How to Unlock Bootloader and root POCO X3 NFC? [MIUI 12]

POCO is gradually expanding its product portfolio after parting ways with Xiaomi as a separate brand. In this context, the company unveiled the POCO X3 NFC edition featuring some improvements over the POCO X2 which was launched back in December 2019.

The device features a lot of exciting specifications at a much affordable price. Such devices are a delight for the custom development community too as the companies indirectly support third-party development.

Unlike POCO X2, the POCO X3 NFC features a single punch hole camera cutout in the display for a better viewing experience.

It houses a 6.67-inch full HD+ IPS LCD display protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. It can bring an exemplary gaming experience with a 120Hz refresh rate using Dynamic Switch.

Unlock Bootloader of  POCO X3 NFC

Unlocking POCO X3 NFC will allow the user to root the device and install custom MODs and ROMs without any issue. It is advised to follow each step and download the required pre-requisites from the links below.

Pre-Requisites

• Download and Install ADB and Fastboot drivers on PC/MAC.
• Download Xiaomi USB Drivers.
• Download Xiaomi Mi Unlock Tool
• Ensure the phone’s battery is more than 60%
• Backup important data on any external media
• Download the latest TWRP from here.
• Download the latest Magisk manager and install it on your phone.

Steps to install TWRP on POCO X3 NFC

Follow the below-mentioned instructions carefully to successfully install TWRP. Before proceeding, please ensure your Xiaomi bootloader is unlocked.

1. Enable Developer Mode by tapping the MIUI version 7 times after heading to the Settings > About Phone.
2. Enable USB Debugging by heading to the Settings>Developer Option and toggle USB Debugging.
3. Bind your Mi Account which means sign in to the POCO device using your Mi account by heading to Settings > Additional Settings > Developer Options > Add account and device and log in.
4. Connect your smartphone with the PC via USB Cable.
5. Now boot into the Fastboot mode by pressing and holding Volume Down + Power Button for about 10 seconds. You need to release buttons once the Fastboot appears on the screen.
6. Download and Extract Mi Unlock Tool
7. Open the Miflash_unlock.exe file from the extracted folder.
8. Now, Login with the same Mi Account that you used on the POCO X3 NFC.
9. It will take some time to verify your smartphone, and will show “Phone Connected.“
10. Now, tap on the “Unlock button” and select “Unlock anyway” when prompted.
11. The unlocking process will start, and you will receive “Unlocked successfully” once completed.
12. Now, Reboot the device, and that’s it!

Root POCO X3 NFC (TWRP)

Make sure you’ve unlocked the bootloader in order to root your POCO X3 NFC.

Pre-Requirements

• Download TWRP Recovery for POCO X3 NFC
• Download Magisk Manager Installer Zip on your phone.

Steps

1. Download and Extract ADB and Fastboot utilities in a folder.
2. Now, Connect your POCO X3 NFC with a PC using a USB cable. (Note: If prompted to “Allow USB Debugging” comes then tap OK on your phone.)
3. Open Command Prompt or Powershell by pressing SHIFT + RIGHT-Click in ADB and Fastboot folder.
4. Type the below command to restart the phone-  adb reboot bootloader
5. Now Flash the TWRP on the recovery partition using the command- fastboot flash recovery twrp-3.4.x-xx.img (Note: Make sure to replace the twrp-3.4-xx.img name with actual twrp filename.)
6. That’s it! You have successfully Installed TWRP. Now, we need to install Magisk to gain root access.
7. Reboot into TWRP Recovery by executing the command – adb reboot recovery  (Or you can press and hold the Power button + Volume Up button to boot into recovery mode.)
8. Once in TWRP, then select Install>Select Magisk.zip>Swipe to Confirm Flash.
9. Reboot System after installation completes, and enjoy!

You’ve successfully installed TWRP and obtained root access on POCO X3 NFC using Magisk. If you’ve any queries then do let us know via the comments below.