Xiaomi HyperOS: No OTA updates for users with unlocked bootloaders

Xiaomi's HyperOS will start rolling out to eligible devices, such as the Xiaomi 13, Xiaomi 12 and others, next year. However, those looking to tinker with their new HyperOS-powered smartphones could find it a tad tricky. Android Authority has learned that Xiaomi has made it harder for users to unlock their bootloaders.

Users cannot unlock the bootloader of their Xiaomi device by default and have to request the privilege via its community forums. The exact guideline, at least for global audiences, is unclear and will be updated once the HyperOS rollout commences. This is more or less consistent with existing policies for MIUI. Xiaomi also states that power users with unlocked bootloaders must relock them to get the HyperOS update.

It also applies to HyperOS, meaning that you may have to keep unlocking and relocking your bootloader now and then to get official OTA updates, presumably to dissuade users from unlocking their bootloaders and forgetting about it.

Chinese HyperOS users have it much worse than their Western counterparts. Not only does a user need to reach a certain "level" on the forums, but it also limits the number of permissible device unlocks to three per year. Whether or not these rules will be enforced globally remains to be seen.

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