Pokemon Go Buddy System Update Rolling Out, Also Blocks Rooted Devices

Pokemon Go update 0.37.0, or 1.7.0 on iOS devices, is rolling out now across Google Play and the Apple App Store. This is the highly anticipated patch that adds in a buddy system, allowing trainers to choose a Pokemon to travel around with them. That Pokemon will then give the trainer candies at certain intervals of travel. However, while many are happy to finally have this and a few other fixes for Pokemon Go, the update also added some security features that are problematic for others.

Rooted and jailbroken devices are no longer supported, with Niantic even going so far as to actively block them from being able to launch the app. Some have found ways around this, of course, but for thousands of users of Pokemon Go this will be a huge hassle, and with little benefit as far as the larger user population is concerned. Theoretically this allows Niantic to block more bots from accessing the game, but it’s possible that the cost will be greater than the reward.

Still, this Pokemon Go update does add a lot of other good stuff. The buddy system will let you evolve and power up Pokemon more easily, and there were various other fixes, like preventing the app from freezing up when switching between different data sources.

The update will slowly roll out to the two stores over the next few hours, or even couple of days. Keep an eye out for the patch to arrive some time soon, and get ready to start traveling around with your favorite Pokemon…or just Magikarp. The full Pokemon Go update 0.37.0 and 1.7.0 patch notes are below:

– Implemented Buddy Pokémon: Trainers will now be able to choose one of their Pokémon to be their buddy. A Trainer can earn Candy for their Buddy Pokémon by walking a certain distance.
– Made it easier to select smaller Pokémon on the screen.
– Fixed an issue where Eggs would sometimes hatch without displaying the animation.
– Improved performance reliability when a device switches networks to no longer cause the application to hang or stop updating.
– Pokémon GO Plus support
– Minor text fixes.