Installation of custom TWRP recavator on Xiaomi smartphones

The Android operating system modification opens up huge opportunities for the owner of the Xiaomi smartphone, which are not available in the standard shell of MIUI or HyperOS. One of the key stages on the way to full customization is replacing the regular recovery menu with an expanded version known as Custom Recovery.

In the world of modding, the de facto standard has been the TWRP (Team Win Recovery Project) for many years, with its interface adapted for touch control and functionality far superior to the stock menu. However, the installation process requires care, as there are always risks involved in interfering with boot parts of a device. In this guide, we will take a detailed look at every step from preparation to final health check.

⚠️ Attention: You perform any actions with the bootloader and system partitions at your own risk.The author of the article is not responsible for turning your smartphone into a “brick” or losing personal data.

Before you start technical manipulation, you need to be clear about why you need it. TWRP is not just a way to get root rights, it's the foundation for a fully personalized mobile environment, you can remove system debris that can't be touched in normal mode, and even run the operating systems of other devices, if they are adapted to your model.

Preparation of equipment and software

The success of the operation depends on 90% of the quality of preparation. You will need not only the smartphone itself, but also a working computer running Windows, macOS or Linux. USB cable should be original or high-quality analogue, capable of transmitting data, not just current for charging. Cheap cables “only for charging” often cause the computer to not see the device in Fastboot mode.

On the computer you need to install the current drivers ADB and Fastboot. Windows users are most convenient to download the universal package Platform Tools from the official Google website or use specialized installers of drivers from Xiaomi. Without properly installed drivers, communication between the PC and the phone will be impossible, and all commands will be ignored.

The critical point is to find the.img image file that is created specifically for your model. Running a Redmi Note 10 backup on Redmi Note 11 can lead to irreversible consequences. Look for files on proven resources, such as the 4PDA forum or XDA Developers, paying attention to the code name of the device (for example, mojito, vayu, pissarro).

Unlocking the Bootloader bootloader

Xiaomi has a major obstacle to modifiers, a locked bootloader. While it is locked, you can't write a single byte of information to the recovery section. The process of unlocking is officially authorized by the manufacturer, but it takes time and attaches your Mi Account to the device.

To start, activate the developer mode by quickly clicking on the build number in the About Phone menu several times. Then, in the advanced settings, find the bootloader status and unlock it, pre-associating the akka-unt and SIM-After that, you download the Mi Unlock Tool to your computer and follow the instructions on the screen. Usually, after the first attempt, the system will ask you to wait from 7 to 168 hours.

It is important to know that when the bootloader is unlocked, all user data is completely reset, a security measure that prevents the new owner from accessing the previous one's information, so backup photos, contacts and messages must be done before the process begins. Once successfully unlocked, the phone will boot to the clean system, and the account binding procedure can be considered complete.

Downloading the smartphone in Fastboot mode

Fastboot (or Bootloader Mode) is a low-level protocol that allows you to send commands directly to the device, bypassing the operating system. It's in this mode that we'll fill in the image of the Recovery. To get into it, turn off the smartphone completely, and then press the Volume Down and Power buttons simultaneously.

Hold the buttons until the image of a hare in a hat-eared, repairing an android, or inscriptions appears on the screen. FASTBOOT Connect the phone to the computer through the orange. USB-If the drivers are installed correctly, the Android Bootloader Interface will appear in Windows Device Manager.

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If the computer does not make the device connection sound, try another one. USB-port (preferably) USB 2.0 at the back of the system unit or replace the cable.

You can check the connection via the command line. Open the terminal in the folder with the ADB tools and type in the command:

fastboot devices

If you see your device's serial number in response, you've got the connection, you can move on to the next step, if the screen is empty, check the drivers, or try reconnecting the cable, sometimes just restarting the command line window on behalf of the administator helps.

The process of installing TWRP via Fastboot

Now comes the most important moment. Make sure that the image file (for example, the image file, twrp-3.7.0_9-0-device.img) It's in the same folder where the command line is running, or write the full path to it:

Fastboot flash recovery name file.img

However, there is an important caveat to modern Xiaomi devices: Once the recovery partition firmware is in place, the phone can automatically reboot to the system, replacing the newly installed TWRP back with stock, and to prevent this, immediately after the firmware is completed, without releasing the cable, you need to manually put the device into recovery mode.

Once you have Finished in the command line, quickly press the combination of the Up Volume and Power buttons. Hold them until the Mi logo appears, then release the power button, continuing to keep the volume up until the TWRP menu appears. If you see a familiar interface with sliders and buttons, congratulations, the installation was successful.

Primary setting and replacement protection

The first TWRP run may be accompanied by a password request. If you have a pin or a pattern lock set on the lock screen, enter it. If you do not want to enter the password, you can press Cancel, but then access to encrypted data (Data) will be closed. To work fully, you need to format the Data partition with the Format Data command (enter yes), which will delete all files.

Modern Xiaomi smartphones have a security mechanism that checks the integrity of the recovery partition when you boot it, and if it's changed, the phone will replace the TWRP with the stock one. To prevent this from happening, you need to install a patch immediately after you install the recovery to prevent this replacement, usually through the Install menu inside the TWRP itself.

⚠️ Note: If you reboot to Android immediately after installation TWRP without installing a patch protection, custom recavery will be replaced by factory, and the procedure will have to be repeated.

Find the file. Disable_Dm-Verity_ForceEncrypt.zip Or a similar patch for your model and install it through the Install menu, and at this stage, many users install the Magisk root rights manager, since it also requires a custom recavator to work properly. After installing all the necessary zip archives, you can reboot to the system.

Possible errors and methods of their elimination

Users often face a variety of problems when modifying a device, and one of the most common is "Bootloop" (cyclical reboot). If the phone is stuck on the logo, try going to TWRP and making Wipe Dalvik/ART Cache and then Wipe Cache. If that doesn't work, maybe the recovery version is incompatible with the Android version.

Another common error is FAILED (remote: device is locked), which occurs when you try to flash recovers onto a locked bootloader, in which case you need to return to the unlock stage via the Mi Unlock Tool, and FAILED (remote: unknown command) status is also possible, which is sometimes solved by replacing the USB cable or port.

If you're running an error log, you should not ignore the error message. If you're running an error, you'd better figure out why than if you're running an unstable device. Most of the time, it's a broken firmware file or a broken sequence.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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The main key to success is the exact match of the file recovery model of your smartphone and careful reading of instructions for a particular device.

Installing a custom recavator is the first step into Xiaomi’s deep customization world, and once you have full control of the device, you can unlock its true potential, which is often hidden by the manufacturer’s limitations, and the key is to act carefully, have up-to-date files on hand and not be afraid to study the technical documentation.