People generally want the ability to use purchased devices how they see fit. Xiaomi, on the other hand, wants to maintain significant, long-term control over what software your phone runs. A year after introducing waiting periods and a cumbersome community participation and request system, it’s slashed bootloader unlock allowances to just one device per user, per year (Source: XiaomiTime). While the change won’t affect the average consumer much, it could derail custom ROM development — which, for all we know, might be the point.
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Why should I care about the bootloader?
A look at how phones and their manufacturers operate
A Pixel 7 in Fastboot mode, with an unlocked bootloader.
A phone’s bootloader outlines what software to run in what order as the device starts up. By default, phones restrict access to it, to prevent users from accidentally breaking startup and potentially even bricking their device. Historically, manufacturers have let buyers unlock that access and customize what software their phones run. Notable exceptions in the US have, for the most part, only included carrier-specific phone variants.
Unlocking a Pixel smartphone, for example, requires adjusting a couple of settings and installing a couple of well-known tools. Then you’re ready to purge locked software or install a new launcher. Roughly a year ago, Xiaomi introduced a policy limiting users to three unlocked devices per account, providing only a limited time window for unlocking, and demanding waiting periods before doing so. It’s now gone even further, limiting users to unlocking the bootloader of just a single device throughout the year.
Bootloader unlocking cause and effect
Companies want to keep their tentacles all over your devices for as long as possible.
Unlocking the bootloader changes the way a phone works by preventing automated software updates, among other things, and isn’t a good idea for most users. Power users love it for complete customization of their devices, and unlocked bootloaders are critical to the creation and installation of privately developed operating systems, or custom ROMs.
Custom ROMs usually (but not always) derive from pre-existing OSs like Android or Xiaomi’s HyperOS. To write operating software that works on a certain device, you need to develop it on that specific device. Consequently, individuals and teams throughout the enthusiast phone sphere constantly add to their collections of bootloader-unlocked phones. The new unlocking restrictions could place undue hardship on resource-limited development teams, reducing the number of custom ROMs produced moving forward.
Modding a locked bootloader
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Xiaomi first tightened restrictions roughly a year ago, following the enforcement of a Chinese law requiring certain pre-installed software behaviors. But Xiaomi’s business plan and sales models indicate a couple of other motivations for insisting users stick with its first-party HyperOS.
First, Xiaomi makes great hardware at reasonable prices, and doesn’t want scalpers buying loads of phones, mass-installing new software, and shipping them to the emerging markets where Xiaomi’s currently engaging in its own expansion. Second, there may actually be a bit of concern buried somewhere, and an attempt to prevent uncritical users from accidentally breaking stuff. Finally, HyperOS, like MiUI before it, bundles a host of advertising and market tracking features that feed data back to its servers.
Whether you live in China or elsewhere, phone companies subsidize hardware sales with data collection. Some make it easier than others to opt out. Xiaomi’s latest change goes a significant length toward locking users into a specific software ecosystem on privately owned hardware. Even further, it could stifle development by making it harder for enthusiasts to work with and write software for phones they’ve owned for years.
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