Photo Credit: Mi Community Forum / Laviniuc
The bootloop issue also affects units purchased from official retail partners
Xiaomi began the rollout of MIUI 10.3.1 update for the Mi 9 SE’s global variant earlier this month, which brought the May security patch and new AI camera modes among other features. But it appears that the update also comes with a nasty surprise for Mi 9 SE owners. As per multiple reports on the Mi community forum, the MIUI 10.3.1 update for the Mi 9 SE’s global variant has bricked the phone. Affected users have reported that after installing the update, the phone is stuck in a bootloop cycle with an on-screen message saying that the system has been destroyed.
The MIUI 10.3.1 update for the Mi 9 SE’s global variant (Mi 9 SE EEA, sold in the European market) reportedly bricks the phone and as of now, there is no official fix for it. As per user complaints on the Mi Community forum, rebooting the phone after downloading the update file sends the phone into a bootloop cycle. It is not clear whether the issue affects all owners of the Mi 9 SE’s global variant, but going by the user comments on the Mi community forum, it becomes evident that even units with their bootloader locked are affected by the issue.
It appears that the affected Mi 9 SE units were bricked without any interference during the firmware download process. But as soon as users started the reboot process, the phone got stuck on a bootloop with the screen showing an error that reads “the system has been destroyed press power button to shutdown”. In some cases, the phone simply shut down after the error message appeared on the screen.
We are yet to come across an acknowledgement on Xiaomi’s behalf regarding the Mi 9 SE’s bootloop issue, and a fix for it is yet to arrive. It appears that Mi 9 SE units purchased from Xiaomi’s retail partners in the EU are also prone to bricking, effectively ruling out any doubts that units with unlocked bootloader purchased from Chinese resellers might be responsible for the issue.
Some users have suggested that one can revert back to the older firmware version via the fast boot method and using the Mi Flash tool. However, it is not known whether this solution works for phones with a locked or unlocked bootloader, or both. If you have a Mi 9 SE that has been bricked after the MIUI 10.3.1 update, we suggest asking for help from a Xiaomi support personnel to solve the issue and keep from doing any further damage to the phone.