Xiaomi is not very fast in rolling out Android updates for its redmi series phones, and many users are not happy about this. Many users think about replacing MIUI with another ROM.
When you replace the MIUI on the redmi phone with any other third party ROM, the warranty on the phone will expire. If you’ve been using your Xiaomi device for over a year, you shouldn’t worry about the warranty as it has already been expired.MIUI is not a bad ROM, but if you want to try something new, I would suggest you to install CM.
CM aka CyanogenMod is an OS powered by Android. Whenever Google launches a newer version of Android, the developers of CM introduce a new and stable version of its ROM.
The ROM presented by CyanogenMod is compatible only with some devices. But as its source code is open for modification and further development, some developers tweak CM to suit a particular device.
XDA developers are one of the most useful resources for Android enthusiast and mobile devices. The forums give developers an opportunity to share their work with millions of users.
XDA forum is a repository for custom and open source ROMs like CyanogenMod. It has forums dedicated to all Android smartphones launched till date.
Note: Follow the below steps at your risk. Don’t blame me for the loss of data. Make sure that you move all your music, picture, video, contact, SMS data to your PC or MicroSD card.
How to Install Android 6 Marshmallow based CM13 on Redmi 1s, Note or 2 smartphones?
The first thing that you should do is download the latest version of CyanogenMod that supports your device.
CM13 for Redmi 1s download link.
CM13 for Redmi Note download URL.
Link to download CyanogenMod 13 for Redmi 2.
When the ROM has been downloaded, move it to the MicroSD card (root folder).
Now you’ve to root your smartphone to install TWR or Rashr. You can follow the tutorials covered on the Xiaomi forums for the same.
Tutorial to root redmi 1s, Note or redmi 2. (Follow the links to check the tutorial).
When your handset is rooted, download the latest TWRP image file from this website and move it to the SD card. Now install Rashr app and install or flash the IMG file you’ve saved to the MicroSD card.
Team Win Recovery Project (TWRP) is an application for recovering or creating a complete backup of Android phones. It is a powerful tool to install any custom ROM. It allows you to remove caches or format the Android partitions. TWRP offers a touchscreen interface. You can install it on rooted phones via the TWRP manager or Rashr flashing app. To install CyanogenMod, you should install TWRP on your Xiaomi Redmi phone.
Once the TWRP IMG has been flashed, reboot your handset in recovery mode (press power and volume up button) at the same time.
When the Team Win Recovery Project’s main interface appears, tap on the backup button and select cache, system, data, and boot partitions to create a full backup of Android on the MicroSD card. Every bit of data should be backed up so that you can easily restore it when you don’t want to use the Custom ROM.
The backup process will take some time to complete because the read and write speed of the SD card will be slow.
When a complete backup of Android (MIUI) has been finalized, tap on the back button and select the Wipe option. Navigate to advanced wipe section and select Dalvik cache, cache, system, and data. After the partitions have been selected, run the wipe tool.
Now tap on the back button and select install option. Select the CyanogenMod installation package (.zip format) and confirm the flash operation. CyanogenMod will now be installed. When the installation process is complete, reboot your handset and begin using the new ROM.
Will the above tutorial work?
We’ve followed the above tutorial to install CM13 on Redmi 1s (Android Marshmallow 6). The OS works fine, and battery performance is good. The below two CM features don’t work on our device:
- Changing battery mode to power saver or balanced.
- Downloads in the default web browser.
We’ll keep updating this article with new errors and bugs we’ve encountered while using the CyanogenMod installed Xiaomi Redmi phone.
