Buying a Verizon G2? You might want to think twice about rooting it, because Big Red has specifically configured its version of the device to show whether or not the phone is rooted in the "status" sub-menu of the About Phone area. Why? Almost certainly for the express purpose of voiding warranties or returns for people who screw up their phones (or, allegedly screw up) after rooting them.

I have confirmed the rooting status flag is also present on my Verizon G2 review unit, but not the AT&T or international unlocked variants.

What's not known here, importantly, is whether or not the rooting status is a permanent indicator that will show as "rooted" forever after a phone is rooted, even if it is later unrooted, or if there's simply a check for root privileges on boot. If it's the latter, unrooting your phone could flip the status back to the warranty safe-zone. If that's the case, this is really nothing to worry about. If not, though, this could mean a much easier way for Verizon reps to determine you've been tinkering with your handset even after you've gotten it back to stock.

Even if it does simply check on boot, I'd have to guess that most of the individuals bringing in their phones for warranty service or replacement after rooting them probably aren't savvy enough to understand a phone can be unrooted. And that such individuals are much more likely to be the ones that do screw something up because they went digging in things they don't understand. Safe to say, if you're an AP reader, you're probably not in that camp.

So, for the rest of you looking into a Verizon G2, maybe hold off on rooting until someone figures out just how permanent this rooting status indicator is. No one wants to get denied service for a legitimately defective phone based on an unrelated factor.

Thanks, Andy!