Did you know there was a bug in Android that allowed you to root your device with a simple instruction?

At the moment, Android It is a robust and consolidated operating system on a large number of smart devices, but it was not so completely so before. Initially, it was a simpler software, with bugs that were discovered over time. Like this one that allowed you to root a phone. with a message.

It wasn't unreasonable to find bugs in an operating system. But this one in particular caught my attention. Just by typing “root” on the Gchat keyboard the user was granted superuser permissions. TIt also worked with the words “shutdown” and “reboot”.

After a while, the engineers Jeff Sharkley and Kenny Root They realized it and notified the team Android, including the one who led them, Cheet Haase.

After launching the application ConnectBot in the store of Android, received a Countless complaints from users indicating that when typing “reboot” on the console that included the app, the smartphone would reboot.

Initially, they didn't take it seriously, but it ended up becoming a terrifying problem for the team that created the operating system.

What was happening was that the events on the operating system keyboard were sent to an always-open console and they had left the “Root” permissions on it.When they were notified of the problem, the engineers simply made the console invisible. But the problem remained because the console was still open.

What does the root instruction do in the Android operating system?

The “root” instruction allows you to root the operating system, This makes the user superuser. This allows you to make profound changes to the operating system and take complete control of your device. Nowadays, it doesn't make much sense to do so.

As a superuser, you can install another version of Android on already outdated phones. You can also get the most out of your device by making better use of its internal components. For example, you can install apps to modify the processor frequency or uninstall Google's own apps. Yes, those same ones that should never be deleted.

But there are also disadvantages. Such as voiding your device's warranty or installing a different version of Android than the ones commonly used, you'll likely not get any support.

With all the improvements brought by new versions of Android, it's no longer necessary to root a smartphone. Now, tell us, have you ever rooted a smartphone running Android?

Image: Pixabay