How to check if the bootloader is activated. FAQ on unlocking the bootloader for Xiaomi phones. b) Or if you chose the branded Adb Run

Many Xiaomi users know that the company began blocking the bootloader on its smartphones relatively long ago. This innovation is due to the fact that the popularity of the company's products is growing, and in order to pass certification from Google and use Google Apps, you must follow some security rules established by Google. And now it turns out that those who want to install custom firmware on their Xiaomi face many difficulties and problems, although previously this could be done in just a few clicks - thanks to the blocked bootloader. But in order to flash the firmware, you first need to find out the status of the bootloader - whether the bootloader is locked on your Xiaomi or not.

If you have been using Android devices for a long time, then you know that unlocking the Xiaomi bootloader gives the user many benefits, such as:

  • Possibility of installing custom recovery on your phone;
  • And since custom recovery greatly simplifies many aspects of working with a smartphone, you can flash your gadget with any firmware or install additional scripts to improve its operation;
  • You can also have no problem, or superuser rights. They are needed to control the device and so that you can customize your Xiaomi as comfortably as possible for yourself: remove all advertising on the phone, remove pre-installed unnecessary applications, speed up the chipset, increase the battery life of the gadget and much more.

Convenient, isn't it? So let's figure out how to check the bootloader status on your Xiaomi smartphone.

Method 1: Through the developer section

This method is the newest of all presented:

  • Go to your smartphone settings and select the item at the bottom "About the phone".
  • You will see the line "MIUI Version"- you need to click on it 7 times. If everything is done correctly, you will see a message indicating that you have become a developer.
  • Return to the main menu and open the menu item "Additionally". At the very bottom of the list you will see a new section - "For developers" Go into it and open the item "Loader status".

In this section you will see the information you are looking for. If you already have permission from the manufacturer to unlock the bootloader, then here you can also log in to your account for .

Give gifts

Method 2: Using Fastboot

Disabling driver signature verification

For Windows 8

  1. Press the button combination "Win+I". They'll come out on the right "Options".
  2. Clamp "Shift" and press .
  3. After rebooting, a window will appear "Select action". Choose "Diagnostics" -> "Extra options" -> "Boot Options" -> "Reboot".

After reboot we will see the window “ Reboot options" press "F7" and wait for Windows to reboot.

For Windows 7

When turning on the computer, after the BIOS boot stage, frequently press "F8". A menu will appear "More download options". Choose "Disable mandatory driver signing".

P.S: F8 does not always work the first time, so if it doesn’t work, you can either repeat it 2-3 times, or resort to an alternative method.
Download and install.

Checking bootloader unlocking

Please note that this method of checking the bootloader lock status does not work on chipsets from MTK.

In addition, you will need the ADB / Fastboot package and correctly installed drivers. You can find all these components in any good Flash Kit for your Xiaomi.

Let's assume you already have it. Upload files and . Run and install the second file - these are the drivers necessary for further work. After this, we reboot our PC, and then unpack the archive adb.rar and drop all the files from there into the folder C:/adb. Now remember what operating system you have on your computer and do the following:

  • If Windows 7: press the Win+R combination on your keyboard and enter cmd.exe. Next write the command c:\adb.
  • If Windows 10: Click “File” - “Open command line”.

Put your phone into Fastboot mode and connect your phone to your computer.

How to go to fastboot:

We put the phone into FastBoot mode. To do this, when the phone is turned off, you need to hold down the “Volume minus” and “Power on” buttons. The device must be charged!) A picture will appear with a hare in a fur hat repairing the android. The phone is in FastBoot mode.

The next steps are the same: write down fastboot oem device-info and see information about the status of your bootloader. If it says true, it is unlocked, if false, it is blocked. If you try to perform this action on a smartphone with an MTK processor, it will tell you that it does not know such a command.

To exit Fastboot mode, type in the field "fastboot reboot"- it will reboot the phone and start it in normal operating mode.

We hope that this article helped you find the answer to the question of how to find out if the Xiaomi bootloader is locked. Good luck!

Articles and Lifehacks

Unlocking the bootloader is a technique that allows you to gain access to certain features that are hidden from the user by default by the manufacturer.

However, it also carries a certain risk for the safety of the device. Therefore, before carrying out this procedure, the user must understand what he is doing and why.

What is a bootloader

Like most other operating systems, Android has a special tool that sets system boot parameters in accordance with configuration files.

The manufacturer blocks access to the bootloader, or, as it is also called, bootloader from the user, and does not do this for any conspiracy reasons. This decision is dictated by security considerations.

This is not just full proof, preventing a technically illiterate owner from turning his gadget into a “brick,” but also limiting the capabilities that malware that has infiltrated the system for one reason or another can gain.

What is unlocking for?

  1. The main purpose of this procedure is to be able to install the so-called. custom firmware – a version different from that provided by the manufacturer.

