Fix Bricked Redmi Note 3 With No Unlock Permission

Getting bootloader unlock permission needs time and sometimes you simply don’t have enough patience to wait for the official permission, especially when your device is bricked. In this tutorial, you’ll see the method of how to unbrick Redmi Note 3 (Qualcomm Snapdragon variant) event you have no permission to unlock its bootloader. One of main reasons applying for bootloader unlock permission is to unbrick your phone, but sometimes not all users have a luck gaining the permission. Therefore, simply follow steps below to fix bricked – soft brick, not hard brick – Redmi Note 3 (RN3) with locked bootloader.

Before you proceed, here are some other articles, you might need them, to enhance your knowledge about what to do with your device:

• How to unlock Redmi Note 3 Bootloader;
• AIO Tool to unlock bootloader, flash TWRP, and root Redmi Note 3;
• How to root Redmi Note 3 Snapdragon;
• How to unbrick Redmi Note 3 using Mi PC Suite;
• General method to fix bricked MIUI device through Fastboot.

Requirements

1. A RN3 Snapdragon variant phone;
2. A computer runs Windows 7 or above (either PC / laptop). Make sure it is 64-bit (see System);
3. A USB Cable: the one comes with the phone;
4. May be a cup of coffee or tea (you choose) and some cookies.

Prerequisites

• Download ADB Files and extract it into your computer;
• Download Mi Flash Tool and install it;
• Download MIUI 7.x Fastboot ROM;
• Before you do, it is always suggested to backup your data;
• Make sure your phone also has enough power.
• Disable Windows Drivers Signature on your computer: you can do that by pressing Windows button + i on keyboard to reveal the Settings page. From there you can choose Update & Security >> Recovery >> Advanced startup >> Restart now. Wait a moment for your computer to restart. Next, go to Troubleshoot >> Advanced options >> Startup settings >> Restart. Once your computer restarts, now choose Disable driver signature enforcement which is option number 7. See the video below :

Flashing MIUI Fastboot ROM

One of popular method to fix bricked Xiaomi device is to flash Fastboot ROM and the way how it can be done is below – as mentioned by Muz_paray in MIUI Forum, so credits go to him.

Step 1 – Grab your RN3 Snapdragon phone on hand and put it into Download Mode – which is not the same as Fastboot mode. Follow these additional steps :

Step 1.a. – Press Volume Up (+) and Power button all together. This will bring your phone into Recovery mode.

Step 1.b. – Now connect your phone to your computer using its USB cable.

Step 1.c. – On your computer, go to the folder of where you’ve extracted fastboot files.

Step 1.d. – Hold the Shift button on keyboard >> right-click anywhere inside the folder >> then choose Open Command Prompt from here.

Step 1.e. – Now type this command on command prompt windows :

adb devices
adb reboot edl

Step 1.f. – The phone will restart and Mi Logo will appear. You’ll also hear sound of plugging device to indicate this state. Now then, type adb reboot edl again in command prompt :

adb reboot edl

Step 1.g. – That’s it. Your phone should now in Download mode.

Alternative method to put Redmi Note 3 into Download mode:

Step 1.a. – While your phone is off, press Volume Up (+) and Volume Down (-) buttons together and plug your hone into computer using its USB cable.

Step 1.b. – Your phone should now be in ADB mode. You can verify that via Device Manager in your computer and you should see something like this :

Step 1.c. – On your computer, go to the folder of where you’ve extracted fastboot files.

Step 1.d. – Hold the Shift button on keyboard >> right-click anywhere inside the folder >> then choose Open Command Prompt Window here.

Step 1.e. – Now type this command on command prompt windows :

adb devices
adb reboot edl

Step 1.f. – Your phone should now in Download mode indicated by the Red LED.

Step 2 – On your computer, open up Device Manager (Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Device Manager) and you should now be able to see your device detected as QHUSB_BULK. Right-click on it and choose Update Driver Software.

Step 3 – Choose Browse My Computer for Driver Software.

Step 4 – Now browse for the path where Xiaomi USB Drivers software is usually located. You’ll find it – most likely – in following location :

C:\Program Files (x86)\Xiaomi\MiPhone\Qualcomm\Driver

Step 5 – Windows Security will appear, just choose “Install this driver software anyway“.

Once done, you’ll see this :

Step 6 – You can verify that, again, in Device Manager. You’ll see new Ports added and namely Qualcomm HS-USB.

Step 7 – Download latest Fastboot ROM available, or you can simply use this MIUI v7.1.8.0.LHOMICL. Please remember that Fastboot ROM always has .tgz or .tar extension, not .zip.

Download MIUI 7.1.8.0 Fastboot ROM

Step 8 – Extract that ROM file in your computer using WinRAR. Warning: make sure it is located in a folder with no space(s) in its name. For example, it is recommended to put it in following location: C:\ROM\MIUI or something like this

Step 9 – Now launch up MiFlash Tool then click on the Browse button.

Step 10 – Then select the location of where you’ve extracted the Fastboot ROM file:

Do not choose the images folder.

Step 11 – Now press F5 or simply click the Refresh button.

Step 12 – Your device should now appear in the tool. Now make sure you choose the Flash All option.

Step 13 – Finally, click on the Flash button to start the flashing process.

Step 14 – Just wait till the process completes and is indicated with the message saying “The operation completed successfully…”

Step 15 – Now disconnect your phone from computer press the Power button till it vibrates. Your RN3 phone will now start, just wait till it boots completely. The initial booting process should take longer than usual (around 10 minutes).

That’s all and congratulation.

Most common trouble

Some users reported following error happened :

The system can not find the file specified (0x80070002: Max buffer sector is 256)

as shown below :

Here’s how to fix that error :

Step 1 – Download flash_all.bat and rawprogram0.xml, extract it and use it to replace the ones in the folder of where you’ve extracted the ROM.

Step 2 – Now repeat from Step 8 above.

That’s all guys. I hope you can follow the steps correctly so you can unbrick your phone. The method above is only one of available methods. However, if following above still get you no luck, I suggest you to follow another method : Unbrick Redmi Note 3 using Mi PC Suite. Anyway, do not hesitate to share your experience below..