Risks of having an unlocked phone

[Victor Hugo]

I have seen that it is not possible to have an locked phone after using a .eu rom. I have read some posts but they are a bit ambiguous.

What risks and problems are involved in having an unlocked phone?
Do all applications work equally well?
Is it the same as having the phone "rooted"?
Are there any real dangers or precautions we should take?

Thanks!

 

[JiaiJ]

The main problem is that some applications won't work if they detect that your smartphone is unlocked. The Xiaomi.eu team do their best to hide it, so most banking apps will work (among others).

Being rooted is more like getting "administrator" rights, to do actions forbidden by default.

No specific danger that I know, but obviously, make sure you don't flash random ROMs.

 

[Igor Eisberg]

If you use lock screen security method, then whether your bootloader is locked or unlocked, a potential thief won't be able to access your data, he'll have to format the data partition to make the device usable, but your data will be totally wiped.
Also, if you have a Mi Account bound to your device, a potential thief won't be able to use an official MIUI ROM without knowing the username/password.
Obviously that one could probably be bypassed with a modified ROM, but he still won't be able to connect to any MIUI services (like Cloud sync/backup) or change the Mi Account that's bound to it, so the device will be pretty crippled and its resell value would be poor.

 

[Victor Hugo]

Thank you both very much for your answers. You have cleared up my doubts. I only use official ROMs or those on this site, so I can rest assured