What a strange thing! A user "grabbed a phone and ran away" just to unlock the BL. Xiaomi is no longer "born for fever".

As an editor at Lei Technology, I've witnessed countless oddities in the digital world. Even so, I rarely use the word "absurd" to describe something. However, a recent piece of news in the mobile phone industry has made me think that only "absurd" can fit the bill.

Recently, some users invented the so - called "downgrade and run method" to unlock the Bootloader. The general operation is to go to Xiaomi's after - sales service to apply for system downgrade. When the engineer unlocks the Bootloader, they snatch the phone and flee the scene.

 Image source: Coolapk

The so - called Bootloader lock is like the "key to the door" of the mobile phone system. After unlocking, users can not only downgrade the system, but also root the device, flash third - party ROMs, and perform other operations to modify the system's underlying layer. When it is locked, users cannot freely flash or downgrade the system and completely lose control of the underlying system.

The core reason for the emergence of the "downgrade and run method" is that Xiaomi's requirements for unlocking the Bootloader are extremely strict. Users can only bypass the official unlocking threshold in this extreme way to gain control of the phone's underlying system.

Behind this absurd behavior lies the complete "breakup" between Xiaomi and its former enthusiast users. So, what exactly led to the staging of this "absurd drama"?

Users "born for the passion" stand against Xiaomi

On Coolapk, the topic of "Xiaomi Bootloader unlocking" has reached a popularity of 2.673 million and triggered 20,000 discussions. In the relatively "niche" mobile phone modification circle, this is a highly popular topic. The relevant posts have even received thousands of replies, which reflects the anger of users voting with their feet.

Image source: Coolapk 

Users' strong demand for Bootloader unlocking rights has deep historical and emotional roots with the Xiaomi brand. Looking back at Xiaomi's development history, it started by deeply adapting and customizing the MIUI system for other brands' mobile phones. This model quickly attracted a large number of technology enthusiasts and developers.

For a long time, Xiaomi not only allowed users to unlock the Bootloader and flash the system but also actively open - sourced the PatchROM project, which greatly facilitated third - party developers to create and adapt custom ROMs for Xiaomi devices, forming an active and open developer ecosystem.

This open attitude became one of Xiaomi's core competitiveness in attracting "enthusiast" users in the early days.

Lei Jun also clearly promised in public: "Xiaomi brand mobile phones can always be unlocked and flashed." This promise is regarded by many technology enthusiasts as one of the brand's core values and an important reason for them to choose and remain loyal to Xiaomi, representing users' expectation of having ultimate control over their devices.

However, after Xiaomi's operating system fully transitioned from MIUI to the self - developed Pengpai OS, many users reported that Pengpai OS failed to meet expectations in terms of stability, smoothness, advertising experience, or functional details. There were evaluations such as "bloated system", "too many ads", and "bugs affecting usage".

For users who pursue a purer system, higher freedom, or specific function optimization, the official system version cannot meet their needs. Unlocking the Bootloader to flash a third - party ROM (such as a near - stock Android system) or rolling back to an older version of MIUI with a better experience has become their main way to "help themselves" and achieve an ideal experience.

However, unlocking the Bootloader is now "as difficult as reaching the sky" in the Pengpai OS system.

In addition to answering questions, there are many other restrictions, such as: whether there are any violation records in the Xiaomi Community in the past 180 days; whether there is any behavior of using scripts or other improper means to obtain growth points in the Xiaomi Community; whether there are any complaints related to Bootloader unlocking; whether the same device is used throughout the application process; whether there are any violation behaviors during the answering or registration process; whether the application reason filled in meets the project application requirements, such as AI - generated content, etc.

The unlocking conditions are so strict that a "unlocking industry chain" has emerged on Taobao and Xianyu, with the highest payment reaching over 8,000 yuan.

 Image source: Xianyu/Taobao APP

On the Heima platform, some users launched a collective complaint, stating that "Lei Jun promised that third - party systems could be flashed, but now he has gone back on his word", which deprives users of control over their phones and seriously infringes on users' legitimate rights and interests.

 Image source: Heima platform

It should be noted that manufacturers usually reserve the right to modify the system in the user agreement. Legally, "full control" is not a natural right for users.

Anyway, those users who stood with Xiaomi "born for the passion" now stand against it.

Xiaomi restricts Bootloader for business logic and practical considerations

Although in literal terms, Xiaomi has not completely closed the unlocking channel, this complex process has undoubtedly greatly reduced the enforceability of Lei Jun's original promise of "always being able to unlock and flash", leading to users' dissatisfaction and the emergence of extreme evasive behaviors like the "downgrade and run method".

From Xiaomi's perspective, tightening the Bootloader unlocking rights has its own business logic and practical considerations.

