For those looking for an easy way to unlock your Android device, look somewhere other than the Google Play Store. CyanogenMod recently received notice from Google that their CyanogenMod Installer application had to be removed from the Google Play Store. The team at CyanogenMod complied with Google’s request and voluntarily removed the application. If they hadn’t, Google would have removed it themselves.

So what was Google’s problem with the CyanogenMod Installer? The application automated the process of replacing an Android device’s operating system with the CyanogenMod alternative ROM. By doing so, this violates the Google Play Store’s terms by “encouraging Android users to void the warranty on their devices” because, in most cases, installing CyanogenMod voided the warranty of devices it was installed on.

The installer was very effective and made it easy to remove the Android OS and replace it with CyanogenMod’s ROM OS. It actually almost made it too easy, which is where Google took issue. The other problem is that it was a one-way application. You could easily break the lock and replace the OS but you couldn’t easily return the device to its original condition. It could be done, but it was difficult to do.

CyanogenMod isn’t put out by having to remove the application. They saw “hundreds of thousands of installations of the application,” during their short tenure on the Google Play Store. They are also planning to continue offering the application as a direct download and installation from their site. It won’t be as easy as the app they had on the Play Store but it will still be easy to run.

[via ARS Technica]