Creating a Pre-Rooted MIUI 7 Global Dev ROM by Cannibalising China Dev ROM ? - Redmi Note 2 General

I wanted to post in the Android Dev section to get the direct attention of the devs but I'm too inexperienced and thick to qualify apparently... :silly:
My question is this: is it possible for an enterprising person to take bits from a MIUI 7 China Dev ROM (CDR) and use them to tweak the Global Dev ROM (GDR) to make a pre-rooted GDR?
Lots of folk are desperate for a rooted GDR which preserves OTA update functionality without messing around with custom recovery booting/flashing. (In my case, I would use the "fastboot boot twrp.img" method of temp recovery but I get an "remote: unknown command" error; possibly locked bootloader?)
In the China Dev ROM, you just go to the Security app and turn on (or off) "Root Access". Should be possible to take binaries, config files, signatures or whatnot (clearly I'm not an expert!) from the CDR and modify the Global ROM with that? (Someone might propose that I just go and use the Chinese ROM for simplicity - installing GApps etc separately - but I'm based in Europe and I want the structure and features/ functionality of the Global ROM.)
I'm not sure how any such tweak would be affected by incremental updates, but I'm sure some clever dev could address that point.
Your help, interest, consideration and possibly even legal advice very much appreciated!

Cannibalising (cont'd)
I should make it clear that although my question is general, I'm referring specifically to these ROMs at the present time:
China Dev ROM 5.11.26 (file miui_HMNote2_5.11.26_fcc06e3390_5.0.zip)
Global Dev ROM 5.11.12 (file miui_HMNote2Global_5.11.12_3eeec798f4_5.0.zip)

Related

Beginner question - how to start?

