How to Unlock the Bootloader on Xiaomi, Redmi & POCO

Unlock your Xiaomi/Redmi/POCO bootloader safely with the official Mi Unlock Tool. Requirements, step-by-step, the waiting period, and what to do after unlocking.

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Published 2026-07-09 06:38:33 date

Unlocking the bootloader lets you flash fastboot ROMs, custom recoveries and custom firmware. Xiaomi provides an official tool for this, and using it keeps your device safe from unofficial methods.

Warning: Unlocking erases all data and can affect warranty and banking apps. Back up first.

Requirements

  • A Xiaomi (Mi) account, signed in on the phone.
  • The official Mi Unlock Tool on a Windows PC.
  • A SIM card and mobile data (for account binding).

Step-by-step

  1. On the phone, open Settings → About phone and tap the MIUI/HyperOS version repeatedly to enable Developer options.
  2. Go to Settings → Additional settings → Developer options → Mi Unlock status and tap “Add account and device”. Keep mobile data on.
  3. Power off, then boot into Fastboot mode (Power + Volume Down) and connect to the PC.
  4. Open the Mi Unlock Tool, sign in with the same Mi account, and click Unlock.
  5. You may see a waiting period (typically 72–360 hours depending on the account). After it passes, repeat the unlock — it completes in seconds and wipes the device.

After unlocking

Your device now shows an “unlocked” warning at boot — this is normal. You can flash official firmware from the device pages. To keep OTA updates working, prefer official Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO firmware.