Realize that Xiaomi has locked the phone.

Preface#

I have always wanted to explain what "locked" means for Xiaomi phones. I have written about it clearly in a previous article by "Long Er Ge", but unfortunately, the viewing volume was not enough and I am not currently involved in related matters. This article will further simplify the previous one for beginners, and I will gradually update the approximate implementation methods of related technologies in the future.

I will introduce various methods in a step-by-step process and explain how to determine if a phone is "locked".

Why are there locks?#

The lock on Xiaomi phones is not a program intentionally designed to make things difficult for Xiaomi users, but rather a security measure taken by Xiaomi to protect the phone. Users can use Xiaomi Cloud Services https://i.mi.com to track their phones, lock their phones, find their phones, remotely erase data, and take photos if the phone is lost. Other phone manufacturers such as Huawei, Apple, Meizu, etc. also provide similar services for finding phones.

Regarding this issue, some people say it is due to a dirty phone, while others say the owner forgot the password. These are not within the scope of our discussion, but I encourage people who find someone else's phone to try to contact the owner and return it.

Tips#

This article will become invalid due to continuous updates and upgrades of "unlocking" and "blocking" technologies, so please be careful!

I am not a saint and I am not intentionally trying to disrupt the second-hand market. Some people selling second-hand phones are not honest and use various misleading terms. Thank you for your understanding.

Although there are still some old methods, many of them have become ineffective, mainly because Xiaomi has gradually tightened security issues related to phones.

I have already processed my IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) and related privacy using technical methods. Please enter your own IMEI correctly for relevant queries. Unauthorized use of illegal queries will be subject to necessary legal protection! Do not attempt to break the law.

This unlocking method is still being updated, so this article may become invalid due to technical upgrades. Also, the images in my (tutorial) are large, so please bear with it [doge].

Life of a Locked Phone#

This section is divided into "Popular", "Common", and "Obsolete" to represent unlocking methods from different eras. Sometimes a phone model may have multiple unlocking methods, so please be cautious.

Summary Table#

	System OTA Update	Factory Reset	Login to Xiaomi Account	Flashing	ROOT	BL Lock
Unlocked	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Perfect Unlock	❌	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Perfect Unlock	❌	✔	✔	❌	❌	❌
VPN Half-Hide	✔	❌	WeChat Login ✔	❌	❌	❌
MTK Perfect Unlock	✔	✔	✔	❌	❌	❌
Semi-Perfect Unlock	❌	✔	WeChat Login ✔	❌	❌	❌
Hide ID	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌
Block APP	❌	✔	❌	❌	❌	❌
Card Desktop	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌

The "Hide ID", "Block APP", and "Card Desktop" methods have all been fixed and are not reliable. They also consume a lot of power. It is not recommended, as indicated in the following text.

VPN Half-Hide#

Example: [Popular]

This is not used for "climbing the wall" (bypassing internet censorship). This VPN is an app that controls the internet access permissions of the system. The app intercepts the VPN channel used by the Find My Phone feature in the system, preventing it from connecting to the internet. However, due to the power-saving settings in MIUI, the VPN app may frequently disconnect, causing instability and indirectly leading to re-locking. In this case, you can only restart the phone by long-pressing the power button and open the VPN app again. This unlocking solution is now widely used, as occasional re-locking is acceptable for most budget users.

Models: Redmi Note 7 Pro, Xiaomi 9, Xiaomi CC9E, Xiaomi Mix 3, Redmi K20, Redmi K20 Pro, Redmi 6 Pro, Redmi Note 8, Redmi Note 8 Pro, Xiaomi 10, Xiaomi 10 Pro, Redmi K30 Pro...

Perfect Unlock 2.0#

Example: [Popular]

This unlocking method appeared earlier this year. I don't know the principle behind it, but I do know that MediaTek and Qualcomm have different ways of unbricking phones, so MediaTek has come up with a perfect unlocking method. This perfect unlocking method is indeed very perfect. It allows system updates, factory resets, and login with an ID. The only drawback is that it cannot be used for flashing, which refers to unlocking the bootloader for flashing. This unlocking state is very similar to the unlocking method used in the Xiaomi 5 era.

Models: Redmi 10X 4G, Redmi 10X 5G, Redmi 10X Pro, Redmi Note 8 Pro, Redmi K30 Supreme, Redmi Note 9 5G...

Semi-Perfect Unlock#

Example: [Popular]

I don't know the principle behind this unlocking method, but it has started to appear in the past month. It compensates for the shortcomings of the VPN method, but it cannot be used for system updates. It can still be used for factory resets and logging in with WeChat. The risk of using this unlocking method is basically zero.

Models: Redmi Note 7 Pro, Xiaomi 9, Xiaomi Mix 3, Xiaomi CC9E, Redmi K20, Redmi K20 Pro, Redmi 6 Pro, Redmi Note 8...

Perfect Unlock 1.0#

Example: [Common]

Starting from the Xiaomi 6, we have had the term "perfect unlock". The principle is to unlock the internal bootloader of the phone, modify the Find My Phone app file in the MIUI system to block Xiaomi's control over the phone. Therefore, theoretically, all models of Xiaomi phones can be perfectly unlocked. However, low-end Xiaomi models on the market do not have this feature. Now let's talk about the models that can be perfectly unlocked on the market. Please note that I am referring to models that can actually be operated or appear on the market.

