What with the issues plaguing the stock China Stable 7.3.3.0 and 7.3.4.0 ROMs, there was a definite need to rid the “good” hardware of the “bad” software… Enter Xiaomi.EU, stage right…
This is a description of the journey, from full stock to EU ROM…
Unlocking the Boot Loader
Recent Xiaomi phones have been shipped with the boot loader locked. Feel free to search the web for an explanation on what a boot loader is… Meanwhile, the story continues…
Xiaomi, in giving a thumbs-up to their free beta-testers modding community, have provided a work-around. As long as you have signed up for a “Mi account”, you may then proceed to request permission to use said account to unlock your phone, with the following caveats:
- your device attempting to be unlocked must have been registered to your Mi account
- your Mi account must be “signed in” on the device being unlocked
- your account cannot have unlocked another device in the past 30 days (i.e. only one device unlock attempt per 30 days per account)
- you must run the unlocking software on Windows only, and it must connect to the Xiaomi servers (to both mark your account as having unlocked device x, and to limit the frequency your account can unlock devices as above point)
- you accept that, by unlocking the boot loader, your device may be “easily wiped and untraceable” if lost/stolen, malware may be installed, your data may be stolen/leaked/lost, the sky is falling and the second coming of Steve Jobs is nigh
Having filed the request to unlock (and stating the reason why), you now look to the heavens, waiting for a sign… And once the sign comes through the ether (to be technically correct, via radio wave transmissions); you then download the bootloader unlocking software and proceed to try your luck…
Update
Xiaomi, having finally released the Mi 5 variants to the Indian market, have also (finally) made the “global” variant of the ROM available. I have since moved off the EU ROM in favour of “no-hacks-needed” as much as possible. That journey is documented here. Fact is, other than Google Play vs. Mi Store, all other issues remain the same!