Hi,
It will probably take some time until I'll get my phone, but I am trying to understand how to start.
I am OK with having only English on my phone, but I would prefer to have a clean and bloat free rom that has the GAPPS and that can get OTA updates.
I want to do the minimum needed to get this, I really don't want to change roms every other week.
How should I start? I am a bit lost.
Is the Chinese rom that bad?
Should I change the rom and root it?
Thanks in advance,
Asaf
I think this should be in the Q&A forum
It sounds like you want a stable ROM with Gapps. Xiaomi offer several ROM types. If you want Gapps included from the start, you want their stable international ROM. The trouble is that at the moment they don't do one for the XRN2 yet. Head over to en.miui.com, pick a phone that has been around for longer and in the download section for that device you will see the different ROM types (there are tabs at the top of each phone section). There are also a couple of great explanatory pages in their forum that guide you through the different ROM types.
Use the xiaomi.eu ROM. Multilanguage, clean and with Gapps. OTA also included
Sent from my Redmi Note 2 using Tapatalk
First, get TWRP installed in your phone.
Then flash a stable rom
At the end, install proper gapp using TWRP.
Thanks.
So
1. Install TWRP, will this link should be enough to install it? http://en.miui.com/thread-156838-1-1.html
2. Go to http://xiaomi.eu --> ROMs DOWNLOAD and take the DOWNLOAD WEEKLY rom (http://miuif.celogeek.com/5.9.10/xiaomi.eu_multi_hermes_5.9.11_v7-5.0.zip)?
shemsha said:
Thanks.
So
1. Install TWRP, will this link should be enough to install it? http://en.miui.com/thread-156838-1-1.html
2. Go to http://xiaomi.eu --> ROMs DOWNLOAD and take the DOWNLOAD WEEKLY rom (http://miuif.celogeek.com/5.9.10/xiaomi.eu_multi_hermes_5.9.11_v7-5.0.zip)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BUT, you said you don't want to have to flash a new ROM every week. The xiaomi.EU weekly ROMs are a beta ROM, they are not the same as the 'stable' ROM. I'm using the weekly version just fine, but there are a few bugs. This ROM may or may not suit your needs. Please be aware of that As soon as Xiaomi release the official stable International ROM with Gapps, that's the one you want (based on your stated requirements).
Thanks
So perhaps I'll wait, hopefully it will come up soon enough.
Hope the Chinese rom isn't too bad...
shemsha said:
Thanks
So perhaps I'll wait, hopefully it will come up soon enough.
Hope the Chinese rom isn't too bad...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first ROM I flashed was the stable ROM from MIUI.com. At the moment this is available as Chinese only (with only Chinese and English languages on board). It is also MIUI version 6 not 7. You do not need TWRP installed to flash this. You can just download it straight to internal storage, then use the Xiaomi updater app (which is already on the phone) to manually flash it. This ROM is not rooted.
Next I tried the weekly ROM from MIUI.com. At that point I incorrectly thought that it would be multi language, but it wasn't. It did at least have MIUI 7 on board though. TWRP is also not needed to flash this. This ROM is rooted. Root settings can be accessed via the Security app. You can also install SuperSU, grant it root access, then use it to control the root access of other apps if you wish. There are no Google apps on board. I was on n holiday at the time so I manually placed all the relevant files, set permissions and so on using ES File explorer that I side loaded and granted root privileges to. Yes, my girlfriend thought it was very romantic of me to spend a whole evening split between doing this and hunting some particularly aggressive mosquitoes trapped in our room. Only the best for my love.
Finally I downloaded the latest weekly (not stable) ROM from from Xiaomi.EU. As well as being a beta, it is not an official Xiaomi ROM. They do also have a stable ROM in offer, but it is not rooted. Basic Google apps are installed. TWRP is not needed here either. However, I installed it briefly to make a full backup of my phone, and a separate backup of the NVRAM portion of the device where the IMEI resides. Experience tells me this is important on an MTK phone in case the area becomes corrupt during an incorrect flash. You can also use SPFlash Tools to do this from a computer. Google the process, it's well worth being prepared. Damian Parsons over on GizBeat and China Phone Arena has done some useful tutorials with videos. Make sure you have the right version of SPFlash tools (which is not the same as MTKdroidtools -or something like that). I have only used a couple of times with my first two MTK phones so I don't know what version you need to use with this chipset.
For my purposes NONE of these ROMs actually fit the bill. Why? Because none of them so far allow me to select UK English as the default language or select the UK as the region I'm in. It's a small thing, but the last three Chinese phones I've had all suffered from the same problem. I end up rooting and using More Locales app to create a new default language code over and above selecting UK English in Google keyboard.
Once Xiaomi release an official global ROM the download page for the Note 2 will look like in the attached screenshot which shows the Mi4 page. Note the two tabs at the top, global and Chinese, in addition to the 'stable' and 'developer' sections down the left hand side.
Please somebody correct me if I'm wrong because I'm new to Xiaomi devices
Thanks for the detailed response.
Sounds like that for my purposes, and until an official rom is out, the easiest option is either the latest weekly or stable from xiaomi.eu.
I understand they can be installed using xiaomi updater as well?
Yes, you can install them the same way as official ROMs.
shemsha said:
Thanks for the detailed response.
Sounds like that for my purposes, and until an official rom is out, the easiest option is either the latest weekly or stable from xiaomi.eu.
I understand they can be installed using xiaomi updater as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also, when I received my phone there was a lot of non-MIUI related bloatware and possibly malware on board. It was multi language (with UK English as a built in option) but it all felt wrong, slow and dodgy. Reading elsewhere it was recommended the best thing to do was flash a ROM from a PC using the fastboot method to erase everything, then start from there. There are fastboot ROMs with instructions on the en.miui.com site. If you think you need to, you could flash via fastboot, then download your subsequent choice of ROM from xiaomi.EU and flash that however you please. As I was away (and impatient) I didn't do the first flash via fastboot. I just did a full wipe from the stock recovery, then put a ROM into internal memory, then flashed it from the stock recovery, then factory reset again. No idea if that was sufficient, but there's no sign of the extra apps any more.
You don't need TWRP
Sent from my Redmi Note 2 using Tapatalk
Ouzo said:
I installed it briefly to make a full backup of my phone, and a separate backup of the NVRAM portion of the device where the IMEI resides. Experience tells me this is important on an MTK phone in case the area becomes corrupt during an incorrect flash. You can also use SPFlash Tools to do this from a computer. Google the process, it's well worth being prepared. Damian Parsons over on GizBeat and China Phone Arena has done some useful tutorials with videos. Make sure you have the right version of SPFlash tools (which is not the same as MTKdroidtools -or something like that). I have only used a couple of times with my first two MTK phones so I don't know what version you need to use with this chipset.
For my purposes NONE of these ROMs actually fit the bill. Why? Because none of them so far allow me to select UK English as the default language or select the UK as the region I'm in. It's a small thing, but the last three Chinese phones I've had all suffered from the same problem. I end up rooting and using More Locales app to create a new default language code over and above selecting UK English in Google keyboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info, this is great for me. I will follow what you said regarding backing up this NVRAM you speak of, as I just read that the source code for the Helios X10 has been released, so we can expect more people including members of the HTC M9+ forum playing around with code.
It would be nice to have an option for UK English (or Australian English for me, to be precise) however I haven't noticed much of a difference, maybe because I have Swiftkey installed and that already has the correct language setting.
zan5hin said:
Thanks for the info, this is great for me. I will follow what you said regarding backing up this NVRAM you speak of, as I just read that the source code for the Helios X10 has been released, so we can expect more people including members of the HTC M9+ forum playing around with code.
It would be nice to have an option for UK English (or Australian English for me, to be precise) however I haven't noticed much of a difference, maybe because I have Swiftkey installed and that already has the correct language setting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Changing the language to UK English is only part of the problem for me. Basically the phone thinks I'm in the U.S, or rather, that I have a U.S phone in the UK. This can cause problems within apps that want tailor content to my region code (or even deny me content). I've tried editing the build.prop a little, but it doesn't seem to help.
Mobile Uncle tools (free in Play Store) used to be able to back up one's IMEI number, but it didn't work on this phone. Dunno if that's because it runs lollipop. Anyway, that's why TWRP was handy and I will try using SPFlashTools again at some point.

