[est]

> for Chinese devices, there's no way to disable them.

Uh can you stop spreading misinformation? Try google "disable xiaomi ads" it takes you like 5 minutes to make all ads gone on MIUI or HyperOS. Sure the opt-out buttons were hidden deep behind menus for maximizing profit.

But be warned, in certain countries you are getting a modified ROM from your local re-seller, in that case some ads can't be disabled and they are not from Xiaomi. The only solution is to flash your ROM to the official releases.

[immibis]

Is there a way to unlock the bootloader? (The official ways give cryptic error messages on purpose to keep you distracted until your warranty runs out)

[neurostimulant]

IIRC you'll need to register an account, use their official unlocker, then wait 2 weeks before your device is allowed to be unlocked. It's supposed to be done to hinder 3rd party sellers that flash custom rom with ads on phones they sell.

[immibis]

Yes, that's something like the official process excuse. It doesn't actually work, because their server has been configured to reject all unlocking requests.