It was a huge surprise for the users when MIUI 10 Global beta ROM was launched. Many of the users who updated their Xioami Redmi Note 5 Pro their phone got bricked. This happened because they flashed their phone which was having anti rollback protection enabled. They didn’t knew about this and flased and ultimately got their phone bricked.
This brick is something which cannot be restored by just using TWRP and flashing a new ROM and Unlocking Bootloader. These bricked phones requires EDL mode for fixing up the phone again. But this can only be done if you have an authorised account with MI. So finally users have to take their phone to the authorised service centres.
Why EDL and Anti Rollback protection is required?
Xiaomi has two different versions of software, one is only made especially for chine and another is for global users. The Chinese phones uses “MIUI china version” which does not have Google Play services and the Google Play store. It also does not support languages other than English and Mandarian. But still it is so popular in many countries like India where it has already the No 1 smart-phone selling company. So many users just buy the latest phones from online retail stores like Aliexpress and Gearbest and buy the Chinese version. And here the problem starts.
Many third party retailers also purchase the phones in bulk and then flash the phones with “official MIUI Global ROM” and then sell it. But people who buy do not know whether their phone’s ROM is based on MIUI china version or an unofficial custom ROM. The situation got worse when for harming Xiaomi repo was target by this use and the bugs reported was used by many tech reviewers.
Therefore Xiaomi come up with a plan to safeguard their users. So they started some waiting time for unlocking bootloader. The waiting time was 3 days initially but now it is increased to 60 days. Apart from POCO which still has a waiting time of 3 days only, every other model had to wait for 30-60 days? But it is little annoying for the users who have a habit of trying latest custom ROMs.
EDL Authorization implementation
EDL stands for Emergency Download Mode and is used as an alternative boot mode for every Qualcomm phones and used to unbrick phones. An Xiaomi authorised programmer is needed to use EDL on device. But this practice started by third party vendors to modify MIUI Global and Chinese ROM without unlocking bootloader. Therefore, Xiaomi made this impossible for them and now EDL can only be used if you have an authorised MI Account.
What you can do if you phone gets bricked?
If your phone has been bricked due to anti rollback security then you must do the following things first:
- Take your phone to the MI service centre so that they can repair it for you. They can repair via EDL mode.
- You can even find out a way by contacting the right developer who can bypass EDL authorisation for you.
So you be a bit careful while flashing your old MIUI version phone or Unlocking your Mi Account because once bricked you will have to face a lot of problems.
thanks for sharing this