Skinny_Pro Custom Boot Image for RN3

Hey guys, I have adapted my work on custom boot images to cover the Redmi Note 3.
I don't want to manage another thread so wander over to the RN2 thread where I will host work on the RN3 also.
A functional version is now available based on 7.2.50 boot.img. It will be slimmed down further to match the RN2 version but I need to be guided by feedback on what works as I do not have your device.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/redmi-note-2/development/b-skinny-pro-t3347906
Thanks you . i will test
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwdRTuyj12_ydFl0VGM4YWpZMWM/view?pref=2&pli=1
It is link?
---------- Post added at 04:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:29 PM ----------
It is working on rom dev 6.4.28 Testing more. What more can i do to improve battery life. Sr my english so bad
@phunghai110 All of the tweaks that apply to the Redmi Note 2 also apply to the Redmi Note 3.
The boot.img enables you to create an init.d script which is the main tool for managing performance / battery life.
Start by making sure your Busybox installation is up to date. Link to my BB 1.24-2 updater here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwdRTuyj12_yY01jZGFTZi14X3c/view?usp=sharing
Next, update SuperSu to any recent full version (don't rely upon the stock MIUI included versions)
Now do everything in the first post here except for deleting fingerprint related files of course:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/redmi-note-2/development/b-skinny-pro-t3347906
Leave the zram lines disabled at the moment until I release a boot.img that successfully disables mcd service (waiting on feedback from Test3 version)
This should be enough to see an improvement. More to come.
Does it work on "unofficial" Miui Roms too ? Like this one lhttp://en.miui.com/thread-277452-1-1.html ? It's a 6.5.5 Global Rom
Cameo164 said:
Does it work on "unofficial" Miui Roms too ? Like this one lhttp://en.miui.com/thread-277452-1-1.html ? It's a 6.5.5 Global Rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not sure, but if you have an unlocked bootloader & custom recovery there is not much of a risk to just try it out - just be sure to safe the original boot.img first!
i, for one, can confirm that it work's well on this modified rom by quakze: http://en.miui.com/thread-236615-1-1.html
schmanto said:
not sure, but if you have an unlocked bootloader & custom recovery there is not much of a risk to just try it out - just be sure to safe the original boot.img first!
i, for one, can confirm that it work's well on this modified rom by quakze: http://en.miui.com/thread-236615-1-1.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, thanks. I will try. I had the fear that it could hard brick my phone.
Every MTK based (advanced) phone user should familiarize themselves with using SP Flash tools - a hard brick is virtually impossible since the MTK chip is hard-coded to power on and be flashed via USB when it receives the special code sequence from such software. One piece of advice: Never-ever do a format using this tool unless you want to loose your nvram partition and hence IMEI.
Skinny_Pro_RN3_MIUI_7250-5_boot.img is looking stable (thanks to @schmanto for testing)
I cannot say whether it will be compatible with 6.5.5 yet but someone will tell me soon enough - there is no risk of anything disastrous happening and you will always have a good backup to recover too if it messes up
Tell me please 8020 v8 will work with RN3?
Okay, I read everything, but couldn't understand much (sorry )
Still I'm a go for experiments and testing, always ...
So what exactly is SkinnyPro, and why should I flash it? P.S. I hate Xiaomi, too! *high five* xD

