Xiaomi's stance on bootloader unlocking could be bad news for enthusiasts

Unlocking the bootloader on smartphones has been a mixed bag experience as it varies from OEM to OEM. In the past, some have embraced the enthusiast community, while others cite security issues as being the reason to not officially allow the bootloaders of their phones to be unlocked.

Unfortunately for Xiaomi smartphone owners, it seems that the company isn't too keen on allowing the bootloaders of their phones to be unlocked. Speaking to Android Authority, the company confirmed that the bootloader on their phones running HyperOS will be locked by default and that unlocking will be disabled.

This doesn't mean that Xiaomi will disallow the unlocking of the bootloader completely. Instead, users who wish to unlock the bootloader of their Xiaomi phones will need to apply for permission via Xiaomi's community forum. Over in China, it might be even harder because according to MIUI Polska writer Kacper Skrzypek, users in China will need to reach "level five" on the forums, and even then they will have a limit of three unlocked devices per year.

Also, another thing to note is that Xiaomi phones running on MIUI who have their bootloaders unlocked will not receive the update that will upgrade them to HyperOS (which is the new OS Xiaomi introduced in the Xiaomi 14 phones) as long as they remain unlocked.