The popularity of OnePlus’s Oxygen OS shell often makes Xiaomi smartphone owners think about changing software. Users are attracted by the clean interface, high speed and lack of intrusive advertising typical of MIUI or HyperOS. However, when it comes to directly installing Oxygen OS on Xiaomi devices, many technical nuances and misconceptions arise.
In this article, we will explore in detail whether such a replacement is technically possible, what real alternatives exist, and why trying to install “foreign” firmware can turn your phone into a “brick.” You will learn about the differences in hardware platforms, porting methods, and legal ways to get the desired Android experience without unnecessary restrictions.
Before you start any actions related to system modification, you need to understand the architecture of Android devices. Firmware is not just a set of files, but a complex software package sharpened for a specific hardware. Wrong actions can lead to complete inoperability of the gadget, so carefully study the material.
⚠️ Note: Direct installation of stock firmware OnePlus on Xiaomi is not possible due to differences in hardware drivers and downloaders.Attempting to record a system image from another manufacturer via Fastboot will result in the device locking.
Why you can’t just go and run Oxygen OS
The main problem lies in the fundamental differences of hardware platforms: Xiaomi and OnePlus smartphones use different chipsets (SoCs), camera modules, sensors and power controllers. Oxygen OS drivers simply do not know how to interact with Xiaomi components. If you tried to launch such a system, the phone would either not turn on at all or lose the functionality of the communication modules and the camera.
And each manufacturer has its own unique bootloader. Even if you unlock the bootloader on Xiaomi, the partition structure is different from that used in OnePlus. System partitions like boot, recovery and system have different addressing and size, which makes direct copying of the system image technically incorrect and dangerous.
There is a concept of “ports” when enthusiasts adapt the firmware of one device to another. However, ports are usually made between devices on the same processor (for example, MediaTek Helio G99 on Xiaomi and Realme). Cross-platform ports (Snapdragon on MediaTek or vice versa) require rewriting the core of the system, which is almost impossible to do stably for everyday use.
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Direct installation of Oxygen OS on Xiaomi is impossible due to incompatibility of drivers and structure of memory partitions between different manufacturers.
Alternatives: custom firmware and ports
If your goal is to get a pure Android without ads and unnecessary apps, you should pay attention to custom firmware created specifically for your Xiaomi model. The development community creates ports of popular shells, including LineageOS, Pixel Experience and even modified versions of Oxygen OS, adapted to specific models of Redmi and Poco.
These versions are called “ports” or “unofficial builds,” and they use the kernel from stock MIUI/HyperOS, but replace the system interface and applications with those from OnePlus or pure Android, which keeps the camera and all sensors working, while changing the visual style.
To find the right firmware, you need to know the exact code name of your device, for example, Redmi Note 10 Pro has the code name sweet, and Poco X3 NFC is thyme, and you need to search for these identifiers in specialized forums.
- 🔍 4PDA — the largest Russian-language resource, where the branches of specific models often lie proven ports.
- 🌍 XDA Developers – an international forum where original builds and early alpha versions are published.
- 📱 Telegram channels – many developers put their builds in thematic chats dedicated to specific models of smartphones.
⚠️ Attention: Installing custom firmware always carries risks. download files only from trusted sources and be sure to check check checksums (MD5/SHA256) before-fixing.
Preparation of the smartphone for system modification
Before you try any alternative system improvement methods, you need to prepare the device. The first and most important step is unlocking the bootloader. Without this, you can't install third-party Recovery or custom firmware. The process of unlocking official Xiaomi tools takes 7 to 168 hours of waiting.
You will need a computer with Windows OS, USB-cable with high-quality data transmission and installed drivers ADB Also make sure to back up all the data, as unlocking the bootloader will completely clear the device’s internal memory.
☑️ Preparation for modification
Once unlocked, the next step is to install a customized recaveri, most commonly TWRP or OrangeFox, which is the tool that installs the modified systems, and it's important to find the version of the recaveri that's designed specifically for your model, because the wrong TWRP may not see or damage the memory partitions.
Comparison of MIUI/HyperOS and Oxygen OS
Many users are looking to move away from MIUI because of the abundance of advertising and heavy visual effects, but it’s worth objectively comparing the capabilities of stock shells to understand what exactly you’re losing and gaining.
| Characteristics | MIUI / HyperOS (Xiaomi) | Oxygen OS (OnePlus) |
|---|---|---|
| Interface. | Saturated, lots of settings, iOS-like | Minimalistic, close to stock Android |
| Advertising | Present in system applications | Absent. |
| Optimization | Aggressive, often closing background apps | More gentle, better keeps apps in memory |
| Camera. | Many processing algorithms, but depend on the model | Natural colors, focus on shooting speed |
| Updates | Frequent but may contain bugs | Stable, rare but reliable |
| Functional | Second Space, Application Cloning | Basic set, minimum of excess |
As you can see from the table, switching to Oxygen OS (via ports) brings a clean system and no advertising, but you may lose some of Xiaomi’s unique features, such as advanced app cloning or specific gestures.
How to make MIUI look like Oxygen OS without flashing it
If you are not willing to risk the guarantee and stability of the phone, you can visually and functionally bring the interface Xiaomi Oxygen OS software methods.
The first thing you need to do is change the launcher. Install Launcher 10 or Niagara Launcher from Google Play. They will allow you to change the desktop grid, fonts and animations to make them more similar to the style of OnePlus. You can also download Oxygen OS themes from the official Xiaomi theme store.
To remove ads and unnecessary applications, use the developer mode and ADB. You can disable system applications that are not needed by the team:
adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.msa.globalThis command disables the MIUI advertising service. Use the enable command to return the function. Be careful not to disable system services that you do not know the purpose of.
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Use the “Material You” app to customize the color schemes of the interface to bring the visual style as close as possible to Android 12/13/14 in the style of Pixel or Oxygen.
It is also recommended to disable the Receiving Recommendations feature in security settings and memory cleanup, which will remove pop-ups with suggestions to install games or applications.
Frequent errors and recovery methods
In the process of experimenting with firmware, users often encounter problems, the most common is Bootloop, and if the phone is constantly rebooted and not logged in, the firmware is likely damaged or incompatible.
To exit the bootloom, you need to go to Recovery mode (clutching the volume button up and power) and do Wipe Data/Factory Reset. If this does not help, you will need to flash through Fastboot with a complete clearing of all partitions by the fastboot erase userdata command.
Another mistake is to install firmware for the global version in Chinese (or vice versa) without changing the region, which can lead to a broken Internet or call problems (VoLTE).
What if the phone is not detected by a computer?
Remember that after installing custom firmware, banks’ applications may stop working due to a system integrity breach. Bypassing this restriction often requires installing Magisk patches such as MagiskHide or Zygisk.
Expert opinion and recommendations
Installing Oxygen OS on Xiaomi is literally impossible, but the pursuit of pure Android is achievable through ports and custom firmware. It’s a path for enthusiasts willing to spend time setting up and solving possible problems.
If you want stability for work and important calls, you'd better stay on the official shell and customize it for yourself, and if your Xiaomi is a secondary device for experimentation, the world of custom firmware will open up new possibilities for you.
Remember the rule of modding: never flash files that are intended for other models, even if they are called "universal"; it is a guaranteed way to lose the device. Always look for builds marked "For [your model]".