I am about to purchase a Xiaomi MI PAD 4 - 3GB RAM, 32GB, MicroSD, 1920x1080 Tablet. My main goal to start is to root the device and see if I can load a few .apk on it. (Some medical antibiotic apps, if that matters).
I'd like to load a Custom ROM on it as well. I'd prefer something that would be reliable and low maintenance as a first ROM. I'd consider jumping to something more customizable later. I just want it to run first.
I've read a bit and have 3 Custom ROMS in mind that seem to fit my criteria (Lineage OS, Evolution X, or Havoc). Any opinions which would be the easiest for a newb like me ?
All help appreciated.
I'm also trying to learn how to Root this device and install a custom ROM. If anyone has a link to a good guide that would help me greatly. Newb friendly is a bonus.
The most simple rom I would recommend is Pixel Experience, which I port for Mi Pad myself:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/mi-pad-4/development/rom-pixel-experience-t4095793
Another good choice would be LineageOS by @S-trace, it's similar to Pixel Experience but closer to AOSP rather than a Pixel:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/mi-pad-4/development/rom-lineageos-17-0-t3989187
For rooting: You will have to go through the OEM unlock procedure which means you need to sign up for a Mi Account and then request unlocking. This may take anywhere from 72hours to a few weeks AND when you unlock the bootloader it wipes everything - so be aware that you will lose everything.
During the unlocking process you need a windows machine and the Xiaomi unlocking software, and almost all my Xiaomi devices have been very finnicky about what USB cables are used - best advice on this is use the supplied cable in a USB2.0 port.
(If you need to use Google Play before you unlock and you have the Chinese ROM, you can use the Google Services installer).
The Xiaomi Global and Xiaomi.EU Roms are actually not too bad, although now outdated. Am also considering switching ROM very soon.
In case you are wondering, the MIUI12 (which the MiPad 4 may or may not be getting officially) has not left me very impressed on my other devices primarily as it feels rather counter-intuitive to use.
(Lineage OS, Evolution X, or Havoc)
I have never tried Evolution, but Havoc is discontinued and do not waste time on it. I used it a moment. It is full of options, but nothing will be fixed. Good to know who is an author of it, because he prepares different roms and discontinue all. Floco 3 will be good (I used mordiford) but I suggest LOS 17.1 from S-trace. I am using it and it is better than 16. Please do not use 17.0 from author of Havoc because of standard problem.
Related
hello! my first ever post so please tell me if i do anything wrong.
So now that huawei no longer gives unlock codes many previous huawei fanes are scattered trying to find a new favorite OEM, and i think Xiaomi would be the best for me, but i need to understand a few things before i buy one:
1- Does unlocking/rooting void warranty? and is it like the Samsung case where they would have to be sued in order to get the warranty?
2- Is MIUI really that bad as people make it sound?
3- What are your thoughts on the poco f1?
4- What are the most special things about Xiaomi phones that makes you like it?
1. They are officially supporting bootloader unlock, but not sure about rooting and custom ROM, btw, you can always flash stock ROM with Xiaomi flash tool and fastboot images.
2. MIUI is one of the most feature rich ROM, the Chinese version is the best and is much stable. Global ROMS are developed by nincompoops and they always introduce more bugs than fixes. I have seen this trend that in MIUI with each new update, your phone will become more slow and buggy.
3. Poco F1 is a great phone, I really liked it but because of so much bugs and company not saying anything about it nor fixing it and also, those bugs are present in other Xiaomi phones which is still not fixed till now motivated me to sell it and buy Nokia 7 Plus which is more expensive and less feature rich. Due to this attitude of Xiaomi I am not gonna buy Xioami phones atleast when they are newly launched. Also, never believe on reviewers, especially Indian, they are all bastards.