No oddities at all

Got my Mix yesterday - set it up last night.
I was apprehensive with everyone talking about different ROMs, unlock codes, rooting, throttling, etc etc.
Mine came with MIUI Global 8.0.7.0.0 with Google appstore already installed. The packaging was sealed.
Downloaded apps at about 3.5 megabytes per second (as shown by the notification bar connection speed widget).
SMS works fine.
Calling works fine.
I even get 4G on O2 (in the UK). I live in Leeds so it's one of those cities where O2 are using 1800 mhz for 4G as well as the usual 800 Mhz which Mix can't do.
All my banking apps work fine.
I've got Nova Prime on it. MIUI has some nice tweaks built in. There's no bloatware on it at all.
Also, compared to the Lumia 950XL I had for a year, it's about 2 mm wider and that's about it.
I've been using an S7 Edge for the last couple of months and set up wise, there's no difference. Everything just works out of the box. No flashing, tweaking, rooting etc.
Fingerprint reader is faster than S7. It can also wake the phone as well. Double tap to wake is there too.
If I didn't know better, I'd say this was just any other Android phone bought in the UK, instead of a China import where people have been talking about flashing EU ROM etc and having other issues.
Funniest thing about it is that once you get over the initial WOW factor of the screen, you just get used to it. It's only when you look at other phones you think, haha your phone looks like it's from the 1970s.
Only thing I haven't really tried is the camera. Pretty sure it won't be up to 950XL or S7 standards but I've installed Snap Camera so let's see if it's half decent.
Great phone so far.
Just depends if your happy with vendor rom and no updates as long as you own the phone, I removed vendor rom and have had 2 updates since with like yourself no issues.
Where did you get your Mix? Mine also had that ROM but I flashed the China ROM since it wasn't getting OTA updates. Your Mix might be fine for now but I hear the spyware/malware stuff works like a trojan horse, I'd recommend flashing now, your bootloader is probably already unlocked. Just install the China ROM and skip the EU ROM or rooting if you want.
slitz123 said:
Where did you get your Mix? Mine also had that ROM but I flashed the China ROM since it wasn't getting OTA updates. Your Mix might be fine for now but I hear the spyware/malware stuff works like a trojan horse, I'd recommend flashing now, your bootloader is probably already unlocked. Just install the China ROM and skip the EU ROM or rooting if you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed and I skipped rooting and EU (for now)
jazz452 said:
Agreed and I skipped rooting and EU (for now)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm really confused now.
I thought my Global 8.0.7 ROM was the 'normal' China ROM.
Is it a VENDOR ROM? Is it obvious because it came with Gapps installed?
Also, how do you know this has malware on it? Kaspersky doesn't find anything on it.
Anyway, I better flash the official China ROM now - the EU one sounds more suitable (since I'm in the UK) but it's not official is it so ANYTHING might be in that.
Thanks.
Hid Sugiura said:
I'm really confused now.
I thought my Global 8.0.7 ROM was the 'normal' China ROM.
Is it a VENDOR ROM? Is it obvious because it came with Gapps installed?
Also, how do you know this has malware on it? Kaspersky doesn't find anything on it.
Anyway, I better flash the official China ROM now - the EU one sounds more suitable (since I'm in the UK) but it's not official is it so ANYTHING might be in that.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't think they do put spyware on never found anything, no updates is the killer for me, they probably aren't allowed to mess with official ROM and keep the same numbers plus updates would probably mess up Google apps.
I went with stable China as it has English language and didn't want to TWRP at the moment. OTA updates aren't available on EU ROM ATM although first custom ROM is out with OTA based on EU ROM see forum. I installed Google apps from the mi store with no issues once all permissions were granted.
jazz452 said:
Don't think they do put spyware on never found anything, no updates is the killer for me
I went with stable China as it has English language and didn't want to TWRP at the moment. OTA updates aren't available on EU ROM ATM although first custom ROM is out with OTA based on EU ROM see forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, so this ROM I have is some sort of weird ROM put on by Gearbest (where I got it from). Who developed it and has it been confirmed that there is malware on it?
Reading up on it, I can see how to install: China stable V8.0.12.0.MAHCNDI
Download ROM. Copy to root directory of phone.
Go into Settings/updates/reboot to recovery mode and install the Zip.
Is that right? Since it's not an update, do I have to wipe the phone in recovery?
