R1-G4 was an R1 Astromech Droid that was created a few years before the Battle of Yavin. During the Galactic Civil War, R1 traveled to the desert planet of Tatooine with his owner but was disregarded when his owner was killed by a group of smugglers. R1 then wandered the planet's deserts, trying to find a place to stay, but was quickly captured by Jawas and put up for sale with many other droids. Little did anyone, not even himself, knew that R1-G4 had stolen transponder codes in his databank.