F3 if not that old. I'm typing this on a redmi 4x from 2017 and even this one is not that old and will probably be good enough for basic tasks for a couple of years.
Redmi Mi and Poco are brands from xiaomi. While the old models are very reliable, the new ones (11+) aren't (moderboard issues, side mounted fingerprint, modem, etc).
You are going to have to use the official mi unlock tool and make sure you are connected to the internet. Make sure you have created a miui account and that you are logged into both your phone and unlock tool. Also you need to get developer rights on your account, you only have to do it once with your account, did mine about 10 years ago, think I had to motivate why I needed it. Then once all the prerequisites are done you use the tool to unlock, you will most likely then get a cooling off period, varies from 3 days- 2 weeks, where you need to use the phone with your app signed in, think this is to prove to them that that particular phone is your phone. Then after your cooling period you just log ing to your boot loader, usually volume up and home button when restarting, and open the unlock app on your computer, unlock, then upload your own recovery like TWRP and now your phone is unlocked and ready for a custom ROM.
With the Redmi Note 3, I remember we used to bypass all these security methods by replacing the miui recovery with the TWRP recovery file in the MIUI uldate package, but thosee days are gone and they closed the loophole
It's so unfortunate the Xiaomi is practically removing the ability to install roms on your phone. The hardware is usually decent, but the software is always horrible. I probably won't buy from them again.
I have a mi 10 running xiaomi.eu (hyperOS/android 13) and I'm plannijg to keep it ~as much as I can, till about 2028. ~Hopefully there'll be a Fairphone 7 available till then to buy.
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