I'm a bit loathed to do it cos:
a) This is a rather expensive phone from China which makes it a bit hairy. I've flashed ROMs on cheaper devices before but...
b) It's currently running dandy.. everything is fast and smooth and everything WORKS but this thing about spyware and malware I find worrying (even tho I can't seem to find any proof of this.) But yeah, lack of updates is a problem.
Does anyone have a link on an idiots guide on how to go from Vendor to China Stable Official?
There's a thread on this forum about this but it kinda says you need TWRP and Root etc.
If I put China Stable, do I need to root it to put on Gapps?
Will China ROM stop my banking apps to work?
jazz452 said:
Don't think they do put spyware on never found anything, no updates is the killer for me, they probably aren't allowed to mess with official ROM and keep the same numbers plus updates would probably mess up Google apps.
I went with stable China as it has English language and didn't want to TWRP at the moment. OTA updates aren't available on EU ROM ATM although first custom ROM is out with OTA based on EU ROM see forum. I installed Google apps from the mi store with no issues once all permissions were granted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another question... since I have the Vendor ROM on it, does it mean that my bootloader is unlocked already?
Hid Sugiura said:
Another question... since I have the Vendor ROM on it, does it mean that my bootloader is unlocked already?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The updater app has been disabled on this ROM, there is a guide (under guides) how to flash from vendor rom to China stable mine came from gearbest and was unlocked. No need TWRP or root. No rush your home won't set on fire with vendor rom just read a few times till you are sure of what you are doing. mi flash is used for flashing ROMs with xiaomi.
Hid Sugiura said:
I'm really confused now.
I thought my Global 8.0.7 ROM was the 'normal' China ROM.
Is it a VENDOR ROM? Is it obvious because it came with Gapps installed?
Also, how do you know this has malware on it? Kaspersky doesn't find anything on it.
Anyway, I better flash the official China ROM now - the EU one sounds more suitable (since I'm in the UK) but it's not official is it so ANYTHING might be in that.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you use Malwarebytes on the Vendor ROM, it flags the MIUI Notes app as "Agent.downloader.Trojan". Check it out! I didn't even sign in on the phone until I could get the EU ROM flashed. Not saying that Vendors deliberately inject their ROMS with malware. Just saying there can always be that one hacker dude who is compiling these ROMS for the vendors.
From what it looks like, most vendors are given a flashable signed zip file that can be flashed using official recovery, the file is named MIUI Global 8.0.7.0 or 8.0.8.0 (Mine came with 8.0.8.0).
So when most vendors receive stock, guess they unbox it, flash this zip file most probably via the official MIUI recovery, run the diagnostic test and if everything passes, they box the item and ship it out. Most vendors may have staff who are trained to copy the flashable zip file via MTP, boot stock recovery and flash! It doesn't take a genius to do that and its done it 5 minutes.
I am on the EU ROM. Even though unofficial, these MIUI EU ROMS have been there since the beginning of MIUI and no one ever had any reliability issues with the EU ROM. The ROM has no bloatware and comes with GAPPS pre-installed.
---------- Post added at 02:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:19 AM ----------
Hid Sugiura said:
Another question... since I have the Vendor ROM on it, does it mean that my bootloader is unlocked already?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not necessarily! Mine came with a vendor ROM and bootloader locked. This is why I assume that Vendors are given a Signed ROM file which can be flashed using the official MI Recovery. I don' t think every vendor has the skills to unlock bootloader and flash a vendor ROM after installing a custom recovery. Its a time consuming process.
If they already have a Signed customized ROM file that can be flashed using the official recovery, its as easy as copying the ZIP file to the phone and flashing it via the recovery. Takes hardly 5-10minutes.
Thank you very much for your replies - much appreciated.
As soon as I read your post, I did Malwarebytes and that found nothing - apart from saying I should switch off NFC so that's a little more comforting. As I said, Kaspersky hasn't found anything.
So, the China Stable is the ONLY official ROM there is - the vendor and EU ones are equally unofficial and neither have OTA updates.
OK more questions:
Some people say China Stable is the way to go cos of the updates.
1) Is the bloatware that bad? Can't I just ignore it? haha
