Google is constantly trying to crack down on attacks on Android and therefore makes it harder for the bad guys, such as Google Play protect and the ongoing patches that patch small holes from time to time.
With Android Oreo 8.0, another line of defence has been added to protect your data. It's called Google Anti-rollback protection, which means you can't roll back to an earlier version because they contain backdoors or security holes that have been fixed in the new version. This increases the protection of the user's data. Or stroke...
The average user will never have a problem with this, because reverting to a previous version is not an easy task and knowing this, the service departments will not do it either, because the EDL mode does not work in this case. So you can put back the previous ruin, but from then on forget about your phone, because it will be a TELEPHONE and just a nice dust catcher on the shelf.
Here comes the twist! It's true for Xiaomi phones too, the days after the biggest brick factory opened its doors with the Redmi Note 5 MIUI 10 Android 8.1 update not everyone liked it and wanted to get the well working MIUI 9 back. And the cold shower came! No recovery, no fastboot, no EDL, no nothing! The Android system deliberately protected (ruined) all the phones that wanted to be restored to the previous version and now, out of 5 million units sold, quite a few are sitting in Xiaomi's official service centers.
The solution is only and exclusively at Xiaomi's official service centre, don't trust the funny dude to do it!
Xiaomi's official announcement on the matter:
Dear MIUI rajuongos,
To maintain the stability of the system and ensure the safety of the device, Xiaomi has introduced an anti-rollback mechanism. If you upgraded after the release of MIUI 10 Beta ROM on July 6th, please do not try to roll back the previous Stable and Beta ROM. Otherwise, your device will be WINDOW, which may also affect the stability of your device. If your device is UNAVAILABLE, please contact your nearest Mi service center for assistance.
Global Beta ROM
1. If you have upgraded to MIUI 10 Beta ROM 8.7.6 or later, you can upgrade to any ROM after 8.7.6 (including 8.7.6), but you cannot revert to Beta ROM 8.7.5 or earlier.
2. If you had Beta ROM 8.7.5 or earlier ROMs, you can revert to all previous ROMs.
Global stable ROM
1. If you have the Stabil ROM V 9.5.19 (coming soon) ROM, you can upload the ROM after the Stabil V 9.5.19 (including V 9.5.19) ROM, but you cannot revert to Stabil ROM V9.5.17 or ROM before.
2. If you have Stable ROM V 9.5.17 or older ROMs, you can revert to all older ROMs.
If you want to try a ROM prior to 8.7.6, you can stay on the previous ROM, which will not affect the use of your device.
Sorry for the inconvenience caused.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
MIUI team
So far, we've only talked about the Redmi Note 5 / Pro, but the rest of the devices will suffer the same fate. You can check for ARB on your PC this way:
- ADB and drivers should be installed on PC
- Open the bootloader
- Restart the phone in fastboot mode
- Issue this command at the command line: fastboot getvar anti
- If the result is 4, then you have ARB enabled
- If the result is less than 4, you do not have ARB enabled
So! Take heed and heed the words of Aaron Eckhart from Invasion of the Earth - Battle: Los Angeles: Back? Never!
