Users of the Motorola Droid 4 may have breathed a collective sigh of relief when the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update finally became available for the handset. After all, the Motorola Droid 4 is one of the more capable Android-powered smartphones with a QWERTY keyboard and it is a shame if it will get stuck in the Gingerbread generation. Users of the handset have been waiting for the ICS update to land on the device for the longest time and when you come to think of it, there was a time when it was though that the Android 4.0 refresh will no longer be rolled out to the Motorola Droid 4 because the manufacturer itself confirmed that it was very difficult to get ICS to work on the hardware of the handset.
The Motorola Droid 4 is on sale now starting at $49.99.
However, all that is in the past now and the handset has finally gotten its taste of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to the utter joy of its users. However, it looks like the celebration might be short-lived as we have come across reports that the Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Motorola Droid 4 includes a root checker in its code and this root checker is designed as it name implies if your handset has been given the root treatment in the past.
The root checker is a nasty, little bugger that only becomes visible when you boot into recovery. Once in recovery, a cryptic text code comes up that lets you know about the Motorola Droid 4’s status and these are as follows:
- qe 0/0: the handset has never been rooted
- qe 0/1: the handset was rooted at one point but has since then been returned to stock
- qe 1/1: the handset is currently rooter
At this point in time, it is very hard to tell if this root checker on the Motorola Droid 4 will become a big deal. Theoretically, having this root checker in your Motorola Droid 4 4G enables a Motorola or Verizon personnel to simply boot into recovery and check if your handset has been rooted in the past and possible deny you a replacement handset if it was. After all, rooting and tinkering with your handset is the surest and fastest way of voiding your warranty – but you know that already, don’t you? Verizon and Motorola may or may not deny you a replacement phone if your Motorola Droid 4 was at one point given the root treatment but you have to ask yourself what could their motives be for including this nasty, little bugger in the Motorola Droid 4 ICS update in the first place?
On the flip side, this could also work to your advantage if you are in the market for a used Motorola Droid 4. With this in play, you have the means to check if the handset you are eyeing have been rooted in the past despite a seller’s claim of the handset being as virgin as snow.
Buy the Motorola Droid 4 now starting at $49.99.