    In the unlocked version, the bootloader only allows you to reset the system settings to factory settings or clear the device’s memory.

  2. Another purpose is to obtain root rights or, as they are also called, superuser rights.

    A fairly popular procedure that opens up the opportunity to get rid of advertising, remove interfering preinstalled ones, hack and do many other things not intended by the developers.

    To root many recent smartphone models, an unlocked bootloader is required.

How it's done

Each manufacturer's models have their own unlocking algorithm. Some gadgets locked to a specific device are not amenable to this procedure at all. This usually applies to Chinese devices.

But in any case, you need to connect the device to a desktop computer or laptop on which the appropriate software is installed. Usually it can be downloaded from the official website of the developers.

To start the process, you will also need a key, which is also obtained on the manufacturer’s website, again for each in its own way.

Possible dangers


Some companies do not provide warranty service for unlocked devices.

The reason is simple: custom or developer firmware allows the user to change the device settings in a much wider range than the original one.

The result may be hardware failure, such as a chipset or speaker.

The presence of an unlock makes any means of protecting the device, be it a PIN code, fingerprint or face scan, meaningless. An attacker can run the recovery tool and boot a custom version of the system without prompting for passwords.

Other dangers are associated not with the procedure itself, but with the subsequent actions for which it is carried out. For example, custom firmware may turn out to be so “crooked” that the device simply refuses to work.

Or the virus will use root rights to send personal data to someone.

Conclusion

With all of the above, unlocking is a procedure carried out through official means provided by the device developers.

This compares favorably with the use of various exploits, which are also used to obtain root rights. But even if the user clearly understands what he is doing and why, problems cannot be ruled out.

This means that you need to take care of data backup in a timely manner.

A bootloader (Hboot) is a program that controls the kernel of your device’s operating system so that it boots normally. Moreover, this applies not only to Android, but also to other devices with an OS, such as a PC, laptop, and even an old push-button phone. In addition, it is the bootloader that gives permission to install any programs and firmware. For this reason, users are interested in factory unlocking the bootloader on an Android phone.

Hboot is activated when the device is turned on, and is an analogue of Bios in a computer. It prepares all the data for the kernel, loads it into memory, after which the system starts directly. If its integrity is damaged or something interferes, thanks to the bootloader you can get into recovery mode to clear the data, or perform a reset to factory settings. To do this, before turning on the device, hold down the power and volume down keys and do not release them until booting (in some cases, the combination of buttons may differ).

Why is the bootloader locked?

Manufacturers block for two reasons:

1. Oblige the owner to use the operating system that was developed for his device.

2. Security. Many smartphones and tablets are sold online or in retail stores. In both cases, the seller or intermediary may, at its discretion, add advertising or malicious software that should not exist. For the same reason, Xiaomi began to block the bootloader of devices released after 2016, due to numerous complaints about the presence of viruses in their firmware (which were not initially present).

Benefits of an unlocked bootloader

An unlocked bootloader opens up exactly the same possibilities for the user as on a PC, namely:

  1. Flash any operating system (available for your device).
  2. Installation of individual modules, OS kernels, applications, patches.
  3. Freely migrate between stock firmwares, especially if they are based on different versions of Android.
  4. Easily create backup copies of the current OS and/or applications, as well as restore them without using a PC.
  5. Use Dual-Boot and install two or more operating systems, both in internal memory and on an external SD card.
  6. Wider recovery options in case of unsuccessful firmware.

And this is not the entire list of possibilities after factory unlocking Android.

How to unblock

Each device has its own version of the bootloader, which means the unlocking method will differ depending on the model and manufacturer. When submitting an application, the block can be removed by the company itself (especially if you are an Android developer), but most often, this happens by hacking previously found vulnerabilities in the system.

Risks and consequences

Unauthorized unlocking of the bootloader will void your warranty service. In addition, your device becomes less secure and vulnerable to hacker attacks. An open bootloader allows you to bypass set passwords, gain access to personal information, or erase everything and install different firmware.


Conclusion

There is no need to worry too much about problems with the bootloader, especially when it comes to personal information. Found or stolen devices most often have their data erased, and rarely will anyone restore anything. An open bootloader is more needed by advanced users who know what to do with it, regularly flash something and experiment.

Leave your questions in the comments to the article below - we will try to answer.

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This article provides step-by-step instructions that will help even an inexperienced user successfully unlock bootloader And install custom recovery Cyanogen Mod.

Your data is subject to deletion. If you need to save important information, we recommend making a backup. You perform all your actions at your own peril and risk. Please note that the author is not responsible for the “bricking” of the user’s smartphone.

