This guide will walk you through the process of flashing TWRP onto your Xiaomi phone. We’ll look at some of the benefits of doing so, as well as the slight differences in the flashing procedure depending on whether you’re running MIUI or HyperOS.
What is TWRP?
The TeamWin Recovery Project, commonly known as TWRP, is a touch-based GUI custom recovery. It allows users to install custom firmware or ROMs, back up existing data, or perform a complete phone wipe, resetting it. While every phone comes with its own OEM recovery software, which provides basic functionality, TWRP gives unrestricted access to install or update system files that would otherwise be restricted. It was initially developed for Nexus phones, but has since gained immense popularity and has been ported to other devices. READ MORE: How to DIY Port TWRP for Android ➜
How to Flash TWRP in Xiaomi Devices?
The process of flashing TWRP on Xiaomi devices is fairly straightforward given that you’ve checked off all of the prerequisites required to install a custom recovery in your phone.
↪ Pre-Requisites
Before installing TWRP onto your device, you need to make sure you have the following sorted. You will need: It is important that each requirement listed above is fulfilled. For instance, if your Xiaomi phone has a locked bootloader, you will need to unlock it first. We have a detailed guide that you can follow along to unlock your device’s bootloader. Before starting to flash TWRP, it is also recommended to backup all of your existing data since it may be wiped off completely. Also, try to install ADB drivers in your PC first before proceeding along with this guide. READ MORE: How to Unlock Bootloader on Xiaomi HyperOS Devices ➜
Step 1: Setting Up Platform Tools
To install TWRP on your phone, we’ll use the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) to flash the recovery image file. If you’re unfamiliar with ADB, it’s a tool that lets you communicate with and control your Android device from your computer. ADB Platform Tools in particular, is a suite of different programs that provides a command-line interface, either via Command Prompt on Windows or Terminal on Mac, for interacting with your device via ADB or Fastboot. To set this up, follow the steps down below:
Step 2: Enabling Developer Options
The next step is to enable USB debugging and that involves unlocking any restrictions (Developer options) that might prevent communication with an external device. This is important not only for this process, but also because it allows you to flash a fresh version of the OS via Fastboot in case of a software brick where the device won’t boot normally after flashing TWRP. To enable USB Debugging, follow the steps below: READ MORE: Android Developer Options Complete List (Explained) ➜
Step 3: Check your Phone’s Partition Scheme
Once all the necessary prerequisites are fulfilled, the next step is to check what sort of partition scheme your phone uses. There are two main types of these partitions — A/B and A-only. On the surface, note that non-A/B devices need only flash TWRP once, while the other set of devices must first boot into TWRP and then install the recovery from within the recovery itself.
↪ A/B and Non-A/B (A-Only) Partitions
For devices that support A/B partitions or “Seamless Updates,” it works in a way that the operating system resides in one slot while any new update that needs to be installed does so in the other (inactive) slot. Once the update is successfully installed, the phone boots into the other partition and designates it as the active partition. However, if the update fails, the phone never boots into the other slot altogether. The other set of devices with A-only partitions have a single recovery partition, whereas A/B devices’ recovery partition is split inside the boot image along with the kernel. This is why you will first need to boot the TWRP image via Fastboot (as you will see later) and then patch the recovery partition, which will install TWRP in both boot_a and boot_b partitions.
Step 4: Installing TWRP (A/B & A-Only)
Head on over to TeamWin’s official website, find if your device is listed in the list of supported devices and download the TWRP image (.img) file. Then follow the steps down below:
1.Non-A/B Partition (A-Only)
For this type of partition scheme, you will generally need to flash the recovery only once. To do this follow the steps down below.
2. A/B Devices
For devices using an A/B partition scheme, the installation process is slightly different from the method above. In this case, you’ll not only need the previously downloaded .img file, but also a separate TWRP recovery .zip file.
Step 5: Rebooting into Recovery
Now that TWRP is installed, there are two ways you can access TWRP. One using ADB and other using the physical buttons on your mobile phone.
MIUI vs HyperOS Flashing
Flashing TWRP or any other custom recovery onto any phone (not just Xiaomi) follows a similar basic procedure. You essentially use the ADB Platform Tools to flash the TWRP.img file onto your phone’s partition. However, the key difference lies in how Xiaomi’s different operating systems (HyperOS and MIUI) allow you to unlock the bootloader. For MIUI, the process was straightforward. You simply needed to enable OEM Unlocking permissions and then initiate the unlock countdown timer using the Mi Flash tool. However, Xiaomi has implemented stricter restrictions on newer devices running HyperOS, making bootloader unlocking slightly more complex. We have a detailed guide available if you’d like to follow the process. In addition to this, older Xiaomi devices might use either A-only or A/B partition schemes. This difference can make the flashing process slightly more selective, but the steps mentioned above also explain, in detail on how to identify your phone’s partition scheme. READ MORE: How to Install HyperOS Moon Super Wallpaper on Any Android ➜
Conclusion
This guide outlines all of the important procedures for flashing TWRP onto your Xiaomi device. It caters to both device partition types (A/B & A-only) and both operating systems, including MIUI and the newer HyperOS. However, be aware that improperly following these instructions could permanently brick your device.
