yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] heartofalion:
Can the people who received the Mi Max 3 with a fake ROM and an unlocked bootloader flash the phone to the official global ROM once it is released and then lock the bootloader without issues? Locking the bootloader seems to be important for apps like banking apps, some of which require an unrooted device with a locked bootloader. (for security reasons)

---------- Post added at 11:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:10 PM ----------

Some people have reported that the Mi Max 3 they bought from the Xiaomi store on Ali Express has the exact same ROM. While Xiaomi forum admins are saying it's a fake ROM. This seems to be confusing.

Also, if the fake ROM will provide an OTA update to the clean official global ROM once it's released, wouldn't that solve the issue?

Maybe some Chinese vendors put this version on the phone to be the first to service international clients, but intend to allow the phone to update to the clean official global ROM once it is released.

Because the vendor I ordered my phone from advertised very strongly that the phone supports OTA updates.

Or am I being too optimistic here?
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] Wam7:
You probably need to take some time to read through the thread - shouldn't take too long, as all your points have been answered by people more knowledgeable than I on all matters relating to the Xiaomi frame of reference.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] heartofalion:
I have read the entire thread. None of my points have been adressed with certainty. That's why I'm bringing up these points. Also new information comes available all the time.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] ooshaugh1:
Hey guys. Just recieved my mimax 3 today and have successfully flashed the stable cn rom. want to flash miui.eu rom but having trouble flashing twrp recovery. Have tried multiple times and eventhough in fastboot it appears to have succeeded I cannot reboot into twrp. Each time it will only reboot into mirecovery. Any advice?
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] Wam7:
Is your bootloader unlocked? When the phone boots up does the little lock icon show locked or unlocked?
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] ooshaugh1:
yep it is unlocked and I have confirmed it is unlocked via fastboot
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] Wam7:
Well I'm not sure how well you read but it has already been mentioned there is no guarantee that the unofficial Global ROM will be able to OTA to the official one when it is released. There is past experience to think that it won't but really only time will tell. The fake/unofficial ROM might have caused issues with the partitioning which may only be fixed with a Fastboot flash to an official ROM etc.

Apart from the obvious problems that have already been mentioned with the fake global ROM there could be hidden problems that are yet to rear their ugly head. It could update seamlessly to the official Global ROM and we can all wonder what all the fuss was about though I would rather err on the side of caution.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] ooshaugh1:
any suggestion i could try? Keen to get this up and running on xaoimi eu tonight
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] Wam7:
Which instructions are you following and EXACTLY what did you do? I read that one guy changed from his PC to his laptop to get things working. What OS are you doing it on? Did you start adb as Adminstrator?

It worked seamlessly for me but hopefully there will more informed folks than I come along to offer some assistance.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] strebalicious:
nm look below
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] enjourneer:
After successfully flashing twrp via fastboot dont boot the device. Manually boot to twrp directly by pressing the volume + and power button or if it boot automatically just press the volume+ immediately untill you see the twrp logo
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] strebalicious:
I'm pretty dumb. Never realized Volume Up and Volume Down did different things on boot. I just kept hitting down and wondering why TWRP wasn't flashing correctly.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] panospc:
I think nothing prevents the seller to use the official xiaomi tool to unlock the bootloader and then flash a fake global ROM.

I received my Mi Max 3 from a local shop with the bootloader already unlocked, I flashed the latest fastboot china ROM by selecting "Clean All" in MiFlash and my bootloader got locked. I have to wait few more days to unlock it again with my own account.

The problem is that we don't know what method each seller uses to unlock the device. So if you receive a chinese xiaomi with unlocked bootloader, my suggestion is to flash the latest chinese fastboot ROM with "Clean all and lock option" and then unlock officialy with your own Mi account.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] gkeeper1:
hi,

i have followed omer's instructions but getting error after pressing flash "error:fAILED (remote: update crc list failed)"

Now my phone is turned on either on Mirecovery or FASTBOOT screens only.

Can you please help?
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] Wam7:
I ordered and paid for my Max 3 two days after it was officially released, it was dispatched the next day. According to Omer919. the thread starter, there was no official way that these sellers could have unlocked the bootloader then.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] omer919:
true, they would have needed to wait up to 15 days before unlocking.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] omer919:
someone had this, I think I told him to flash twrp, format userdata and wipe system, data, cache and internal storage

then change computer and do it there
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] omer919:
1. This ROM is confirmed fake by many people. just so you know these vendors are now moving from that rom to another modified rom because of the problem it has which ill release a statement on as well very soon.

2. "Also, if the fake ROM will provide an OTA update to the clean official global ROM once it's released, wouldn't that solve the issue?" NOT POSSIBLE its like asking to update from china rom to xiaomi.eu rom like nothing.

3. Vendors want to sale. people wont buy this phone if it doesnt have the so wanted global rom... so they create vendor roms, modified buggy and partition breaking roms that look like global rom with no ota.

