How to roll back to the old firmware Xiaomi: a step-by-step guide

Modern updates to the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS system often bring not only new features, but also hidden bugs that can turn smartphone use into a test. Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco devices often face rapid battery drain, overheating of the processor or unstable operation of communication modules after a scheduled update.

The rollback procedure is more complicated than a regular update, and requires the user to be more attentive and prepared. You will not just press the “update” button, but work with system partitions, downloaders and specialized software. Wrong actions at any stage can cause the phone to stop turning on, turning into a “brick.” So before starting any manipulations, you need to clearly understand what method is applicable to your model and the current state of the device.

In this article, we will discuss in detail all known ways to return to the previous version of the software. We will consider the work through the Fastboot mode using a computer, cleaning methods through Recovery and the features of working with the regions of firmware. Particular attention will be paid to unlocking the bootloader, since without this procedure, a full-fledged downgrade on most modern Xiaomi models is simply impossible.

Preparation of the device and collection of necessary files

The first and most critical step is to prepare the work environment, and you'll need a computer running Windows, because the basic Mi Flash Tool and drivers are optimized for this platform, and macOS or Linux is possible, but you'll need to do extra drum and command line dances, which increases the risk of error for the inexperienced user.

Be sure to back up all your important data. The downgrade process almost always involves completely clearing your device’s internal memory. If you try to restore data from an old backup made on a newer version of Android, the system may start crashing again due to conflicting versions of databases and system libraries.

You also need to find and download the firmware file itself. It's important to distinguish between two types of archives: Recovery (usually with the zip extension) and Fastboot (with the.tgz extension). For the computer rollback procedure, which is the most reliable, you need a Fastboot archive. It needs to be unpacked into the root of the C disk so that the path to the folder is short and does not contain Cyrillic characters.

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Use it. USB-port built directly into the computer motherboard (back of the system unit), rather than ports on the front panel or USB-This will provide stable voltage and data transmission during firmware.

Unlocking the loader: a mandatory stage

Xiaomi’s policy is that locking the bootloader prohibits installing older firmware versions than the one currently installed, and it’s done for security reasons so that attackers can’t introduce vulnerabilities in older versions of Android. So if you want to roll back, you’ll have to unlock the bootloader, even if it’s already been unlocked before — after you’ve installed the global firmware on the Chinese version or vice versa, the status may reset.

Unlocking requires the Mi Unlock Tool and Mi Account, which must be linked to the device, and is not an instantaneous process: after applying for the Developer Settings app, you often have to wait 7 to 168 hours, and only after this timer expires, the program will allow you to unlock the device.

⚠️ Warning: Once the bootloader is unlocked, all data on the phone will be automatically deleted, and some Google Pay (Mir Pay) banking apps and services will stop working until you re-authorize or use special patches (Magisk), which may violate the warranty.

There is an important limitation by firmware region: You can’t install the global version (Global) on a Chinese firmware device (China) and vice versa by simply changing the region in the settings. Cross-regional transition (e.g. from CN to Global) requires a complete Fastboot flashing with a pre-blocked bootloader and clearing all partitions.

Recoil from Fastboot and Mi Flash Tool

This is the most reliable and versatile way, and it's 95% of the time, and it allows you to completely rewrite the system partition of your device. First, make sure you have Qualcomm or MediaTek drivers installed on your computer (depending on the processor) and the Mi Flash Tool utility.

Turn your smartphone into Fastboot mode. Turn off the device and press the power and volume buttons at the same time. The screen should show a bunny fixing an android or the words Fastboot. Connect the phone to your computer with a cable. In the Windows Device Manager, the Android Bootloader Interface should appear in the USB Controllers section.

Launch the Mi Flash Tool on behalf of the administrator. Press the "Select" button and point the way to the unpacked firmware folder. At the bottom of the window, you will have three options. To clean up, you must select the clean all option. It erases all data completely and installs the new (old) system clean.

After selecting clean all mode, press the "Flash" button. The process will take 200 to 600 seconds. The phone will reboot several times, the screen will go out and light up. Don't touch the cable or turn off the computer until the green "Success" sign appears.

Local updates via Recovery (no PC)

There's a method that doesn't require a computer, but it only works in a very specific environment, and it's suitable if you want to roll back one version or if the variation is small and you already have an unlocked bootloader, and it uses a built-in Recovery menu.

You need to download the Recovery firmware archive (extension.zip, weighing about 3-5 GB), the file is renamed to update.zip and placed in the root of the phone's internal memory, then through the "Select Language" menu (three dots in the corner) you select "Select Service Pack".

⚠️ Attention: The standard Recovery menu blocks the installation of the older version. To get around this, you need to activate the hidden developer menu. To do this, in Recovery mode, press and hold the "Loudness Up" and "Loudness Down" buttons simultaneously (on some models only Up) for a period of time. 5-10 seconds until a message is received to enable signature verification.

Once you activate the signature check, the system will allow you to select the update.zip file even if the version is older than the current one. However, if the version difference is too large (for example, switching from Android 13 to Android 11), this method will likely give an error "Can't verify update."

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Recovery is only suitable for minor updates (for example, from 14.0.5 to 14.0.3). For major rollbacks (change the Android version), use only Fastboot.

Common mistakes and ways to solve them

In the process of downgrade, users often encounter error codes, one of the most common is Error: Miss matching image, which occurs when you try to flash firmware from one model to another (even if they are very similar, for example, Global and China versions of the same smartphone). The solution is one: download the archive strictly under your codename (for example, miui_EUONEGlobal For the Redmi Note 10).

Another common problem is hanging on the Mi or Poco logo after you've run it, and it's called a bootloop, and it's often caused by the remnants of the new system, and the solution is to go into Recovery mode and do Wipe Data, and if that doesn't work, it might be a persistent or modem partition that's damaged, and you'll need to flash those parts separately through Fastboot.

If your computer doesn't see your phone in Fastboot mode, check Device Manager. If there's an "Unknown Device" on it, you'll need to manually update the driver by pointing the way to the folder with Xiaomi or Qualcomm drivers. USB-cable, preferably original, as cheap cables often only support charging.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions