Chinese tech giant Xiaomi has announced that it is locking the bootloaders on its new smartphones such as Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, Xiaomi Mi 4c and Xiaomi Mi Note Pro.

According to Xiaomi, it will now take three weeks to unlock these device because users will need to undergo a tedious process to unlock bootloaders.

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A report from GSM Arena said after reviewing the Redmi Note 3 smartphone, it was clear that the device was shipped with a locked bootloader. According to Xiaomi, a locked bootloader was added to the company's new devices via a firmware upgrade. Xiaomi claims that users will need to go through a difficult process for handset verification in order to unlock the bootloaders.

Xiaomi is taking this step because they want to prevent third-party retailers from installing malwares into their respective devices before making them available for purchase to the end user. This is also the main reason why other smartphone manufacturers prefer to lock bootloaders on their devices.

The unlocking of bootloaders on locked devices and verifications will take up to 21 days, according to Xiaomi. The company added that it is giving priority to those members who are active on MIUI forum.

Meanwhile, after the device is approved by the company for unlocking the bootloader, users will need to use an Updater app to flash a zip file. By this action, the app will automatically delete all the data that is stored on the device. Moreover, to proceed with the unlocking of bootloaders, users are obliged to login to a Mi account on their smartphone or PC. Notably, when using PC, user must download the Chinese desktop program.

Once this process has been completed, the user can now unlock bootloaders on Xiaomi devices. However, there is a possibility that the device may get bricked during the unlocking, so it is recommended to understand the guide in English. 

TagsXiaomi, Xiaomi News, Xiaomi update, xiaomi bootloader locking, Xiaomi Redmi Note 3