2) Does it need rooting to put Gapps on it? Rooting is a no no for me cos certain apps won't run with it.
If I go the EU ROM, cos of the built in Gapps, can it be updated without wiping every time?
Thanks for all your help.
Hid Sugiura said:
Thank you very much for your replies - much appreciated.
As soon as I read your post, I did Malwarebytes and that found nothing - apart from saying I should switch off NFC so that's a little more comforting. As I said, Kaspersky hasn't found anything.
So, the China Stable is the ONLY official ROM there is - the vendor and EU ones are equally unofficial and neither have OTA updates.
OK more questions:
Some people say China Stable is the way to go cos of the updates.
1) Is the bloatware that bad? Can't I just ignore it? haha
2) Does it need rooting to put Gapps on it? Rooting is a no no for me cos certain apps won't run with it.
If I go the EU ROM, cos of the built in Gapps, can it be updated without wiping every time?
Thanks for all your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should go with EU rom, or custom rom which is starting to appear now. The worst rom to go for imo is the China one, and I find it a bit strange some people want to go for that due to OTA update. OTA update is not such a big deal, you get more update with EU or custom rom and no, you don't need to wipe data, it is so simple and easy to do manual update.
If you are totally beginner then maybe you find the OTA update easier, but at the same time if you are totally beginner you will find it hard to get china rom to become stable and usable. By the way the new custom rom also has OTA update, if you really want that.
So in short, I see almost no reason to stay in China rom, unless you find selecting zip file and flashing rom "too hard". But it's really quite easy to learn.
Mine from gearbest has unlocked bootloader but slightly different number than yours 8.0.8, it's easy to check from fastboot plenty of threads on here.
---------- Post added at 11:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:22 AM ----------
satishp said:
If you use Malwarebytes on the Vendor ROM, it flags the MIUI Notes app as "Agent.downloader.Trojan". Check it out! I didn't even sign in on the phone until I could get the EU ROM flashed. Not saying that Vendors deliberately inject their ROMS with malware. Just saying there can always be that one hacker dude who is compiling these ROMS for the vendors.
From what it looks like, most vendors are given a flashable signed zip file that can be flashed using official recovery, the file is named MIUI Global 8.0.7.0 or 8.0.8.0 (Mine came with 8.0.8.0).
So when most vendors receive stock, guess they unbox it, flash this zip file most probably via the official MIUI recovery, run the diagnostic test and if everything passes, they box the item and ship it out. Most vendors may have staff who are trained to copy the flashable zip file via MTP, boot stock recovery and flash! It doesn't take a genius to do that and its done it 5 minutes.
I am on the EU ROM. Even though unofficial, these MIUI EU ROMS have been there since the beginning of MIUI and no one ever had any reliability issues with the EU ROM. The ROM has no bloatware and comes with GAPPS pre-installed.
---------- Post added at 02:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:19 AM ----------
Not necessarily! Mine came with a vendor ROM and bootloader locked. This is why I assume that Vendors are given a Signed ROM file which can be flashed using the official MI Recovery. I don' t think every vendor has the skills to unlock bootloader and flash a vendor ROM after installing a custom recovery. Its a time consuming process.
If they already have a Signed customized ROM file that can be flashed using the official recovery, its as easy as copying the ZIP file to the phone and flashing it via the recovery. Takes hardly 5-10minutes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Xiaomi hate vendor ROMs that's why they lock bootloader, no one wants a bad name with spyware installed on their phones.
RIGHT! Thank you again for all your replies and advice.
I'm gonna do:
1) Find out if it's unlocked and get that done if necessary.
2) Install the EU one knowing now that updates don't wipe the phone.
My fear is that somewhere in between having an unlocked bootloader (which I might have already) and having the EU ROM, I lose the ability to use my Barclays Banking apps. I definitely know that it won't work with root but I also know that unlocked bootloaders and custom ROMs aren't the same as being rooted.
However, the fear of this vendor ROM being a security hazard gives me the heebie jeebies so I'll follow the kind advice given and put on the EU ROM.
Thanks for now!
Hid Sugiura said:
RIGHT! Thank you again for all your replies and advice.
I'm gonna do:
1) Find out if it's unlocked and get that done if necessary.
2) Install the EU one knowing now that updates don't wipe the phone.
