weekend, Pokémon Go rolled out an update that will allow you to set one Pokémon as your buddy. Neat! It also stealthily blocks the game from anyone with root access. Not as neat. Here’s how to get around this limitation and play anyway.


It seems Niantic decided to block root users to prevent GPS spoofing and using things like Xposed mods to cheat at the game. While that might be a noble goal, plenty of legitimate users are going to be caught in the crossfire (and it won’t stop cheaters anyway). To wit, Android Police has already found a way to get around this limitation.

The workaround uses the Android mod Magisk to hide the fact that you’re rooted from the Pokémon game. According to the Android Police, you’ll need a device with an unlocked bootloader. You’ll also need to either restore from a stock system and boot, or remove any form of root access and Xposed you have installed. Otherwise, this process might not work. You’ll also need a custom bootloader.


You can find the full, long set of instructions at the site below. Keep in mind that you should know what you’re doing before you flash anything to your device or mess around with custom bootloaders. It’s unfortunate that this process is required just to play a popular game, but if you follow the instructions carefully, you should be fine. Be sure to check out our guide if you need to brush up on how to root your phone.

[Guide] How to play Pokémon GO (0.37+) on a rooted Android with Magisk | Android Police