-->Best things about Xiaomi:
1. Best thing for price.
2. One of the best development support.
3. Best display and camera for price.
-->Worst thing about Xiaomi:
1. Bad developers
2. Bad and buggy software, they tend to release a new version before fixing all bugs in previous one;
i.They stopped development on MIUI9 and stopped support on many devices leaving half of their device in a bad shape.
ii.Redmi 2 and Redmi 2 Prime that share the same specs only the latter has 2GB RAM, one has got VOLTE and other doesn't have it, while it can be easily turned on in the software because if you flash Prime's software in normal Redmi 2, VOLTE works, although it's not properly optimized for 1GB RAM phones.
I also used Honor 8 Pro as one of my personal device and I was too furious of no developer support but atleast they provide proper updates. I am using Nokia which also doesn't allows bootloader unlock. Btw, if you use VOLTE, custom ROMS won't support it or will take a long time for one with VOLTE to be available.
I am not sure what section to post this question in and I am not aware that this question has been answered.
Where to I find a list of recent phones or tablets suitable for Lineage OS? The LineageOS own site is a mix of really old phones with more recent ones and omits all non official ports.
The question is actually quite simple: suppose I want to buy a phone or a tablet today to install LineageOS. What are the options?
The requirements are:
-the device should not be too old (issued in 2017-2018), or I can't buy it new
-it should support Lineage 14 or 15
-Lineage should be installable on the current version, ideally without needing to register as a developper by the manufacturer.
The latter is more tricky than it seems. For example, the Samsung A5 is officially supported by LineageOS 14, but there is no LineageOS 15 rom available. Current versions come with Android 8.0 and cannot be downgraded to LineageOS 14. Besides, Samsung added extra security on their bootloader which makes installation a real pain.
jerome_m said:
I am not sure what section to post this question in and I am not aware that this question has been answered.
Where to I find a list of recent phones or tablets suitable for Lineage OS? The LineageOS own site is a mix of really old phones with more recent ones and omits all non official ports.
The question is actually quite simple: suppose I want to buy a phone or a tablet today to install LineageOS. What are the options?
The requirements are:
-the device should not be too old (issued in 2017-2018), or I can't buy it new
-it should support Lineage 14 or 15
-Lineage should be installable on the current version, ideally without needing to register as a developper by the manufacturer.
The latter is more tricky than it seems. For example, the Samsung A5 is officially supported by LineageOS 14, but there is no LineageOS 15 rom available. Current versions come with Android 8.0 and cannot be downgraded to LineageOS 14. Besides, Samsung added extra security on their bootloader which makes installation a real pain.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not just shortlist a few devices you like and then checking whether they have good dev support?
Samsung is the toughest to get a bug-free lineage os rom, so strike that
OnePlus has good dev support and some Xiaomi phones too
RVR said:
Why not just shortlist a few devices you like and then checking whether they have good dev support?
Samsung is the toughest to get a bug-free lineage os rom, so strike that
OnePlus has good dev support and some Xiaomi phones too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your answer.
I did not consider OnePlus, because their phones are only available for a short period of time. When LineageOS is available, the phone is usually out of production. Xiaomi, I don't know about their phones.
Do you know if OnePlus and Xiaomi allow installation of alternatrive roms without requiring an unlock key from the manufacturer?
jerome_m said:
Thank you for your answer.
I did not consider OnePlus, because their phones are only available for a short period of time. When LineageOS is available, the phone is usually out of production. Xiaomi, I don't know about their phones.
Do you know if OnePlus and Xiaomi allow installation of alternatrive roms without requiring an unlock key from the manufacturer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OnePlus doesn't require a key from the manufacturer. OnePlus 6 or 6t should be a good bet if you don't mind the notch . However, unlocking a Xiaomi bootloader may be time-consuming since you need a code and it can take time to get.
EDIT; You can't go wrong with a Google Pixel 2XL , all roms will work seamlessly
RVR said:
OnePlus doesn't require a key from the manufacturer. OnePlus 6 or 6t should be a good bet if you don't mind the notch . However, unlocking a Xiaomi bootloader may be time-consuming since you need a code and it can take time to get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, Xiaomi would be a second choice. I don't really want to have to beg the manufacturer for an unlock code.
