Sooner or later, brands have to end device support, which means no more official software releases, no more security updates, and sometimes even no more customer support related to affected products. After a recent update to Xiaomi’s End of Life List (EOL), it appears this is now the case for several Xiaomi, Poco, and Redmi devices. Although technically many of the recently added models have already no longer received official updates, this is more of a confirmation that nothing else is coming. No HyperOS updates, no security fixes for vulnerabilities if discovered, and no new features.
You can see the full list on Xiaomi’s Security Center, spread across all of its internal brands. The latest additions are the Xiaomi 12, Xiaomi 12 Pro, Xiaomi 12S Ultra, Xiaomi Pad 6 and Xiaomi Pad 6 Pro. Elsewhere, the Poco X5 5G, Poco X5 Pro 5G, Redmi Note 12T Pro, Redmi K60E and Redmi 10 5G have been added. The majority of these devices were only available internationally, in China and Turkey for example. If you want to take a closer look at discontinued models, Ximi Time has a report.
Xiaomi maintains a varied software support structure for devices, ranging from around two years for budget devices to up to six years for flagship models, which spans four major operating system upgrades. However, the expanded policy did not apply until 2025, after the devices on the current list were placed on the market. This is similar to Samsung’s six or seven year update policy for its flagship models. While no one wants to see support for older devices end, it has to happen one day. Even if it’s not on this list, your Android phone has an “end of life” date like all other smartphones.
Most popular EOL devices added are from 2022
Amsal Alwal/Shutterstock
The Xiaomi 12 series launched in December 2021, but only became available globally in March 2022. This includes, of course, the original 12, 12 Pro, and 12X. Poco’s X5 series was released later, in February 2023, and the Redmi Note 12T Pro was launched in June 2023. In short, this means that most of these devices are between three and four years old. This is mainly true of what Xiaomi guarantees in its policies with “at least two years” of official support for older and low-end models. Plus, they arrived well before Xiaomi updated its multi-year support plan.
However, from another point of view, it could be argued that the Xiaomi 12 series, considered a flagship range, was not completely killed by this news. The 12 series models added to the EOL list are from specific regions, like China, Indonesia, and Russia, just like the Poco and Redmi models – these are mostly country-specific releases.
Most of Xiaomi’s most popular models, as reported by GSMArena, cover the latest versions. But you can also find the 12 series and Poco and Redmi models not far behind, a few pages or so after, if sorted by popularity. Overall, Xiaomi is the most popular phone brand behind Apple and Samsung, largely thanks to international markets. However, with its budget offerings for all brands, some users report some issues. There are several common issues owners encounter with Redmi phones, for example, like battery, software, and app complications. That doesn’t change the fact that they are loved by many, and EOL is still a tough pill to swallow, whether they are popular devices or not.