My fear is that somewhere in between having an unlocked bootloader (which I might have already) and having the EU ROM, I lose the ability to use my Barclays Banking apps. I definitely know that it won't work with root but I also know that unlocked bootloaders and custom ROMs aren't the same as being rooted.
However, the fear of this vendor ROM being a security hazard gives me the heebie jeebies so I'll follow the kind advice given and put on the EU ROM.
Thanks for now!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good luck! Just to let you know i am on EU ROM with bootloader unlocked and rooted, i can still use Paypal and HSBC Banking apps. I don't use Barclays so can't comment on that.
OK I'm following the guide on XDA under Guides: Guide: Flash Global/China ROM.
I've checked that the bootloader is unlocked - which it is.
I've done point 7:
copy the latest xiaomi.eu rom zip to your device (which you can see in your computer's explorer as a device)
But when I use the command to get the phone into TWRP, the screen is unresponsive so I can't Swipe to Unlock.
I've waited for minutes as suggested on other sites but to no avail.
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance.
Hid Sugiura said:
OK I'm following the guide on XDA under Guides: Guide: Flash Global/China ROM.
I've checked that the bootloader is unlocked - which it is.
I've done point 7:
copy the latest xiaomi.eu rom zip to your device (which you can see in your computer's explorer as a device)
But when I use the command to get the phone into TWRP, the screen is unresponsive so I can't Swipe to Unlock.
I've waited for minutes as suggested on other sites but to no avail.
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't root remember to flash dm-verify before you boot phone or will boot loop. TWRP unresponsive is known have a search
Again, thanks for helping me.
So, found the right TWRP for my phone. For others having the same non-responsive screen, don't install the TWRP that has RC1 or RC2 EU in the file name.
Thanks to the guy above for telling me to install dm-verity before rebooting. I would never have known that.
It installed - but there was a slight strangeness.
I expected the phone to be totally wiped and set to default but everything was as I had set it.
I checked the About Phone and it is now MIUI 8.2 by xiaomi.eu 6.12.29 Beta.
Everything works and is set up as before when I was on Vendor Rom.
Am I safer now?
Hid Sugiura said:
Again, thanks for helping me.
So, found the right TWRP for my phone. For others having the same non-responsive screen, don't install the TWRP that has RC1 or RC2 EU in the file name.
Thanks to the guy above for telling me to install dm-verity before rebooting. I would never have known that.
It installed - but there was a slight strangeness.
I expected the phone to be totally wiped and set to default but everything was as I had set it.
I checked the About Phone and it is now MIUI 8.2 by xiaomi.eu 6.12.29 Beta.
Everything works and is set up as before when I was on Vendor Rom.
Am I safer now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was fate TWRP failed, could of been in a whole heap trouble, although not to the point of brick
Good stuff that you managed to get the EU ROM on. You didn't actually need to install TWRP if you just wanted to flash the China ROM though, EDL mode with the stock image on full clear would've been fine but don't worry about it. Gearbest get their stock from other suppliers who are the ones that put the vendor ROM on apparently, but I can't confirm that.
A good order to do things if you've identified you have a vendor ROM would be:
Flash the China ROM with EDL mode with the flash tool set to Flash all (using other options will keep your apps and settings on the vendor ROM but I have no idea if that means it'll keep any trojans or spyware installed)
Boot up the phone and set it up
If you're happy with the China ROM then call it a day then optionally use the Google Installer v2 from the Xiaomi forums if you need GApps (you may have to tinker with the GApps permissions if some things aren't syncing right).
If not then you could flash twrp-3.0.2-0-rc2-eu-lithium.img, flash on the EU ROM and optionally SuperSU for root and also optionally Xposed, then enjoy a preconfigured GApps with no Chinese apps that you aren't too likely to use plus extra languages!
If you are rooted then I'd recommend adding the following line in your build.prop to enable the Camera2 API:
Code:
persist.camera.HAL3.enabled=1
Personally, I'm still waiting on a CM port though, MIUI is too aggressive in killing my apps even though I have like 4.2 GB of RAM free even with all the relevant power settings, app settings, app locks, dev settings etc off. Android Wear functions better after disabling those power settings at least, I sat there scratching my head for a while wondering why the heck my watch wasn't showing any notifications.