I checked about the OnePlus 6 and 6T. No real development yet on 6T, since the phone is not publicly available (expected). LineageOS 15 does not appear to be maintained any more on the 6. Bummer.
RVR said:
EDIT; You can't go wrong with a Google Pixel 2XL , all roms will work seamlessly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I checked the Google Pixel 2 and 2 XL. There are difficulties with these phones because of encryption, but they can be solved. Lineage is a special build that comes with gapps pre-installed. I dont want gapps at all.
Thank you for your help, but I still don't have what I am looking for: a phone, reasonably recent so as to be available new, with a reasonably usable Lineage OS 15 installable without too much trouble.
I also asked about a tablet, but that seems even more difficult.
any one can tell me how to install miui 11 gsi on mi a3?
deadheart420 said:
any one can tell me how to install miui 11 gsi on mi a3?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
aslo badly need miui on my mi a3
It is literally known as meme-ui the whole Android community gives out about it, it is a meme for how bad it is.
Your better off going with an aosp rom as your privacy and data will be safe, Android one just gives it all to Google aswel.
Read up about these things first don't just go blindly flashing stuff coz it's "cool".
Plus it's a lot heavier than an aosp rom which will eat ram and battery on the device and probably result in a decrease in performance.
What is the reasoning behind wanting miui so much? Just out of curiosity.
Is there any way to install gsi on mi a3? tried to install resurrection remix through fastboot in "A" slot (fastboot flash system system.img) but phone doesn't boot.
garylawwd said:
It is literally known as meme-ui the whole Android community gives out about it, it is a meme for how bad it is.
Your better off going with an aosp rom as your privacy and data will be safe, Android one just gives it all to Google aswel.
Read up about these things first don't just go blindly flashing stuff coz it's "cool".
Plus it's a lot heavier than an aosp rom which will eat ram and battery on the device and probably result in a decrease in performance.
What is the reasoning behind wanting miui so much? Just out of curiosity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i am using miui from very first of my phone. and after buying mi a3 i just stuck into minimal feature of android one .. also i need to get back app locker, privacy locker, screen recoder with internal audio, real full screen gesture dark mode and many mode without using any 3rd party app
Why did you buy the A3 in the first place? CC9e is identical in specs but with MIUI, I'd buy this phone because of Android One like the most of us.
StomaNL said:
Why did you buy the A3 in the first place? CC9e is identical in specs but with MIUI, I'd buy this phone because of Android One like the most of us.
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Click to collapse
moreover, CC9e has FullHD+ 1080p screen, unlike A3.
3 yars since A1 was released, and people are still buying Android One devices to install miui there...
ne_toy said:
3 yars since A1 was released, and people are still buying Android One devices to install miui there...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
???? Lol
ne_toy said:
moreover, CC9e has FullHD+ 1080p screen, unlike A3.
3 yars since A1 was released, and people are still buying Android One devices to install miui there...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope the cc9e is also 720p. the cc9 is indeed fhd (aka mi 9 lite)
yes, such a shame... and makes no sense, the android one support does add to the price the phones so why... is a big mistery for me too... not to mention variety, there's countkess more miui phones to choose from
garylawwd said:
It is literally known as meme-ui the whole Android community gives out about it, it is a meme for how bad it is.
Your better off going with an aosp rom as your privacy and data will be safe, Android one just gives it all to Google aswel.
Read up about these things first don't just go blindly flashing stuff coz it's "cool".
Plus it's a lot heavier than an aosp rom which will eat ram and battery on the device and probably result in a decrease in performance.
What is the reasoning behind wanting miui so much? Just out of curiosity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you are saying used to be true.
I hated Miui when I first tried it in 2017. Recent Global versions of Miui is fantastic, I prefer using the customized Xiaomi/EU rom.
