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This might be the most ambitious Pokemon Go hack to date

Published Jul 28th, 2016 7:00PM EDT
Pokemon Go GPS Hardware Hack
Image: Pokemon

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One of the most fascinating aspects of the Pokemon Go phenomenon has been the determination of some very dedicated players to find ways to cheat the system. We’ve seen maps filled with Pokemon, hacks that require jailbreaks, and even players cheating their way to the max level of 40.

But none of them compare to what you’re about to witness.

DON’T MISS: This Pokemon Go evolution calculator will help you get the most powerful Pokemon

Unlike the GPS hack we showed you earlier this week, which depends on software, this hack is entirely based on hardware. More specifically, the clever Pokemon Go fans from the YouTube channel jdsika put their phone in an radio frequency shield box, used a signal generator to send a GPS signal to the box and then built their own custom software to navigate around the world:

I’m willing to bet that you don’t have the tools necessary to replicate this setup in your own home, but even if you could, you’d still need to build the software to actually control the avatar in the app to move around.

In addition, as The Verge notes, you will likely get banned as soon as developer Niantic realizes you’re using a fake GPS signal to navigate around the in-game world. Niantic doesn’t take kindly to cheaters.

But regardless of the potential ramifications of the hack, there’s no denying that it’s an incredibly impressive achievement.

Jacob Siegal
Jacob Siegal Associate Editor

Jacob Siegal is Associate Editor at BGR, having joined the news team in 2013. He has over a decade of professional writing and editing experience, and helps to lead our technology and entertainment product launch and movie release coverage.