Xiaomi has tightly restricted bootloader unlocking in China in recent years. Now, developers in the Chinese Xiaomi community appear to have bypassed those restrictions on the Xiaomi 18 Pro and Xiaomi 18 Fold, giving owners a way to unlock devices that normally ship with a locked bootloader.
The Xiaomi 18 Pro unlock was shared by @realMlgmXyysd, while the Xiaomi 18 Fold was reportedly unlocked by LittlenineEnna. The original X post is currently inaccessible through the web, while the Telegram post is available from the source channel.
Xiaomi 18 Pro security restrictions have been bypassed
The Xiaomi 18 Pro uses Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 platform and launched in China with HyperOS 4. Current firmware records show the Chinese model running Android 17 and HyperOS 4. (TechNode)
According to the information shared by @realMlgmXyysd, the device’s bootloader security has now been bypassed. This is different from Xiaomi’s normal bootloader unlocking process and appears to rely on a security vulnerability rather than Xiaomi granting an official unlock request.
That distinction is important. Xiaomi has increasingly limited official bootloader unlocking in China, making custom ROM installation and other low-level modifications much harder for Chinese-market devices.
wwXiaomi 18 Fold was also unlocked
The Xiaomi 18 Fold is powered by Xiaomi’s own XRING O3 chipset. The device is already available in China and ships with a locked bootloader. Independent testing of the phone confirms that the China model normally remains locked. (Smartzone)
LittlenineEnna has now reportedly achieved a bootloader unlock on the 18 Fold as well. The result is notable because the XRING O3 platform uses Xiaomi’s own silicon, adding another security layer compared with Qualcomm-based Xiaomi phones.
The two cases suggest that the restriction is not limited to one chipset or one Xiaomi 18 model. Both a Snapdragon-based flagship and an XRING O3-powered foldable have reportedly been bypassed.
This is not the same as Xiaomi officially allowing unlocks
There is an important difference between bypassing the bootloader lock and Xiaomi restoring official bootloader unlocking.
The reports show that researchers have found a way around the security restrictions. They do not show that Xiaomi has changed its official policy for Chinese devices.
Xiaomi could also patch the vulnerabilities used by these methods in a future HyperOS update. For that reason, users should not assume that the current method will remain available on every firmware version.
For now, the reports are significant because they show that the Xiaomi 18 series’ bootloader restrictions can be bypassed despite Xiaomi’s tighter unlocking policy in China.