Xiaomi is the only company with these issues.

Just so you know, as of now we dont know wether we will be allowed to lock bootloader on global rom so stay tuned
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] gkeeper1:
how to flash TWRP? Using miflash tool again?
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] heartofalion:
Can anyone explain why there are claims of people who bought the Mi Max 3 from the official Xiaomi online store on Aliexpress that state they have the same ROM version as the ROM version that is claimed to be fake?

Is this information actually correct and true?

If so, then why are Xiaomi forum admins saying it's fake, when Xiaomi itself ships phones with that ROM?

I checked the following myself and the official Xiaomi store on Aliexpress has had the Mi Max 3 with what they say is the global ROM for quite some time now.

Needless to say, I am confused about the contradicting information.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] jkpedro:
This is was true 2 years ago, there are new unlocking tools since then.

Xiaomi doesn't have any store on Aliexpress. Only official website is mi.com
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] tuddu:
...and Gearbest....

Inviato dal mio Redmi Note 5 utilizzando Tapatalk
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] omer919:
Xiaomi isnt on aliexpress... any seller calling them self "xiaomi" is a vendor / un-official seller....

you are refusing to read our answers
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] heartofalion:
Well dang, then I'll just have to wait for the official global ROM and download it to flash my Mi Max 3.

I don't feel comfortable putting banking apps on a fake ROM.

However that still leaves the question if the final official global ROM will allow the bootloader to be locked without any issues after it has been unlocked with unofficial 3rd party tools by vendors, because some banking apps don't work on rooted phones or phones with an unlocked bootloader.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] lucaxxaa:
...but if i install China Stable on Fake Rom( and look bootloader by fastboot method) , unlook bootloader with official method, and install Global when will be available, is possible to brick phone, for antirollback , if global version is minor that China versione ?
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] heartofalion:
Has anyone been able to succesfully lock the bootloader without any secondary issues after flashing the China ROM over the fake ROM?

This is important, because apps like Android Pay, Netflix and banking apps will not work with an unlocked bootloader.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] heartofalion:
There is one more theory for this fake ROM. It's not unthinkable that the "international" versions of these phones have been intercepted by a Chinese secret service organization and flashed with a ROM that has a backdoor. There is historical precedent for this in other countries and the US government claims that this happens on Huawei hardware for example. Such an organization could have simply resealed the boxes in which the phones are shipped.

The sealing on the box is no guarantee that the phone hasn't been tampered with.

I will be waiting for the release of the official global ROM and then flash it and lock the bootloader before I do anything with my Mi Max 3.

The question then is, how much longer do we need to wait for the official global ROM?
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] weareborg:
So, the current Mi Max 3 Global version pre-sale on gearbest is (potentially) official? Shipping Sept circa 16th Sept. currently pre-order..
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] heartofalion:
We won't know until we know the release date of the official global ROM.

Note that the Mi Max 3 is 60 Euros more expensive on Gearbest than on Aliexpress. One might as well buy the version on Aliexpress with the official Chinese ROM and flash it to the official global ROM once it is released and save 60 Euros.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] weareborg:
Cheers heartofalion. Good point. However, up until about 10 posts ago I thought the ‘Official Xiaomi stores’ listed on AE were ‘official’. That surprised me to be honest, though I’m not a frequent AE shopper, it undermines them greatly in my opinion. I also didn’t know Gearbest were an official reseller. I actually had it the other way around in my head!
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] cmarkortiz:
[MENTION=9356140]Demon Alf[/MENTION] did u ever get answer as I just got China rom version too.

---------- Post added at 05:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:44 AM ----------

[MENTION=9356140]Demon Alf[/MENTION] did u ever get answer as I just got China rom version too.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] heartofalion:
If you bought the phone with the official China ROM, then you can flash it to the official global ROM once it is released using Xiaomi's official flash tool.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] twocs:
Nice copy-paste /s https://en.miui.com/thread-3463429-2-1.html

Why would you respond to me with plagiarism? Plagiarism is unacceptable. If making an important case about a bad situation, how does that help? Just quote the reference and link to it. And acknowledge if you know the person who wrote that other post.

miui.com has a terrible search interface. However, we can search it easily. There are 113 threads that mentions 9.6.4.0 on Miui.com. Only two regarding Mi Max 3 that were responded to by someone at MIUI (a moderator). It isn't all that difficult to become a volunteer moderator, so whether you should take it as "official" word from Xiaomi is up to you. Regarding https://en.miui.com/thread-3500573-1-1.html. The response neither confirms nor denies whether 9.6.4.0 was produced by Miui and released in an unofficial channel (Un-Official) vs being created by a vendor (Fake). Using fake every time a ROM is unofficial is disingenuous.