Models: Xiaomi 6, Xiaomi Mix 2, Xiaomi Note 3, Redmi Note 5, Xiaomi 6X, Xiaomi Max 3, Xiaomi Mix 2S, Xiaomi 8, Xiaomi 8 SE, Xiaomi 8 Youth Edition, Redmi Note 7, Xiaomi 9 SE, Xiaomi CC9, Redmi Note 7 Pro, Xiaomi 9, Xiaomi Mix 3, Redmi K20, Redmi K20 Pro, Redmi Note 8 Pro, Redmi K30 Pro, Xiaomi 10, Xiaomi 10 Pro...

The BL lock has version issues. The BL lock of older versions can be directly unlocked using software. This should be the software.

This method died during the 2020 Spring Festival.

Hide ID#

Example: [Obsolete]

Due to cost limitations, the above-mentioned models generally use this hidden unlocking method (in fact, the perfect unlocking method described below is available for these models, but it is mainly due to cost reasons that the Xiaomi Max 2 does not need to unlock the bootloader). It is also unlocked by flashing with the Qualcomm 9008 cable, but it cannot be upgraded, restored, or logged in. This unlocking method has the disadvantage of increased power consumption.

Models: Xiaomi Max 2, Xiaomi 5X, Redmi 5, Redmi 5 Plus, Redmi 5A, Redmi Note 5A, Redmi S2, Redmi 6, Redmi 6A...

Block APP#

Example: [Obsolete]

In the early days, by short-circuiting the Qualcomm 9008 port on the motherboard, the "My Xiaomi" and "Find My Phone" APKs were installed and cracked after the network was disconnected. This method was supported by many phones in the early days. However, this unlocking method has the disadvantage of increased power consumption because the Find My Phone app is constantly trying to connect to the server but cannot establish a stable connection. Therefore, it consumes power.

Models: (Models from the early Xiaomi 5 era)

Card Desktop#

Example: [Obsolete]

In the early days, the official MIUI or modified MIUI would download third-party desktops through the phone setup wizard, block the privacy webpage, and use the phone clone feature in the settings. However, this method would become invalid after restarting the phone. There should not be this unlocking method.

Models: MIUI 9 era

How to Determine if a Phone is Locked#

Tip: Do not use the query function on unofficial domains. Please verify the domain as mi.com and the subdomain of the website as i.mi.com with secure HTTPS access before logging in to your Xiaomi account.

Obtain IMEI#

The IMEI is printed on the phone's packaging.
If the phone is functioning properly, enter *#06# on the dial pad to display the IMEI.
On the phone, go to Settings -> About Phone -> Status Information to view the IMEI.

Here is an example using a normally booted phone, or you can use the IMEI provided by the seller.

You can use the "Direct Link" in this article to perform the query. The query service is provided by Xiaomi Cloud Services. Do not trust links given by sellers to avoid being deceived.

Open the phone's dial pad and enter *#06#. Long-press on "IMEI1" or "IMEI2" in the dialog box that appears (it is recommended to use IMEI1 for each slot).

steps

Then open the Xiaomi Cloud Services website i.mi.com https://i.mi.com

Mobile End#

Enter https://i.mi.com in any browser.

Or directly access the query page https://i.mi.com/find/device/activationlock?_locale=en_US#/status

The following demonstrates manually accessing the official website.

Click on "Phone Appeal Unlock" at the bottom of the Xiaomi Cloud Services webpage.

Click on "Find Phone Status Query" under "Not sure if the Find My Phone feature is enabled on your phone?"

In the "Enter the current unlock code or IMEI" section, copy or enter the IMEI code in the "Unlock code or IMEI" box, and then click "Query".

The query result shows that the machine is "locked" and the Xiaomi account needs to be unbound by the seller before re-querying. The locked machine is shown in the following figure.

The query result shows that the machine is "unlocked" and not bound to a Xiaomi account. The unlocked machine is shown in the following figure.

PC End#

Enter https://i.mi.com in any browser.

Or directly access the query page https://i.mi.com/find/device/activationlock?_locale=en_US#/status

[It is recommended to use a browser with the Chrome kernel]

The following demonstrates manually accessing the official website.

Click on "Phone Appeal Unlock" at the bottom of the Xiaomi Cloud Services webpage.

Click on "Find Phone Status Query" under "Not sure if the Find My Phone feature is enabled on your phone?"

In the "Enter the current unlock code or IMEI" section, copy or enter the IMEI code in the "Unlock code or IMEI" box, and then click "Query".

The query result shows that the machine is "locked" and the Xiaomi account needs to be unbound by the seller before re-querying. The locked machine is shown in the following figure.

The query result shows that the machine is "unlocked" and not bound to a Xiaomi account. The unlocked machine is shown in the following figure.

Conclusion#

If you use this method on a second-hand platform, it is indeed easy to determine if a phone is locked. However, some people like to use terms that you have never heard of, such as "screen aging" which they can use to beautify these flaws. Therefore, it is important to carefully discern the information.

This article is modified from the "Long Er Ge" column source. It was originally written based on my own ideas, and "Long Er Ge" has been updating it since then. There is no problem with reposting, but please edit the source and inform me in advance!

If this article is helpful to you when buying a second-hand phone, you can support me by buying me a coffee. Do you see the coffee cup? ☟

Any amount is fine, it is very helpful to me. Or you can contribute by increasing the number of views φ(゜▽゜ *)♪

This article is also synchronized and updated to xLog by Mix Space.
The original link is https://www.miaoer.xyz/posts/blog/xiaomi-locked