Earlier, the Xiaomi community issued an announcement to adjust the bootloader unlocking policy in the Chinese market. After the adjustment, each user can only apply to unlock one device per year. If the user has multiple devices, he or she can only apply to unlock one device. At present, this policy has also been synchronized to the Xiaomi international market. That is, the unlocked bootloader of Xiaomi mobile phones sold in the international market is also limited to unlocking only one device per user per year.
Originally, Xiaomi's policy on unlocking BL was relatively loose in the international market. For example, Chinese users must reach level 5 in the Xiaomi community and answer questions at a fixed time. The answer accuracy rate reaches the required level before they can be unlocked. However, users of Xiaomi's international version only need to submit an application to unlock, without participating in the community and answering questions.
But even so, the current unlocking policy may have an impact on professional console users and developers. For example, some developers may have multiple different Xiaomi models that need to be unlocked for testing. The new restrictions force developers to register multiple different accounts.
Xiaomi did not explain the reason for doing this, but it is speculated that it may be based on security and prevention of abuse considerations, especially to avoid certain unauthorized unlocking behaviors and deployment of malware.
In addition to Xiaomi, other brands of Android devices are also tightening restrictions on unlocking bootloaders. This may not be a good thing for users who like to flash their phones and obtain root permissions after unlocking.