[Help] Redmi 10 (India, model 220333QBI) stuck in fastboot — bootloader locked, no Mi account, no data to save. Tried everything I know, need next steps.
Hey all, posting this out of genuine frustration after an entire night of troubleshooting. Would really appreciate anyone who's been through this exact situation.
The phone: Friend's Redmi 10 (India variant), model number 220333QBI, Snapdragon 680, codename likely "fog." It suddenly got stuck in fastboot mode — no idea what triggered it, it just wouldn't boot past fastboot no matter what button combo we tried (power, vol up, vol down, all combinations).
Important context: We don't have access to any Mi Account for this device — my friend never set one up / doesn't remember one, so the official Mi Unlock Tool route is completely off the table. We also don't care about any data on the phone at all — we just want it working again. Local repair shops we tried couldn't/didn't fix it either.
What we've tried so far (all on Windows via laptop):
- Confirmed the phone shows up in fastboot mode consistently, but
fastboot devicesvia Google's platform-tools showed nothing initially — turned out to be a driver issue. - Installed MediaTek + ADB drivers, then manually tried forcing "Android Bootloader Interface" in Device Manager — got a Code 10 error.
- Got MiFlash (2022.5.7.0) to actually detect the phone (device id showed up).
- Downloaded the correct official stock firmware (fog, India, fastboot ROM, V13.0.2.0.SGEINXM) and verified via SHA256.
- Ran the flash through MiFlash — hit a "flash timeout" error at exactly 700 seconds, every single time, on multiple attempts, even with "flash_all_except_data_storage.bat" to skip the huge userdata partition.
- Found out this is a known bug — newer MiFlash versions have a hardcoded 700-second timeout that doesn't account for slower transfer speeds.
- Downloaded the older MiFlash 2017.4.25.0 (no timeout bug) instead. This time, got a clear, real error instead of a vague timeout:
FAILED (remote: 'Erase is not allowed in Lock State') - This confirmed the actual root issue: the bootloader is locked.
- Since there's no Mi Account, the standard unlock route isn't possible.
- Tried to force EDL (Emergency Download) mode via the Volume Up + Volume Down + plug-in-cable combo (reportedly works for "fog" per a couple of forum posts) — no luck yet, phone just goes back to fastboot, no black screen, no QDLoader 9008 showing in Device Manager.
Where I'm stuck:
- No Mi Account = no official bootloader unlock.
- EDL via button combo isn't triggering (yet — might be a timing/technique issue on my end).
- Considering the physical test point method next, but don't have a diagram for this exact board revision and don't want to fry the phone by shorting the wrong points.
- Also unsure whether, even if I do get into EDL, I'll hit a Sahara/firehose authentication wall since this looks like a device from after Xiaomi started requiring authorized accounts for EDL flashing on newer models.
What I'm hoping someone can help with:
- Anyone successfully forced EDL mode on a locked-bootloader Redmi 10 India (fog) without a Mi account? Exact button timing that worked for you? (it clearly didn't worked for me)
- Does anyone have a verified test point diagram/photo for this specific board (220333QBI)?
- Has anyone gotten a locked "fog" unit flashing in EDL without hitting Xiaomi Authentication/authorized account requirements — patched firehose, or some other workaround?
- Any other route I haven't considered, given zero Mi account access and not caring about data loss?
Appreciate any real experience over theory at this point — happy to share more screenshots/logs if useful. Thanks in advance.