Xiaomi Tightens Grip on Bootloaders with a Major Restriction

Xiaomi may not be as synonymous with clean software experience as it is with custom ROMs in the community. Most Xiaomi devices have had exceptional third-party support in the community, but that could change with the firm’s latest policy that limits users from unlocking the bootloader of the device, a crucial prerequisite when installing a custom ROM.

Spotted first by XiaomiTime, Xiaomi has changed its bootloader unlock policy. The new policy restricts it to only one device a year, per account. This was previously 3 devices per year, per account. Not to mention, there was already a waiting period of 7 days before the unlock process could proceed.

The latest decision will certainly affect the developer and third-party ROM communities. That’s because, Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO phones are the most sought-after and high-priority devices for third-party developers. The new policy could immensely slow down the development process and lead to developers prioritizing some (popular) devices over others.

The development of custom ROMs has already taken a massive hit in the last few years due to Google’s Play Integrity API. Another reason is that manufacturers have also started providing more than 4 years of Android updates to their phones. As a custom ROM aficionado and someone who’s not a huge fan of Xiaomi’s software (like most people who flash custom ROMs), it’s disappointing to see Xiaomi indirectly disapproving the custom ROM community. I’m hopeful Xiaomi will take the criticism and will roll back this policy.

Custom ROMs are what keep popular Xiaomi devices like the POCO F1, Redmi K20, and some Redmi Note devices active. Most of them recently got Android 15 updates in the form of PixelOS, Project Elixir, LineageOS, and other popular custom ROMs. The new policy could lead to developers dropping support for older, relatively less popular devices.

What are your thoughts on Xiaomi’s new bootloader unlock policy? Let us know in the comments below.