Redmi Note 8 Pro bricking for some people: Here's why
A few weeks back, Xiaomi unveiled its super-impressive Redmi Note 8 Pro in the Indian market. The phone drew widespread attention with its new gaming chipset as well as the 64MP AI quad-camera setup. But, as it turns out, Note 8 Pro carries an issue, one that is causing it to brick for a number of people. Here's all about it.
ROM flashing troubles on Note 8 Pro
After sticking with Snapdragon for years, Xiaomi finally took the decision of offering MediaTek Helio GT90, a gaming chipset, with Note 8 Pro. Now, the thing is, the processor makes the phone more powerful than its competitors in the same price bracket, but it has also created some problems for users willing to flash Custom ROM for a vanilla Android experience on the device.
Unexpected bricking of Note 8 Pro
While Xiaomi had released Kernel resources for allowing Custom ROM support on Note 8 Pro, both users and developers have reported that the phone bricks unexpectedly while trying to flash a custom mod or an MIUI update via recovery. The issue leaves the device completely unusable, with no easy way to unbrick and start using it again.
Tool of recovery blocked by Xiaomi account restrictions
Unlike Snapdragon, MediaTek-powered devices rely on the SPFlash Tool for flashing custom ROMs and recovery of the device. But, in this case, the people trying to use the platform with Note 8 Pro noted that it asks for an authorized Xiaomi account to continue with recovery. Now, as many don't have this account, they are left with no option to get the phone running.
No word from Xiaomi on the matter, users infuriated
So far, Xiaomi has neither acknowledged the issue nor given a word when it might be fixed. Evidently, the users, whose phones are suffering from the bricking problem, are completely infuriated. They have been complaining about the problem on MIUI forums and Twitter, even reporting cases where people with authorized Xiaomi account are charging money for re-flashing the stock ROM and recovering the phone.
Meanwhile, don't try flashing your Note 8 Pro
Unless Xiaomi addresses this issue or makes an SPFlash tool that doesn't require authorized Xiaomi account, we'd recommend staying away from flashing a custom ROM on the phone. Even a small error could leave your phone bricked, so try using the phone with the MIUI for now and go for a custom solution once the fix is available.