AOSP has its merits, but the Xiaomi Meme thing is honestly outdated and frankly silly.
and after so many jokes and history classes, and explanations of the boy who works at bestbuy, is there any way to use MIUI in the A3?
deadheart020 said:
i am using miui from very first of my phone. and after buying mi a3 i just stuck into minimal feature of android one .. also i need to get back app locker, privacy locker, screen recoder with internal audio, real full screen gesture dark mode and many mode without using any 3rd party app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...Second space
Record calls (without using any 3rd party app)
etc, etc, etc
What's so bad on using 3rd party apps to have those feature? I for one have zero interest in call recorder, screen recorder, app lock, second space or any of the MIUI apps and I'm glad that these, for me useless apps are not part of the system. That's why I always choose clean Android. If you know that you need such features, well, buy a phone with MIUI..? Even if you somehow manage to boot MIUI on A3, it won't support OTA updates and most probably some of the essential features won't work (e.g. FP sensor).
_mysiak_ said:
What's so bad on using 3rd party apps to have those feature? I for one have zero interest in call recorder, screen recorder, app lock, second space or any of the MIUI apps and I'm glad that these, for me useless apps are not part of the system. That's why I always choose clean Android. If you know that you need such features, well, buy a phone with MIUI..? Even if you somehow manage to boot MIUI on A3, it won't support OTA updates and most probably some of the essential features won't work (e.g. FP sensor).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If Mi CC9e had a global MIUI (not English / Chinese only), there would be no such conversation. But since there are a lot of people who like MIUI more than Android Stock, there are a lot of people looking for MIUI for the Mi A3!
jo2006 said:
If Mi CC9e had a global MIUI (not English / Chinese only), there would be no such conversation. But since there are a lot of people who like MIUI more than Android Stock, there are a lot of people looking for MIUI for the Mi A3!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Xiaomi has 4 phones with Android One and at least 20 with MIUI. A3 is nothing special (except the Android One program), why on Earth would you choose it over any other phone with fully supported MIUI out of the box? Just to complain that you miss things which are deliberately not present?
_mysiak_ said:
...A3 is nothing special ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A3 is nothing special? Tell me one smartphone with a screen less than 6 inches (for me very important) and a decent battery (over 4000 mAh). In addition it has a good / excellent camera.
jo2006 said:
A3 is nothing special? Tell me one smartphone with a screen less than 6 inches (for me very important) and a decent battery (over 4000 mAh). In addition it has a good / excellent camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not familiar with MIUI phones as I find zero interest in them. If there is no such phone, I guess you need to make a compromise somewhere.
Most recent phones have excellent camera with gcam mod.
Guys, MIUI has its benefits, but stock android is not that bad either. I just love stock android.
But it seems many people are regretting buying this phone. Maybe someone will port MIUI for A3 someday, meanwhile you can follow the video shared by @ozankardes, it looks promising. The video is not in English, but I guess you can pickup the important bits easily. Good luck!
I tried the MIUI ROM in the video. it work.
ROM belongs to MI CC9e. Only 2 languages. English & Chinese. You can use morelocale2.
-No Google apps.
-Auto brightness is not stable.
-Fingerprints don't work.
Everything works except what those.
I tried a few more A/B GSI roms (Flyme 8, MIUI 11). None of them worked. Maybe only will work GSI A roms I don't know. We need to do more trials.
Hello,
I'm a fairly novice phone user that is currently using the Samsung Galaxy J8 and I'm looking to upgrade, I love the Pixel software and camera but I prefer the design of other phones and their hardware.
I'm currently looking at the Redmi K20 (not pro) and Samsung Galaxy A70 as my main options with the Google Pixel 3 and 3a as my 'last resort' for lack of better words.
I was wondering if the process of downloading and installing Lineage OS differs between devices and, since it wipes data, if it is safer (or even possible, like I said, I'm not very knowledgeable about phones) to get Lineage OS on the phone before I put my sim card in.
I will also be putting on the Google Camera APK and I believe I've seen a video where the OnePlus 7 Pro was using a GCam not specifically made for it which led me to wonder how you are supposed to know which GCam is best for you, of course I will download the one specifically made for my phone but do I go through every other option until I find the best one too?
