TLDR: DO NOT buy a Xiaomi (newer ones with HyperOS) if you want to immediately root or install a custom ROM on it unless you have the patience.

Alright, taking back what I said about buying a Xiaomi here. I have a little bit of regret getting one (it’s a Redmi Note 14 Pro), but at least not much was wasted since I got it through Celcom’s Easy360, and the monthly instalment is just RM1 for 24 months with my current plan. So, here I am, stuck with a Xiaomi for a while.

But what’s wrong with newer Xiaomi devices? The problems I want to focus here are:

1. Difficulty of bootloader unlocking
2. Availability of custom ROMs (especially lower-mid range Redmi devices)

Difficulty of bootloader unlocking

Since the release of HyperOS, the time taken to unlock your bootloader has been reduced from a week (168 hours) to just three days (72 hours). But there’s a catch — instead of just clicking ‘Add account and device’, you need to apply for unlocking permission through the Xiaomi Community app with a Xiaomi account that is at least 30 days old first. And there’s a quota limit for how many accounts can apply for this in a day, with 0:00 Beijing Time (GMT+8) being the start of day and the time the limit resets. However, even if you are the fastest clicker that can click ‘Apply’ right on 0:00, you might end up with the ‘App quota limit reached’ message appearing instead. It took so long for me to actually obtain unlocking permission for my phone due to this, and I even got an error that prevents me from applying using my account for a month. Fortunately, there’s a script to bypass this. It might be a bit confusing to set up since the script interface itself is in Spanish and the instructions provided in the thread is a bit unclear. But once I figured it out, I finally got to unlock my bootloader after countless attempts of clicking the ‘Apply’ button, hoping that the server accepts it. So, if you still want to try unlock yours, you may want to try this script. Make sure to check the latest replies in thread first as it is not futureproof.

Availability of custom ROMs

Bootloader that is difficult to unlock and Mediatek, and now you get lack of custom ROMs. While it isn’t totally impossible for developers to develop custom ROMs on MTK devices, it requires a great amount of effort to do so. So, if your device is a MTK device, good luck trying to find someone actually developing one for your device. The only other option you have is installing a GSI instead, and of course it will be a hit-or-miss like I explained in my previous post, which why I’m staying with HyperOS (rooted, of course) for now.

Conclusion

If you want to use custom ROMs and you are going to get a Xiaomi, don’t (or at least get an older model or a flagship model if you prefer newer ones). If you want root and you are going to get a Xiaomi… also don’t. But if you are going to anyway, try the script mentioned above to unlock your bootloader. Of course, keep in mind that the script may not work at the time you try it.

Written by Neo64

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