Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones regularly face notifications about the availability of new versions of the operating system, whether it is a transition from MIUI 14 to the latest HyperOS or simply installing security patches. Many users ignore these messages for fear of losing data or encountering errors in the device, but timely installation of updates is critical to the stability of the gadget.
Modern shells from the Chinese manufacturer offer several methods of installing the latest versions of the software. You can use the standard settings menu to automatically download or apply the manual method through the Recovery menu if the automatic method did not work. Understanding the differences between these methods will allow you to choose the most suitable option for your situation and avoid common errors.
In this article, we will take a look at all the steps of the process, from checking the current version to solving problems with boot freezes, we will look at the nuances of working with global and Chinese versions of firmware, and explain why backup is a must before starting any manipulation of your smartphone’s system software.
Preparing the device for the installation of a new version
Before you start the upgrade process, make sure your device is ready to work with new system files. First, check the battery level: it should be at least 60%. If the battery is discharged, the connection to the network during installation can be unstable, which will lead to interruption of the process.
It is also critical to free up enough space in internal memory: System firmware files take up a significant amount of space, and they require free space to be decompressed and installed, often exceeding the size of the update file itself, delete unnecessary videos, photos or transfer them to a computer or to the cloud.
⚠️ Warning: Do not try to upgrade your phone if it has an unlocked bootloader and root rights installed, without first returning to stock settings.
Be sure to back up important data. While regular updates usually save user files, there is always a risk of information loss. Use the built-in backup feature in the Settings menu → About phone → Backup and Restore, or sync data with Google Account and Xiaomi Cloud.
☑️ Checklist of preparations
Automatic updates through system settings
The easiest and safest way to get a new version of software is to use an inbuilt update mechanism, which is suitable for most users, since the system itself checks for compatibility and downloads the correct firmware version for your region and model.
To start, go to the smartphone settings menu. Find the About phone section, which is usually located at the top of the list or in the General category. Click on the large icon with the current version of MIUI or HyperOS. The system will automatically contact the server and check for new builds.
- 📲 Click the "Check Updates" button to force a request to the server.
- ⬇️ If a new version is found, click "Download" and wait for the file to be downloaded.
- 🔄 After downloading, a “Reboot” button will appear, which will start the installation process.
In some cases, the system may offer a choice between the "Stable" and "Beta" versions. For everyday use, it is recommended to choose only a stable branch, as beta versions can contain errors and work unstable. If you are using the Chinese version of firmware, make sure that the region is in the settings (Settings) → Additional settings → Region) is correctly set to, for example, “India” or “Russia” to receive current packages.
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Use a stable Wi-Fi connection at a speed of at least 10 Mbps so that the loading of a large firmware file (3-5 GB) was without errors and breaks.
The installation process can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, during which time the phone will reboot several times, and the screen may display the Xiaomi logo or progress indicator.
Manual installation of firmware through the Recovery menu
If the automatic method doesn’t work or you want to manually update using a pre-downloaded firmware file, you’ll need a Recovery menu, often referred to as a “button update” or through Recovery Mode, which requires you to pre-load a.zip installation file from an official website or a trusted source.
Copy the downloaded firmware file into the root (main folder) of your smartphone’s internal memory. Don’t put it in folders with photos or documents, the file should be kept separate so that the system can easily find it. Make sure the file has the correct name and extension that matches your model.
Next, follow the following steps to enter the recovery mode:
- Turn off your smartphone completely.
- Press the volume button and the power button at the same time.
- Hold them until the Mi logo appears, then release the power button while continuing to keep the volume.
In the menu that appears, navigation is done with volume buttons (up/down), and the choice is confirmed by the power button. Select a language (if available), then go to Wipe Data only if you do a full reset, or immediately select Connect with MIAssistant to connect to your PC, or use the built-in installer if it is available in your version of Recovery. In global versions, the Apply Update is often available, where you can select a file from memory.
What if Recovery doesn’t see the file?
⚠️ Note: When selecting Wipe Data, all your photos, contacts and apps will be deleted without recovery. Use this method only if you have made a full backup.
Update via computer with the Mi Flash Tool
For advanced users who have experienced serious errors or want to change the firmware region (for example, from China to Global), the Mi Flash Tool is designed. ADB/Fastboot. This is the most powerful way to completely rewrite partitions of memory of the device.
First, you need to unlock the bootloader through the official Mi Unlock app on your PC, linking the Mi Account to the device. Without the unlocked bootloader, installing firmware through Fastboot is impossible. Once unlocked, download the firmware archive with the.tgz extension and unpack it to the root of the C disk so that the path does not contain Cyrillic characters.
The firmware process is as follows:
- 💻 Start the Mi Flash Tool on behalf of the administrator.
- 🔌 Connect the phone off to the PC by pressing the volume down button (Fastboot mode).
- 📂 Press the Refresh button and select the path to the folder with the unpacked firmware.
- ⚡ Press Flash and wait until the process is complete (green bar).
It is important to choose the right firmware mode at the bottom of the program window: Clean All mode will completely delete all data, Save User Data will try to save files (but can cause errors when changing the region), and Clean All and Lock will block the bootloader back, which is necessary for banking applications and Android Pay.
Comparison of Update Methods and Their Features
Each of these methods has its own advantages and disadvantages, which should be considered before starting the procedure, and the choice depends on your goals: whether you just need to get new features or need to restore the system after a failure.
| Method | Difficulty | Data retention | Risks. |
|---|---|---|---|
| OTA (via settings) | Low. | Complete. | Minimum |
| Recovery (zip file) | Medium | Depends on choice. | Medium (file error) |
| Fastboot (Mi Flash) | Tall. | Requires a reset. | Tall (brick) |
| EDL Mode | Expert | No. | Critical |
For the average user, the best choice is the OTA method through settings, which ensures that you get the version of the software that was tested for your region and hardware configuration, manual methods should only be used if you need to change region or restore the system after critical errors.
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Automatic update – a safest choice for 95% of users, maintaining the guarantee and stability of the system.
Common mistakes and ways to solve them
Users may encounter various problems during the update process, one of the most common being a “failed to update” message or an endless download cycle, often due to space shortage or damage to the downloaded file, in which case, try clearing the “Update” app cache through the Settings menu → Apps → All Apps → System Update → Memory → Clear.
If the phone has stuck on the logo after the update, try resetting to factory settings via the Recovery menu. Press the volume and power buttons, select the language and press Wipe Data. This will delete all data, but can bring the device back to life if the problem was in the conflict of the old settings with the new firmware.
Another common problem is the signature verification error when manually installed, which means that you are trying to install a version of the software that is not intended for your device or region, or the firmware file is corrupted, in which case you need to download the current build strictly for your model from the official Xiaomi Firmware Updater portal.
⚠️ Note: If banking applications have stopped working after the update, the bootloader may have been unlocked or the system partition changed" →"Security scanner".
In rare cases, when the device completely ceases to respond to commands (brick mode), it may be necessary to use EDL (Emergency Download Mode) mode and specialized software for flashing at the bootloader level, which is better to entrust to the specialists of the service center.