Xiaomi’s new policy kills bootloader unlock support for some older devices
Xiaomi will no longer be providing official support for unlocking the bootloader on some older devices after it decommissioned its legacy unlock servers earlier this week. This move comes after the company limited users to unlocking one device per year in January.
Xiaomi will only phase out support for legacy devices; the decision is seemingly linked to the EU’s RED directive
The new provisions of the European RED directive were put into effect earlier this month, which caused quite an uproar in the Android enthusiast community, as it legally gave phone makers the power to limit bootloader unlocks. Though these claims were later found to be exaggerated, industry patterns say otherwise.
A leak earlier this month revealed that Samsung will also be cutting off the option to unlock the bootloader in OneUI 8, as part of meeting stringent compliance deadlines. In the U.S., the South Korean OEM didn’t allow for tinkering with the software. But now, the regulation extends to outside the region, and it comes at a similar time to Xiaomi’s end of legacy bootloader support.
We’ve seen a similar trend when HUAWEI blocked access to custom ROMs by cutting off official bootloader unlock support. Users then turned to third-party, risky avenues, which the manufacturer can not audit. At least, now, the company has a licensing system to keep the unlocks in check, though with heavy limitations.
In the enthusiast scene within the Android community, Xiaomi devices were once seen as the go-to phones, that just worked, with third-party ROMs or unofficial mods. It was one of the company’s strong suits, especially with solid hardware in its budget and mid-tier devices. That seems to be changing now, especially when the company moved to a licensing system a few years ago.
This change would affect some of the company’s iconic device lines, with the likes of Redmi Note (Note 6 and later) and the Mi Max series. The affected devices include those running MIUI (12, 13, 14) and HyperOS 1.
