# Regarding rumors about Nintendo banning devices downloading the game "illegally"



## Trundle (Oct 25, 2017)

*Regarding rumors about Nintendo banning devices downloading the game "illegally"*

As Nintendo rolls out this game over the next month there will be a lot of rumors of people getting banned for playing outside Australia (or whatever regions are supported as the month progresses). These rumors pop up during every Nintendo app release, so I'm here to debunk the rumors.


*Rumor**Debunk*Nintendo will ban your device from ever playing the game if you download the app from a 3rd party source.This is not true. While Nintendo can detect when an app is installed from a source other than your respective app store, they will not ban a device unless it running malicious 3rd party code or if the app itself is a paid app. GPS Spoofing is also a great way to get your device banned. Nintendo can choose to ban you, however, for any reason if they choose to. It's just unlikely they will.Downloading ACC outside of the countries it is released in illegal.It is not illegal. It is a free app, so downloading it for free is not an issue. If you were downloading a paid app for free, it would be considered pirating.Your phone can be bricked if you download from a 3rd party source.Definitely not. Worst case scenario you could get hosed (which would mean you just have to completely reinstall your OS), but that's only if you're looking for trouble. Downloading an APK from a trusted source such as apkmirror has no risk involved. Nintendo can definitely not brick your phone either, nor would they. That would be a huge security flaw in Android.


Hopefully this clears some misinformation up!


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## Silversea (Oct 25, 2017)

I'm still going to wait until it comes out in the US, though.


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## Mary30 (Oct 25, 2017)

I tried to download it but when I start installation it says error 
Btw thanks for the infos!


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## Hazel (Oct 25, 2017)

Thanks for this, puts my mind at ease since I downloaded the apk!


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## QueenOpossum (Oct 25, 2017)

If you download the apk or put a fake address, you are either not getting the license or creating a fraudulent account. This is likely against the terms of service of both the game and the app stores.

I doubt there will be consequences but you are still acting fraudulently.

- - - Post Merge - - -



enleft said:


> If you download the apk or put a fake address, you are either not getting the license or creating a fraudulent account. This is likely against the terms of service of both the game and the app stores.
> 
> I doubt there will be consequences but you are still acting fraudulently.





I'm not trying to be high and mighty, because I'm considering it too, but please know what you are getting into.


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## Trundle (Oct 26, 2017)

enleft said:


> If you download the apk or put a fake address, you are either not getting the license or creating a fraudulent account. This is likely against the terms of service of both the game and the app stores.
> 
> I doubt there will be consequences but you are still acting fraudulently.
> 
> ...



What do you mean putting a fake address? If you're referring to how, on iOS, you need to change your region to download the app, there are no repercussions for downloading outside your region. If Apple didn't want you to be able to, they could easily implement a way to block this from happening. When an app is "licensed" to you in iOS, there are also no clauses about geographical limitations. 

On Android, no similar system exists differentiating downloading an APK or just downloading from the Google Play Store. It is not acting fraudulently.


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## Snow (Oct 26, 2017)

You absolutely still agree to TOS and accept a license when you download any game this way. And games downloaded this way still connect to official servers and can take payments through your google play account (or, from your US credit card on your non-US apple account). Honestly your only risk is that (on Android) you download the apk from a non-trusted source, and in this case, that they prevent you from linking to your Nintendo account if your region doesn't match.


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