Question Do I have no option but to wait for 168 hours (7 days) to unlock my phone's bootloader?

[litetaker]

Hi all, I just received my brand new POCO F3 phone today and I was hoping to unlock the bootloader and install a custom ROM. But when I tried to do that I got this message in the miui unlock software saying that I have to wait for 168 hours (7 days) and try again!

Do I have to wait for that much time or is there a quicker way to do this? And if I do wait and try again will it again complain 7 days later that I need to wait for more time? Please let me know.

And also, do I have to use my phone regularly in that 7 days or if I just leave it turned on is that good enough? Please let me know what to do. And thanks in advance!

 

[keyoke87]

No other way... Can only wait

Just leave your phone on, and leave it 1 side. And do not click on add account and device option again else your 168 hours countdown will reset

 

[litetaker]

I see. Okay, I will just wait for 7 days then. It is such a bummer! I wish Xiaomi did not do this so that users can mod their phones right away. But it is just 7 days. So I will learn to be patient!

 

[spaha-bih]

Is it necessary to unlock bootloader right after 7 days, or I can request to unlock now and actually unlock the bootloader after two or three months after?

 

[keyoke87]

Is it necessary to unlock bootloader right after 7 days, or I can request to unlock now and actually unlock the bootloader after two or three months after?

Yes u can always unlock any time u like after 7 days. So when i got the phone, i request to unlock right away, and use the phone first. My first unlock is only 1 month later

 

[Zimmster]

Is it necessary to unlock bootloader right after 7 days, or I can request to unlock now and actually unlock the bootloader after two or three months after?

You can unlock any time, but not sooner than 7 days. If you try sooner the 7 day countdown will start again. better try a day or two later than 5 minutes earlier

 

[spaha-bih]

You can unlock any time, but not sooner than 7 days. If you try sooner the 7 day countdown will start again. better try a day or two later than 5 minutes earlier

Oh boy, I see I did not explained well, glad keyoke87 understood what I asked haha

basically what I asked is do I need to unlock right after that 7 days of waiting, or I can unlock later whenever I want.

I thought if I don`t unlock the bootloader right after 7 days, xiaomi will reset again countdown.

Anyway, I`ll have to wait for september to unlock the bootloader, since I have already unlocked it for Redmi Note 9s. A bit unnecessary from Xiaomi`s side, but it`s okay, I am waiting for Android 12 custom roms anyway.

 

[Kokovitch]

You can unlock any time, but not sooner than 7 days. If you try sooner the 7 day countdown will start again. better try a day or two later than 5 minutes earlier

The Countdown do not reset if you try sooner. It reset only when you remove and add a Xiaomi account.

When you try sooner, the mi unlock tool says the amount of hours remaining to wait.

 

[keyoke87]

The Countdown do not reset if you try sooner. It reset only when you remove and add a Xiaomi account.

When you try sooner, the mi unlock tool says the amount of hours remaining to wait.

If u press add account and device with the same xiaomi account, it resets too

 

[pegasoc]

The Countdown do not reset if you try sooner. It reset only when you remove and add a Xiaomi account.

When you try sooner, the mi unlock tool says the amount of hours remaining to wait.

Exactly confirmed, as my countdown continued I tried dozens of times (maybe Xiaomi would give me a discount ahahahah) and the count never reset.

 

[Zimmster]

I see. Okay, I will just wait for 7 days then. It is such a bummer! I wish Xiaomi did not do this so that users can mod their phones right away. But it is just 7 days. So I will learn to be patient!

Their priority is to convince you to continue to use their MIUI OS, so they can upsell you some of their online services and use your data for statistics and advertising. If you do not use their software, they stop making money off you. It's just in their best interest to make you stay on MIUI. Maybe after that week your start to enjoy MIUI enough not to change it anymore.

 

[Darkaeluz]

I see. Okay, I will just wait for 7 days then. It is such a bummer! I wish Xiaomi did not do this so that users can mod their phones right away. But it is just 7 days. So I will learn to be patient!

They had to do this to counteract people that bought their Chinese phones that didn't have a global release, slapped a bad MIUI custom ROM and resold them in other countries

 

[Zimmster]

They had to do this to counteract people that bought their Chinese phones that didn't have a global release, slapped a bad MIUI custom ROM and resold them in other countries

Yes, making you wait a week is an annoyance (especially from a business point of view) but is only a temporary delay, the Anti Rollback feature is the main tool to block you, or a vendor of Chinese version, to exchange the MIUI version on your device.

