If you have restless hands and are taking advantage of Android ROMs on your Xiaomi, those that give a second life to old devices and allow updates outside of manufacturer support, we have bad news. After learning of the brand's interest in putting obstacles in the way of unlocking the bootloader, users looked for alternatives, with success, but the story did not end there.
A few months later, another blow came: in China, it was reported that it was impossible to unlock the bootloader. Now, Xiaomi is changing its policy, almost permanently burying user modifications: Only one device can be unlocked per year. Creates an important precedent in the scene Android by asking a question. Are the devices we acquire ours?
This is how Xiaomi makes money: they lure you and trap you
A change in Xiaomi policy that doesn't hurt as much as in the past
Currently, the main brands that equip their devices with the Google operating system, They have improved their update policy comfortably exceeding two years. This fact, associated with greater maturity of the system, ruled out a fairly common practice a few years ago: unlocking the bootloader to modify the mobile ROM.
Anyway, A fairly powerful community has survived in forums like XDA dedicated to modifying Android phones and particularly focused on Xiaomi and its sub-brands. It's important to maintain some long-term control over the software that runs our phone, especially if we intend to extend its lifespan after necessary official updates.
This tradition becomes extremely complicated: although it is not a change that affects the average consumer at the time of purchase, it can be negative for advanced users. On the other hand, go to a complicated situation at custom ROM development.
ROMs bring the latest Android updates to phones discontinued by the manufacturer
HyperOS or nothing. In fact, it's the only option we have left. While unlocking the bootloader of more than one device (per year) is not common, it poses a barrier to the freedom that Google's operating system has traditionally enjoyed. What happens if we need to change phones in the same year? The debate is useful and is partly reminiscent of certain policies in the world of video games. We pay for cell phones, but we are not free to modify them.
At any rate, From the manufacturer's side, this decision is understandable: Xiaomi makes very inexpensive phones, and its software is a good way to make them profitable (advertising and purchases in its own applications). Perhaps they also seek to protect the less experienced user, who can turn their phone into a nice paperweight by opening the bootloader, although, given the waning popularity of ROMs, we doubt it.
International sources point out this limitation in both Chinese and global firmware, although at the moment it does not seem to have any effect outside the company's home country. We contacted Xiaomi, they are waiting official information about the change. We will update the article when we have more details.
By | Android Font
Cover image | Iván Linares for Xataka (with editing)
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