The most core factor is security. Locking the Bootloader is a key defense line to prevent malware from obtaining the highest system privileges, protecting users' sensitive data and payment security.

With the rapid expansion of Xiaomi's user base, it includes a large number of ordinary consumers without a technical background. For this group of users, an officially unified and controlled system environment can significantly reduce the risk of the device becoming a "brick", data loss, or security attacks caused by misoperations or flashing incompatible/malicious ROMs.

In addition, as the core carrier of Xiaomi's future "smart car, smart home, and mobile phone full - ecosystem" strategy, the integrity, stability, and consistency of the Pengpai OS system also need to be guaranteed by restricting non - official system modifications. Commercial behaviors such as unified push updates and control of advertising strategies are also easier to implement in a locked system environment.

According to Xiaomi's 2024 financial report, the gross profit of Xiaomi's "Internet services" is the highest, about 2.6 billion yuan, surpassing that of smartphones, IoT, and other related businesses. The gross profit margin is as high as 76.6%. In contrast, the gross profit margin of smartphones is only 12.6%. "Services are more profitable than hardware" is really not just talk.

 Image source: Xiaomi's financial report

The so - called "Internet services" mainly consist of advertising revenue, such as splash screen ads, pre - installed apps, game distribution, and some overseas services, which are supported by Pengpai OS.

Users have four main motives for unlocking the Bootloader: turning off ads, rooting, downgrading, and flashing third - party ROMs. Except for downgrading, any of these motives will affect the "Internet services" cash cow.

Finally, another reason for Xiaomi to tighten the rights is to regain control of the system's underlying layer. In the case of the Xiaomi 11's Wi - Fi overheating issue, Xiaomi provided a replacement service. As a result, many Xiaomi 11 owners modified the system permissions through rooting, overclocked the CPU, and "intentionally" burned the Wi - Fi to deceive for a replacement. This forced Xiaomi to make a choice between "user freedom" and "risk management".

Coincidentally, after Xiaomi, according to Sammyguru, Samsung's newly released One UI 8 system has removed the function of unlocking the Bootloader. This further confirms that when smartphone brands target a broader mass market, in order to ensure security, stability, and business interests, gradually taking back control of the system's underlying layer and moving towards a more closed ecosystem seems to be a common choice.

There have been many cases in history where brands initially attracted users through an open ecosystem and then became closed after growing. Xiaomi has just made a choice that best suits its current interests, which is not wrong from a corporate perspective.

The "downgrade and run method" is understandable but not recommended

Of course, from the consumers' perspective, the emergence of the "downgrade and run method" is understandable but not recommended.

The "downgrade and run method" is a risky way for users to deal with the strict policy. Forcefully interrupting the official unlocking or downgrading process and taking away the device can easily damage the operation process, leading to the serious consequence of the device being unable to start normally, commonly known as "becoming a brick".

If users seek non - official unlocking channels such as Taobao, they may face the risk of having backdoor programs implanted in their devices, being infected with malware, or losing the official warranty service. For ordinary users, imitating such behaviors will ultimately result in the users themselves bearing the consequences of device damage or security threats.

The core of this incident lies in how Xiaomi can respond to the historical expectations of its core user group for openness and device autonomy while ensuring device security, system stability, and business requirements.

For Xiaomi, it may need to explore more refined management strategies. For example, consider establishing a clearer and more convenient unlocking channel for senior user groups with real technical capabilities and clear needs, such as developers and geeks, to meet their reasonable requirements.

A more fundamental solution lies in continuously investing in optimizing the basic experience of Pengpai OS, effectively improving the system's smoothness and stability, reducing the interference of built - in ads, and fixing bugs that affect the experience. Only when the official system can provide an excellent experience that meets the core needs of most users will users' motivation to actively seek unlocking and flashing naturally decrease.

In addition, when adjusting policies involving the interests of core users, if Xiaomi can conduct more sufficient and transparent communication, explaining the reasons, goals, and impacts on different user groups of the policy changes, it will also help alleviate misunderstandings and resistance.

The phenomenon of Xiaomi users using the "downgrade and run method" is essentially a lose - lose game. Users use high - risk behaviors to resist policy restrictions and may face losses of the device and personal information. Xiaomi faces doubts about its promise of "born for the passion" and openness.

On the surface, this is a debate about the Bootloader lock. In fact, it is a profound proposition about how a brand balances the needs of different user groups, adheres to its brand's original intention, and adapts to business rules during the transformation from a niche to a mass market and from an open to a controllable model.

Whether Xiaomi can find that delicate balance will be one of the key tests for it to maintain the trust of its core user group and realize its "smart car, smart home, and mobile phone" ecosystem vision.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Lei Technology", author: Lei Technology. Republished by 36Kr with permission.