If I do put on Lineage OS which apps stay and which get removed/added? Will it affect the stock camera app?
Also, is it possible to get Google's 'Now Playing' feature on any Android phone?
Sorry if I have broken any rules or done something wrong, I'm new to this site but would like to be on here more often, thanks in advance.
What are your thoughts on the device os? Do you think it is good overall and offers good performance and stability? Or would it be better to use a custom rom with it?
I am happy with the global rom, except for a few areas.
1. USB C to 3.5mm adapter is quiet, fixed with a command (need root)
2. Camera's autofocus is bad in some scenarios
The CN rom is filled with the worst kind of bloatware. Every app wants to track your usage, including the realme UI apps. If I remember it correctly, even calculator or some other most basic app requested permissions
Despite global Rom being cleaner, there were still a few bloatware apps that I had to remove like HeyTap Cloud or Quick Device Connect among others.
So to answer your question, stock Rom is good enough but needs a bit of tweaking.
I hope the eu rom is the same as the global rom, but to summarize, the stock rom is good if you can tweak it with root. Am I right?
Pf_Plays06 said:
What are your thoughts on the device os? Do you think it is good overall and offers good performance and stability? Or would it be better to use a custom rom with it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Love it.
Iam ex-MIUI user, since 2017 (Redmi 4x, Redmi 5, Mi Mix 2, Mix 2s, Mi 8, Mi 9, Mi 10,...) , started with MIUI 7 or 8 global (i guess), later custom MIUIos roms (EU project, without bloatware, better optimization, different ram management, etc), and this is my first phone without MIUI. I was very worried, but for nothing.
I have EU non-root version, bloatware and google apps - done in 5 minutes without complications, OS is fast, pure, without bugs and any similar problems (team MIUI knows...), after month iam very satisfied.
Consider your use case and the budget. I just browse web and instant message 80% of the time.
Realme seems to be good with OTA updates although Global/EU versions get much slower rollout.
Hardware specs are great.
OS is good, and Global/EU ROM is the closest to stock Google experience.
The conclusion is that the hardware is not the limitation, so all the power is in the user hands.
If you want something that works just right out of the box and has greater community support with comparable specs, you'd probably have to look at Galaxy S22 at twice the price or others.
Other good contender is Realme GT Neo 3. Minor trade-offs here and there.
Or if you only care about camera, Realme 9 Pro+ could be a good option too.
All above have IMX766 camera sensor, same as GT 2 Pro.
If you are looking at GT 2 Pro, consider getting CN version and flashing Global.
Quake94 said:
Consider your use case and the budget. I just browse web and instant message 80% of the time.
Realme seems to be good with OTA updates although Global/EU versions get much slower rollout.
Hardware specs are great.
OS is good, and Global/EU ROM is the closest to stock Google experience.
The conclusion is that the hardware is not the limitation, so all the power is in the user hands.
If you want something that works just right out of the box and has greater community support with comparable specs, you'd probably have to look at Galaxy S22 at twice the price or others.
Other good contender is Realme GT Neo 3. Minor trade-offs here and there.
Or if you only care about camera, Realme 9 Pro+ could be a good option too.
All above have IMX766 camera sensor, same as GT 2 Pro.
If you are looking at GT 2 Pro, consider getting CN version and flashing Global.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why should I get the cn version? If I recall I saw people getting issues when flashing it with global so I think that any version should be fine since with eu it's rootable through an exploit
CN came out much cheaper for me.
Flashing global works fine if the steps are followed carefully.
Quake94 said:
CN came out much cheaper for me.
Flashing global works fine if the steps are followed carefully.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But if I got EU instead, it should be ok to leave it as is and use an exploit to root it no?
Pf_Plays06 said:
But if I got EU instead, it should be ok to leave it as is and use an exploit to root it no?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The exploit is only needed to unlock the bootloader. Once the bootloader is unlocked there's no difference between the various global models with regard to root.