How To Unlock Bootloader On POCO F4 Using “Mi Unlock” Tool?

The Poco F4’s 870 processor is carried over from the Poco F3, and it’s a capable flagship-ish chipset with 5G support. The Poco F4’s OLED 6.67-inch screen offers up to 120Hz refresh rate and 1080p resolution. To get the most out of it you will need to unlock Bootloader in order to root your smartphone or install a custom ROM. Xiaomi grants Mi device unlock permission to nearly everyone, however, the process is as grueling as it was a few years ago. In this article, I will try to simplify the POCO bootloader unlocking process.

How To Unlock Bootloader On POCO F4?

POCO makes its users go through an agonizing wait before allowing them to unlock the bootloader. Try to follow all the steps with sincerity since one step in the wrong direction is enough for Xiaomi to reset the waiting period.

Pre-requisites

Now before we go ahead and unlock the bootloader of Poco F4, let us make a list of pre-requisites that are required to unlock it:

Charge your phone

You need to make sure that your Poco F4 is charged to about 60% before operating it for unlocking the bootloader to avoid any boot loop issues during the unlocking process.

You need a PC or Laptop

We would be running certain ADB and Fastboot commands that can be executed via PC or a laptop. So, we would need a computer in order to unlock the bootloader.

Download USB Drivers

In order to make your Poco F4 recognized by your PC, you need to have proper USB Drivers appropriate to your phone installed on your computer. And for that, you can follow the link below to download the correct Xiaomi USB Drivers on your PC.

Xiaomi USB Drivers

Download Mi Unlock Tool

Mi Unlocker Tool is used for unlocking the bootloader of any Xiaomi device after getting permission From MIUI official website. You can download the latest Mi Unlock Tool by clicking the link below:

Mi Unlock Tool

Step 1 – Make a Xiaomi account and sync your mobile number

POCO users generally skip making a Mi account during the initial setup. But in order to unlock the POCO F4 bootloader, it is necessary to have a working account on the device.

Moreover, it is important to link the number on the device with the Xiaomi account. Also, refrain from connecting unowned numbers to the Xiaomi account on the device in order to avoid obstacles in the process.

POCO requires “Find My Device” toggled and synced to the latest location for some reason.

You will find the settings under Mi Account > Mi Cloud > Find Device. In order to update the location, sign in at the Xiaomi cloud website on a computer, click on “Find Device” and choose your current device.

Step 2 – Authorize Mi Unlock in the developer settings

In this step, you have to bind your account with the Mi Unlock authorization tab which you can find under the developer settings.

Open the settings > Tap on About phone > Scroll down and tap on the MIUI version slot five times. This will unlock the developer options in your POCO F4 which can be located under “Additional Settings.”

In the Developer options, go to the “Mi Unlock Status” and tap on “Add account and device” in order to authorize Xiaomi to unlock the device associated with the account.

The authorization process will use the mobile data of the carrier. Therefore, make sure you have turned off WiFi before adding the account.

Before moving ahead with the third step, enable OEM unlocking and USB debugging while you are in the developer options settings.

Step 3 – Download the Mi Unlock Tool

Keep your POCO F4 aside for a moment and go to this link on your PC to download the Xiaomi Unlock Tool.

Extract the zip file and open the application named “Mi unlock flash file”. Log in using the same Mi account which is being used on the POCO F4.

Before starting with the Mi bootloader unlocking process, tap on the top-right gear icon to check the update for both the USB driver and Mi Unlock Tool.

As instructed on the app screen, switch off your smartphone. Take a moment and hold the power button and lower volume button simultaneously. This will open up the fast boot mode in your MIUI device. Now, connect the phone to the computer via USB cable.

A new message will appear on the screen, “Phone connected”. Now, click on the “Unlock” button to unlock the bootloader.

Step 4 – Wait for Xiaomi to end the Unlock period

On your first attempt, the Mi unlock tool will flash the message, “Couldn’t unlock, Please unlock 168 hours later”. For those who don’t know, this is the infamous Xiaomi, POCO bootloader unlock waiting period where, sometimes, users end up waiting for months.

However, several users claim to get the unlock device authorization merely within a few hours. If you want to avoid the same fate, just try not to bypass the 168 hours error.

The Mi Unlock tool waiting period is a bitter pill to swallow. There is no workaround, in fact, you might wind up resetting the clock trying to trick the system.

The best thing you can do is wait patiently and once the unlock period is over, again use the Mi unlock tool and hopefully, unlock the bootloader of your MIUI device.

By now, I am guessing you have successfully unlocked the bootloader of your POCO F4. Before you head on to do other things such as flashing the MIUI device or rooting the device, do a quick check if the unlock procedure was a success.

Close the Mi unlock tool and reboot the device. Again, head to the Mi unlock status in the developer settings and see if the tab is flashing “Locked” or “Unlocked”.

Conclusion

Like most things, unlocking the bootloaders has its own pros and cons. While the pros include superior control over your Android device and a great scope of customization, the cons include risking the security of your device and losing certain useful features along with all device data.

FAQs

Does POCO allow unlocking the bootloader?

Yes, POCO allows you to unlock the bootloader of its phone via the Mi Unlock Tool.

Does unlocking the bootloader erase data on POCO?

Yes. Unlocking the bootloader erases all data on your POCO device. It is suggested to create a backup before going forward with this process.

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