Q.When will twrp and custom rom for mi a1 be available ?

I have noticed that there is no TWRP recovery available for our device and also no custom rom which i wanted for customization as stock rom doesn't have it.
If anyone found TWRP recovery for mi a1. please post here as I want to root my device.
Bro, you can root your device without TWRP, but yes we all are looking for the TWRP for our lovely device, hope someone will crack it soon, hope for the best !
Rooting method - https://forum.xda-developers.com/mi-a1/how-to/root-mia1-twrp-t3678453
This phone is awesome, I like RAM management of this phone. I don't think this phone requires any customisation and guys feel innovative of this ROM atleast for few month's.
Is rom customization was what you were after then you should not have gotten this device. The A/B partition makes development hard. This is the main problem the pixels had and why many developers stopped working on devices with that partition.
I know that
Last gen Android one devices had rich custom ROM development. I expect same for mi A1. Though it will take some time, but twrp and custom ROMs will soon be available. I want custom ROM for features like night light, pixel color palette, double tap to sleep, button customisation, button led, etc, etc.
Custom ROM and Custom Kernals will only be available when OeM will release the source code
Official TWRP for Xiaomi Mi A1
But for my knowledge, the official twrp is already released. I have the file but as I'm new in the forum so I'm not able to post the external link in the post. DM me if anyone needs the link.
(If have any doubt you can check the compatibility directly boot from this twrp without flashing stock.)

Why do all custom ROMs require a vendor flash as first step?

So, I'm asking since I thought about going for a custom ROM to escape all the little incompatibilities of MIUI.
For the Mi 9T every cROM installation begins with installing a vendor first though and I was wondering why that is needed. Are essential parts of the ROM not open to cROM developers? Or is everything closed up and all cROMs are just very intricate themes and extra programs laid on top of MIUI (like an emulation)?
If any developer could chime in and explain why cROM installation is so different for the Mi 9T compared to other devices, I'd be very obliged. :good:
Hi.. I'm no developer, but what I can tell you is that it is not only a Mi 9T "problem", but almost all newest Xiaomi devices need a vendor firmware flash before installing a custom ROM. This is because all device updates and security fixes are distributed that way. BTW.. Just to make sure, vendor firmware must not be confused with vendor partition.
Hope this helps a little bit.
Cheers

Categories

Resources