The Xiaomi Unlock Scam

[wer_wien]

Having read all 6 pages of the Hyperos Unlock thread

Unlock_hyperOS_ Global devices

I've tried today at 17⁰⁰ CET... no luck.

xiaomi.eu

particularly the last pages, I have come to the conclusion that we have been cheated by Xiaomi, and not very elegantly art that.
If a company offers a phone and a method to unlock the bootloader, which - it now turns out - is no longer workable, that company has reneged on its responsibility towards its customers, and is cynically abusing their trust. The only way we can show their displeasure is by boycotting Xiaomi - yes, I realise we are a minority and our business may seem insignificant, but please keep in mind that you lose a reputation in a much shorter time than it takes to build it up again.
I first thought I would have to apologise to all those who invest a lot of time and effort to maintain this forum at this incredible level, but ... if we can not unlock the bootloader, we can not install a custom ROM, so a boycott does not make the situation any worse.
I sincerely hope that you and similarly oriented sites will use all your own influence to make Xiaomi reconsider and give us back this little corner of freedom.
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[Igor Eisberg]

The bootloader is still unlockable for Global devices, the new method with the app is due to a decision by the Chinese government prohibiting the installation of an OS other than Xiaomi for CN devices.

If 99% of the time you'll be getting "Application quota limit reached" when applying for a "permission" to unlock, or getting "The system is being upgraded" when trying to bind a device in Mi Unlock Status, then I'd say that OP is correct.
The possibility to unlock being extremely improbable is not disclosed in an honest manner, which could even be illegal in certain markets with strict consumer protection laws, such as UK, EU and Australia.

Example: https://xdaforums.com/t/court-actio...-bootloader-unlock-tool.4657042/post-89347564
The British law: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/1277/part/2
What Xiaomi does here can easily be categorized as "misleading omission" that "as a result it causes or is likely to cause the average consumer to take a transactional decision he would not have taken otherwise".

So if you decided to purchase a Xiaomi device because you got the impression (from official sources) that you could unlock the bootloader, and after the purchase you were not granted the ability to do so within a reasonable time, then you were misled. Gather enough people who were misled in a similar fashion, and you got yourself a class action lawsuit waiting to be filed.