Who has been hanging out in the world for years Androidat least once he tried to go beyond the factory features of a device by using methods such as root permissions or unlocking the bootloader. Although it is not as widespread a practice as years ago, this choice has led to a long series of limitations imposed by manufacturers: also Google falls into this category, since Gemini Dwarf it loses all its primary functions if run on a smartphone with an unlocked bootloader.
Gemini Dwarf is the smallest and lightest version of the artificial intelligence of Googledesigned to be performed directly on device without depending on the cloud. It is used, especially on Pixel smartphones, to perform functions such as summarizing conversations or emails, quickly replying to messages or analyzing and revising a text.
Precisely due to its local nature and the level of access it requires to the system, Google has decided to limit its use only to devices considered “intact”, that is, which have not been modified using external practices such as, precisely, unlocking the bootloader.
Google’s choice has a very specific reason
He directly confirmed this Google via the official documents dedicated to ML Kit’s GenAI Summarization API, where it is clearly stated that devices with an unlocked bootloader receive the “FEATURE_NOT_FOUND” error when trying to run locally Gemini Dwarf.
The decision is most likely part of a security logic that has to do with the intrinsic way in which the operating system works Android. Unlocking the bootloader, in fact, deactivates part of the system’s protection measures, opening up the possibility of modifying sensitive files or executing unofficial code. All of this represents a real risk for Google and AI models running locally, which must ensure data protection and the integrity of the device on which they run.
The Mountain View giant is not the first to take this path, as most manufacturers have over the years Android has limited some features of the devices to avoid incurring these risks. Sony, for example, has for years disabled some advanced post-production functions of images taken with the camera in devices with an unlocked bootloader.
The choice of Google to prevent the use of Gemini Dwarf on devices that are no longer “intact” it therefore makes perfect sense, precisely to prevent the local AI from being altered or its models being analyzed and manipulated by external hands. This means that even developers, who often use unlocked or rooted smartphones to test their applications, will have to give up this feature. Android.
