[Thank Lord!] The Mi A1 Can Be Unlocked Using A Simple Fastboot Command

For a flashaholic like me who loves to try out new ROMs, Xiaomi's phones are equivalent to a nightmare. To unlock the bootloader of a Xiaomi device, one must follow an ardeous process, the first step of which includes obtaining permission from Xiaomi. The permission application has to be filled out on a Chinese website (Chrome's translation feature is a boon here) and you need to tell Xiaomi why you are interested in unlocking the bootloader of your device. Post submitting the application, you have to wait for about 3-4 days (and sometimes a week) for Xiaomi to get back to you.

If you are thinking it is only the approval process which is a pain in the neck, then let me tell you there is a lot more to it. Most of the complications start arising after one has obtained the permission. The next step after getting the permission is to download the Mi Unlock tool and use it to unlock the bootloader. This is where the bunch of trouble arises. Without elaborating too much (because then this will turn into a rant of several paras), you must know that there is an element of luck involved in using Mi Unlock. If you are fortunate enough, Mi Unlock will work for you right away. Else, you will have to look for a ton of workarounds which are flooded across Xiaomi's forums and hope that one of them will work for you. The problem arises in Mi Unlock when it tries to contact Xiaomi's servers and confirm whether you have received the permission to unlock your device. In lots of cases, even when a user has obtained Xiaomi's approval to unlock their device, the Mi Unlock tool will return a negative result when trying to contact Xiaomi's servers. There is clearly a glitch in either Xiaomi's unlock tool or their servers. The workarounds are like a hit and miss method which might get you around that glitch.

The Mi A1, which was announced recently, is an Android One device. Being an Android One handset, Google gets to supervise the software side of the Mi A1. Google's Nexus program was popular within the developer community because of the ease of which their phones could be unlocked. And courtesy of some noble souls at Google, the Mi A1 does not follow Xiaomi's unlock process. The Mi A1 can be unlocked like any other Nexus device with a simple fastboot command.

If you happen to have an A1, all you have to do is open up the ADB terminal and type 'fastboot oem unlock' (without quotes) and you would have unlocked the bootloader. It's that simple. I hope Xiaomi's phones follow a similar approach for unlocking in the future.

Krittin Kalra

Krittin Kalra is a 20 year old Android freak. Striving for passions, chasing down his dreams and living a life without regrets is his sole mantra. A bit moody, he also does custom ROM reviews for AndroGuider. Currently pursuing his B.Tech, he aspires to follow his heart.