Rooting on Android N may only be possible with unlocked bootloader

Rooting Android devices may be a lot more complicated from Android Nougat. That claims Android Police based on new information from Google. An unlocked bootloader is then presumably needed to root devices.

Because there are devices where rooting is possible without unlocking the bootloader, users will run into this, writes Android Police. The problem then lies in the check on the integrity of the software at boot time. That ‘dm-verity’ check has been in the mobile operating system since Android 4.4, but from Nougat a phone will not boot if the check fails, Google says.

The dm-verity check is intended to ensure that phones do not have malware on board that compromises the system on boot. According to Android Police, things like rooting tools and tweak tool Xposed, for example, cause the dm-verity check to fail and so presumably that the device does not boot. This does not apply to an unlocked bootloader. However, many users choose to leave the bootloader locked, for example to get ota updates and in some cases because the camera works better with the bootloader locked.

Google released its fifth preview version of Android N this week. That indicates that the search giant wants to release Nougat as a stable version next month. This will initially be a release for Nexus phones. Until now, it takes months before devices from other manufacturers receive updates.