So should we call every ROM "fake" that's not released at http://en.miui.com/download.html? Virtually single ROM on XDA is a fake ROM? Maybe that is that useful? So I'm still unconvinced. It does not seem farfetched to believe that these official xiaomi resellers obtained both China devices and a ROM via an unofficial Xiaomi channel. Official MIUI 9.6.4.0(NCFMIFA) was released for Redmi Note 5 in mid-July http://en.miui.com/thread-3337568-1-1.html Calling everything fake just isn't helpful.

---------- Post added at 03:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:24 AM ----------

Actually, this is only half true. A number of "Top Brand" vendors at Aliexpress are vetted to be authorized resellers. https://sale.aliexpress.com/__pc/topbrand.htm

Xiaomi Online is therefore an authorized reseller of Xiaomi. https://xiaomionline.aliexpress.com/store/bigsale/2178148_224021.html
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] omer919:
1. its funny because Im that guy xD If you look closely the post I posted there is a copy of the one here...

2. If you think that all 9.6.4.0 for all the devices rom of miui are the same, you are also part of the people who dont understand xiaomis software, especially when there is no global rom. if you would look only in Mi Max 3 section you would see that to every thread of someone saying that they have problems, the mods, admins and users respond that its because of the fake rom and the user responds that he really has that, To every thread asking for global rom they answer that there isnt any global rom (even when they post a china release they also say there is no global rom), to anyone who asks about 9.6.4.0 they all answer that its fake.

3. There is literlly no reason to fight against what I say here, I come here to help you guys out and inform you about anything bad that happens to our devices so we could fix that.

4. These sellers KNOW that we found the fact thats its un-official, not only that, people reported to them all the issues that it made them have. So what did they do? They took a xiaomi.eu rom and modified it to say Global instead of xiaomi.eu . YES, these sellers literlly dont care about wther its official global or not, they just wanna sell and they know that they can only sell global rom to all those who dont understand xiaomi software.

5. Again, all ali-express sellers are un-official private seller and non of them are authorized, they all just wanna sell. Xiaomi doesnt sell on ali-express, geekbuying, gearbest, etc. they only places where xiaomi sells are their website and their local stores.

Im here for you, I know the dangers of having a vendor rom and I came here to inform the community. Its your problem if you dont wanna listen but I did my best to help.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] heartofalion:
Does anyone know how long it took for the official global ROM to be released after the release of the Mi Max 2?

That might give us an indication of how long we will have to wait this time.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] panospc:
June 27, 2017

http://en.miui.com/thread-666647-1-1.html

Mi Max 2 announced around May 25, 2017
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] tuddu:
Yes, but this is Max 3 thread....

Inviato dal mio MI MAX 3 utilizzando Tapatalk
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] heartofalion:
Thanks mate.

That means we can expect the release of the official global ROM for the Mi Max 3 any day now.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] gkeeper1:
Thanks. I changed computer and the ROM flashed just perfect.

Probably the 1st laptop was blocking some drivers.

BTW - all the problems with the signal i had with that FAKE rom are now resolved.

Battery life improved as well.

Thank you [MENTION=7889477]omer919[/MENTION]
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] gavin2018:
hi guys I am a guest and newbie to flashing Xiaomi ROMS etc as I recently purchased a Mi Max 3 with fake ROM. I understand the steps to follow (i.e. flash official Chinese stable rom, twrp and then xiaomi.EU ROM however when I download any variant of the China ROM and extract files, my extracted files are not recognised on PC (blank white file thumbnail) and MiFlash will not recognise the file path for flashing purposes either.

any help greatly appreciated with the recognition of the downloaded ROM files, as I think this is the only barrier to me removing fake Global ROM and installing official or .eu ROM.

thanks
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] opasha:
Download 7zip and extract them using that. No better file zipper/extractor than that.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] gavin2018:
thanks very much for the quick reply Opasha. I did that and seemed to extract better into a recognised folder but the file itself contained in the folder was again a white thumbnail. Miflash now saying error - "cannot find flash_all.bat"

I am guessing I have missed something or did not download something else before downloading the ROM.

I did get a warning on extraction confirming that it cannot open as tar archive but is open as gzip archive. unsure whether this is a pointer as to what is wrong.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] opasha:
Edit: http://en.miui.com/thread-367639-1-1.html: (Please check if the file suffix is '.tgz'. Please rename it to '.tgz' if the suffix is '.gz or .tar')

Use 7zip to rename the file from .tar to .tgz
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] will6316:
Just received my mi max 3 yesterday it came unlocked with Miui 10 8.8.3 global beta is this fake
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] markkab:
mi max 3 not receive phone calls or send sms everything was okay any i dea
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] zenn66:
There's no official global rom available. So.... Yes its fake
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] mart94:
Interesting, is it possible that most phones working good with that fake global rom?

