Unlocking the bootloader

Unlocking your bootloader will allow you to replace the manufacturer's software with 3rd party one, since the signature verification which takes place on startup to verify whether the software the device is running is genuine, is skipped.

The bootloader unlock process can be done either via Mi Unlock which is the official Xiaomi way or via a third party tool called mtkclient.

We will opt for the first option since it is the recommended way of unlocking the bootloader of a Xiaomi device. You can check out the official forum post for detailed instructions here

If you do not wish to wait the unlock time period that Xiaomi enforces, you can use a custom tool called mtkclient, but the process is quite convoluted and requires some technical knowledge.

After the process is complete and your device restarts, you may be prompted to press the 'Power' button to continue. You should do that, if you are prompted to, to skip Android Verified Boot checks.