Getting ready for installation

1. Download and install drivers. You can do this by following our link below.

2. Unpack the archive anywhere on your hard drive.
3. Turn off the phone.
4. Start the phone in fastboot mode, for which you should press “Volume -”, and while holding it, press “Power”.
5. The PC will display a message indicating that a new device has been found.
6. Go to the device manager (path: Control Panel – System – Device Manager).
7. Find an unknown device, which is usually indicated by a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark.
8. Double click on it.
9. In the window that appears, you need to click: Update driver – Search for drivers on this PC – Select drivers from the list of installed drivers – Install from disk – Select the folder where the drivers were unpacked – Check the “Search in subfolders” checkbox - complete installing drivers.
10. The device is completely ready for further manipulations.
11. Download ADB and Fastboot according to the bitness of the operating system: for x32/86 or x64. Unpack the archive into a folder of your choice. It is necessary that the path does not contain Russian letters (Cyrillic) and numbers. For example, I unpack a folder in d:\ADB.

12. Download custom Recovery: CWM and drop the *.img file into the same folder as ADB.

Bootloader unlock

First you need to unlock Bootloader on your smartphone. To do this, you need to connect your smartphone to your PC and put it in fastboot mode. To switch to this mode, you need to turn off the phone and during shutdown, press and hold two buttons: “Volume -” and “Power”. In Fastboot mode, a green robot with an open stomach will appear on the smartphone display.

Next, you have to launch the command line: start – in the “run” line write “cmd” (without quotes) – “cmd.exe” should appear at the top - right-click “cmd.exe” - Run with administrator rights.

After that, we go to the folder in which ADB is located (in my case it is located on the path d:\ADB): first I enter “d” (no need to enter quotes) and press Enter - I enter “cd ADB” and press Enter again. The command line window now looks like this:

To unlock Bootloader you need to enter the following command:

fastboot oem unlock

We accept the unlocking by pressing the “Volume +” button and confirm the action by pressing the “power” button.

So, Bootloader is unlocked. Now we reboot into the system. The smartphone will make the necessary changes, boot up, after which you should carry out the initial setup from Google (I’m skipping a lot, since the phone will still be rebuilt). Next – launch fastboot and install custom Recovery.

Now install custom Recovery. To do this, enter the command into the command line

fastboot flash recovery ***

Owners of new devices from the Chinese company Xiaomi encountered an unpleasant problem when trying to install Russified or other localized firmware: the bootloader of gadgets turned out to be blocked. A reasonable question arises: why does Xiaomi, whose products are in great demand not only in those countries where they are officially supplied, but also in many others, prevent the full use of their gadgets? Is this really how Chinese manufacturers motivate the owners of their smartphones and tablets to learn Chinese? Of course not. It turns out that buyers in different countries of the world often encounter fakes with unofficial firmware installed. Not only do they not ensure the confidentiality of information, but they often turn out to be simply stuffed with viruses. Xiaomi is simply forced to fight for its good name, which is why the decision was made to block the bootloader.

Another reason also applies security, but is already associated with the loss or theft of the device. Attackers can reflash the gadget and gain access to personal information stored on it. If the device's bootloader is locked, then they are unlikely to succeed - after all, each Xiaomi device is tied to its own. In the latest firmware versions, the developers even introduced a couple of new functions, the first of which makes it possible to find out exactly where the smartphone or tablet is at the moment, and the second allows you to send any information to the screen of a stolen or lost device.

How to determine that the bootloader is locked, and how does this manifest itself?

To check if the bootloader of your Xiaomi device is locked, you need to put the device into fastboot mode, and then type the command:
fastboot oem device-info
The result can be seen on the screen in the second line of the response message issued. Maybe two options:

Device unlocked: true bootloader unlocked;
Device unlocked: false bootloader is not unlocked (locked).


It is clear that locking the bootloader imposes some restrictions on user actions. For example, Root access will become unavailable, even if it was obtained earlier. The fact is that the device will receive official updates “over the air” in any case, and along with them will come a blocking. To return everything to normal, you need to unlock the bootloader. Below we will describe in detail how this is done.

Instructions for unlocking the bootloader:

At the moment, permission to unlock the bootloader is issued to each Mi account automatically, so you can immediately begin the unlocking process. To do this you need to do the following actions:

Slight limitation: from one Mi account it is possible to unlock only one device in 30 days.

Problems that users encounter when unlocking the bootloader:

Problem: The unlocking process reaches 50%, after which it stops (the message Couldn't verify device is received).
Cause: Xiaomi servers error.
Solution: Repeat the unlock attempt once a day - sooner or later your account will end up in the database. Waiting time - from 2 to 10 days.

Problem: Green button is not active.
Cause: Block pop-up windows from visited sites in your browser settings.
Solution: Allow pop-ups in your browser settings.

Problem: At the second point, the unlocking process stops.
Cause: The Android device is running stable version of MIUI.

Problem: Error logging into Mi account.
Solution: Enter the account ID instead of the phone number in the login field when logging in.

As you can see, any problem can be solved, and the situation with unlocking the bootloader of Xiaomi smartphones is no exception. Do you need to lock the bootloader back? No problem, we've prepared