Aliexpress sellers who sold hundreds Max 3 rating is still 4,7-4,9
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] zenn66:
I also had no problems but read the first post! It can damage your phone eventually!
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] cranedly:
I have just about read all this thread, and to be honest, its doing my head in, just when i think i have a solution for my fake rom mi max 3 that has the same rom as the title of this thread, i get another opinion that says something different.

If anyone from xiaomi reads this thread, please, please, try and give all us international buyers of your fantastic phone, who just so happen to have been hoodwinked into thinking they were buying an official global rom, and who have instead been lied to., please give us an option to put an official global rom on by OTA. Is this at all possible, could you find a way of doing this, if not, i will have to take my life in my hands, and try and flash the official global rom, when it is released, to my phone. Even at this stage, i do not know for sure if this can be done, will i need to flash to a china rom first, then the official global one, will i be able to lock the bootloader when flashing global rom, if i try, will it work, or could it brick the phone.

If i had any idea about all of this before i bought this phone, i would have saved up for the honor note 10. but as i now have this phone in my hands, i must say that i love it, for all its faults with this godawful rom situation.

And finally, could Xiaomi make sure, that when they do release the official global rom, that it will not harm phones with this fake rom installed, i get the feeling somehow, that doing a fastboot install could, conflict with a fake global rom, and we do even more damage to our phones, waiting in anticipation for the release, then go on a learning curve to flash my phone, which i have never done before, and hopefully come out the other end, with a fully working beautiful 7 inch phone, and not a brick.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] lucaxxaa:
resume my operations to remove fake rom:

-install china dev 8.8.9 ( the last without antirollback)

-install TWRP ( here problem, because do not format "user data" partition by twrp)

-install xiaomi.eu with twrp

All work fine !

P.S.

After install China Dev 8.8.9, i try to go developer menu, and ability usb dev option, but system tell me that is "not possible temporany not available 3-3)

I think that system comunique with xiaomi server and don't permit this operatio, becouse bootloader is unlook by seller!!!
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] AckbloM:
Ordered one too and still waiting for dispatch. If I get one with fake ROM, I'll simply install Chinese ROM to sort out partitions and then xiaomi.eu so I can have working Google Assistant and use GCam mod. I am not that bothered about this fake ROM but want to be able to bind the phone to my Mi account so I can lock/unlock bootloader and that's the only thing that isn't really clear to me.

Has anyone managed to bind their phone to their Mi account and then lock/unlock bootloader successfully? Also, I was just wondering if phones that you received were sealed? Asked the seller I bought it from to keep the box sealed and not to install this ROM and leave bootloader locked.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] pwnrat0:
Official Global Rom Release Date?

I heard that the Hong Kong and Taiwan branches of Xiaomi are now selling Mi Max 3.

1. Does this mean that the Official Global Rom comes with those devices?

2. If so, is it only available in HK and Taiwan right now? and if so, when the Global Rom be released to the rest of the world?

3. If not, any idea when the Global Rom will finally be released?

Thanks for your help.
[Xiaomi Mi Max 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] treffech:
What is the solution when you have this message with bootloader locked? Impossible to enter in dev mode because the doesn't boot?
[Member-Found Deals] BigRonW:
I stumbled upon an advert from UX Mobiles for a mid range phone at a sub-bargain price. The company CLAIMS that it will sell 6,000 handsets for £12 each, plus £3 delivery. My estimate is that similar phones are retailing for around £120. So why so cheap? Hidden away in the terms and conditions (that everybody clicks that they're read and agree to, even although they've not actually bothered to do so) is an agreement to click-through fifty online adverts. It's hinted, very obliquely, that these adverts are "part of the phone" (So, presumably coded into the stock software?) The price was amazingly low, I decided to take the gamble. If it's a scam, then Ive lost slightly under sixteen quid (worst option) if it's NOT a scam, then Ive aquired a new spare phone to play with. I signed up on Saturday, today is Monday. The process begins with selecting which of three phones you'd like. Two differ only in the colour of the plastic casing (black, or white) the third option is spray painted gold The black and white options have 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage, the gold model has only 16 Gb of storage. Which SoC lies at the heart of the phone is NOT revealed. Having made your selection, you enter standard information, name, email, delivery address etc., then wait. UX sends out an email fairly rapidly, giving your position in the queue (I was #300) and the following day, another email, this time from PayPal inviting me to part with £15.94. The phone should arrive, they tell me, in mid September. A friend purchased a generic Android phone from China via Ebay a few weeks back. The on-paper specification looked amazing, but on arrival the phone turned out to be flimsy and unreliable. On the other hand, it cost only £30. These phones from UX allegedly are built around an aluminium alloy chassis...

I'd welcome the opinion of any other members... and will keep you updated on progress.

http://www.uxmobiles.com/index.php
[Member-Found Deals] Yotoprules:
I'm interested to know also. The G1 apparently has a SD 820.