 

[Ricky9111999]

Yes, making you wait a week is an annoyance (especially from a business point of view) but is only a temporary delay, the Anti Rollback feature is the main tool to block you, or a vendor of Chinese version, to exchange the MIUI version on your device.

nah, the main tool to block the weirdly moded custom roms are the locked edl mode on locked bootloader devices and the delay on unlocking bootloader.

back then (at least in SEA) the weirdly moded miui installed by third party distributors issue was BAD. it was widespread here and the mod were just bad user experience wise. most of them had lots of bugs (even by miui standards lol) and you couldn't update. so they started locking the bootloader and added timers, which did decrease the issue a bit.

but some were still bypassing through edl, which was especially bad and made it harder to fix since the moded rom often faked the bootloader unlock status so you couldn't unlock the device to flash an original rom, often needing you to short pins on the motherboard to bypass it through edl if i remember correctly.

the delay decreased the issue by quite a bit, but they were still bypassing it through edl, so they lock that also, which solves the issue. so i blame the third party distributors for this mess.

the anti rollback is just google tho.

back then you could apply your account to have special auth on the miui forums so you can still flash with edl and unlock the bootloader without having to wait, but i cant find any info on that now?
i know those account exist because my mi account is one of those account.

 

[Zimmster]

nah, the main tool to block the weirdly moded custom roms are the locked edl mode on locked bootloader devices and the delay on unlocking bootloader.

back then (at least in SEA) the weirdly moded miui installed by third party distributors issue was BAD. it was widespread here and the mod were just bad user experience wise. most of them had lots of bugs (even by miui standards lol) and you couldn't update. so they started locking the bootloader and added timers, which did decrease the issue a bit.

but some were still bypassing through edl, which was especially bad and made it harder to fix since the moded rom often faked the bootloader unlock status so you couldn't unlock the device to flash an original rom, often needing you to short pins on the motherboard to bypass it through edl if i remember correctly.

the delay decreased the issue by quite a bit, but they were still bypassing it through edl, so they lock that also, which solves the issue. so i blame the third party distributors for this mess.

the anti rollback is just google tho.

back then you could apply your account to have special auth on the miui forums so you can still flash with edl and unlock the bootloader without having to wait, but i cant find any info on that now?
i know those account exist because my mi account is one of those account.

I am sorry but we are getting further from the original question. "Why we have to wait 7 days or whatever, before we are allowed to unlock and/or root our phones.
You are missing the POINT, that you, the regular user, CAN UNLOCK your phone and change it's factory given software by USING A TOOL MADE BY THE SAME MANUFACTURER OF THE PHONE. MIUI unlock and MiFlash are tools released by Xiaomi oficialy, to allow users, you and me, to mess with the software also put by them, on the device. These tools are not a service only software that leaked on the internet. Xiaomi gives you the option to download these tools and easily replace their software. They discourage such action, but they do not stop you from doing so. Therefore the 7 days of waiting, meanwhile maybe you change your mind.
After you replaced their software with the preferred custom Rom, the AntiRolback future kicks in.That is what blocks you to return to official MIUI software once again. You can return to OFFICIAL STOCK MIUI but it takes more steps and it is a little more time consuming, as is with unlocking. Both processes are meant to be annoying, but in no way they are blocking you out of it, and leaving you without recourse.
If they were completely against you messing with the software then your phone will brick or permanently lose features as a punishment for Unlocking or from even trying to do so. Like in the case of the new Samsung smartphones that disable completely all the cameras if you unlock your bootloader. Some features don't come back even if you restore your phone to the original software. Yes the camera functionality returns but the Samsung security apps no longer work EVER. Or like on iPhone 12 if you don't use original parts to repair it, you lose partial functions or stops working entirely.
A mass seller of xiaomi phones will have access to EDL software or can also have a Chinese based warehouse where they initiate the unlock and by the time the phone reaches Europe or US, they can easily install the software in another warehouse before shipping them to stores/buyers.

 

[lovesetcpu]

Seven days of creating voice profiles (and more).

Other ideas are welcome.

 

[Zimmster]

Oh boy, I see I did not explained well, glad keyoke87 understood what I asked haha

basically what I asked is do I need to unlock right after that 7 days of waiting, or I can unlock later whenever I want.

I thought if I don`t unlock the bootloader right after 7 days, xiaomi will reset again countdown.

Anyway, I`ll have to wait for september to unlock the bootloader, since I have already unlocked it for Redmi Note 9s. A bit unnecessary from Xiaomi`s side, but it`s okay, I am waiting for Android 12 custom roms anyway.

I'm sorry, what part of "You can unlock ANY TIME but only after those 7 day have passed" was not easy to understand. Any time, here, means between 7 days and 1 minute and Xiaomi's bankruptcy i suppose. Thee is no time window, only a minimum waiting time

 

[galih_ken]

I bought this phone, with my hard-earned money, from my own pocket. Xiaomi didn't give me this free or as a gift. I don't steal anything from them. I don't owe them money. And yet this **** wasting people's time as if I rented this **** ****ing phone. Sorry my language.

 

[motbot]

I bought this phone, with my hard-earned money, from my own pocket. Xiaomi didn't give me this free or as a gift. I don't steal anything from them. I don't owe them money. And yet this **** wasting people's time as if I rented this **** ****ing phone. Sorry my language.

oh boy wait until you hear what apple is doing

 

[htc_softbank]

I just received my phone and received the 168 hour countdown (I was expecting 1month lol)

Anyhow, can I leave the phone powered off for the 7days?