Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face the limitations of the standard MIUI or HyperOS shell, which do not allow full control of the system. Obtaining Root rights is the only way to get around these restrictions by removing preinstalled garbage, overclocking the processor or installing specialized modules.
The current methods of obtaining administrator rights are radically different from those used a few years ago, and if there were “one-button” programs before, today the de facto standard is a bundle of unlocked boot boot boot boot.img image through the Magisk utility, which is the way we will look at it in as much detail as possible.
Before you take action, you need to recognize that you are taking responsibility for the state of your device. The superuser rights procedure will permanently void the software warranty and may result in denial of service. Banking applications and services like Google Pay (Wallet) will no longer work as standard without additional manipulations to hide the root.
Preparing a smartphone and computer for modification
The success of the whole operation depends on 90% of the quality of preparation. You will need not only the smartphone itself, but also a personal computer running Windows, Linux or macOS, and also a serviceable one. USB-A cable that can transmit data, not just charge the battery, and using a damaged cable is a common cause of firmware errors when the process freezes by 10 or 50 percent%.
The first thing you need to do is activate the hidden system features. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click on MIUI Version (or OS Version) seven times. After the “You’ve become a developer” notification appears, go back to the menu and go to Advanced Settings → For Developers. There are two critical settings to enable: USB Debugging and OEM Unlock.
Next comes the most difficult step for many users, which is to link an account. In the same Developer menu, find Mi Unlock Status and click Add Account and Device. SIM-A mobile internet card (Wi-Fi should be turned off!) Once successfully linked, you'll have to wait a certain time. Officially, it's 168 hours (7 days), but in 2026, for some models, the waiting period can be extended to 30 days.
- 📱 Charge your smartphone to at least 60% to avoid a sudden shutdown.
- 💻 Download and install drivers ADB and Fastboot on the computer.
- ☁️ Make a full backup of the data, as unlocking the bootloader will completely delete all files.
⚠️ Warning: After requesting to unlock in the "Mi Unlock Status" menu, the timer starts on Xiaomi servers.Attempting to reset the time by tying the account or flashing the stock version can nullify the waiting progress.
Unlocking the bootloader (Bootloader Unlock)
Without unlocked bootloader (Bootloader) installation of modified_recovery_ You can't have a patched image or a patched image, and you can use the official Mi Unlock Tool to do that. miui.com/unlock. Run it on your PC, accept the terms of the agreement and log into your Mi Account to which the phone is linked.
Turn your smartphone off to Fastboot mode. Turn off the device, then press the Volume Down and Power buttons simultaneously until the Fastboot logo shows up on the screen with a rabbit fixing an android. Connect the phone with a cable to your computer and press the Unlock button in the program. If 7 days (or more) have passed, the utility will unlock the device. If not, it will show you how many hours there are left to wait.
Once successfully unlocked, the phone will automatically restart and reset to factory settings (Wipe Data), which is normal security behavior. The first boot can take up to 10 minutes, as the system will re-encrypt user data. Make sure you remember the password from your Mi Account, as it will be required to log in.
☑️ Pre-firmware check
It is important to understand that unlocking the bootloader reduces the overall security of the device. In theory, an attacker with physical access to the phone can easily access data, although in practice this requires high qualifications.
Installation Magisk: step-by-step instructions
Now that the bootloader is unlocked, we move on to directly installing the superuser rights. The current standard is Magisk (or its Magisk fork). Delta/Kitsune). You need to download. APK-The application file is from the official GitHub repository and rename the file extension from.apk to.zip so you can see the content, but to install it on a PC, you will need to install it yourself. APK, image.
The next step is to get an exact copy of your phone’s boot partition (boot.img). The easiest way to download the full stock firmware (Fastboot ROM) is for your model and the version of the software that is currently installed. In the firmware archive, find the boot.img file. If you have a phone with a MediaTek processor, you may also need a vbmeta.img file.
Install the Magisk app on your smartphone. Open it, click "Install" next to Magisk, and select "Select and Patch File" method. boot.img. The application will create a new file with a name like magisk_patched_[random].img in the Download folder. Copy this file back to your computer into the tool folder. ADB/Fastboot.
fastboot flash boot magisk_patched.img
fastboot rebootOnce you do the command, the phone will restart. If you do everything right, Magisk will have "Installed" status, and the code version will change from "N/A" to the current number, which means that the binary su file is embedded in the system and the rights are obtained.
What to do if your phone is in Bootloop?
Hiding Root from Banking Apps
Administrator privileges often cause applications with high security requirements (banks, Google Pay, anti-cheat games) to stop running, detect modifications and block access, but Magisk has provided mechanisms to bypass these checks.
First, open the Magisk settings (cog at the top) and activate Zygisk and DenyList (formerly known as Magisk Hide). Once Zygisk is enabled, reboot your device. Then go back to the DenyList settings, click three dots in the corner, select Show System Apps, and tick all banking apps, Google Play Services, and Google Play Store.
But in 2026, simply activating DenyList is often not enough, and many applications use additional detection techniques, such as checking the list of installed applications or having a debugger, and there are specialized solutions in Magisk modules, such as Shamiko or Hide My Applist, that allow you to hide the presence of a root more deeply.
| Detection method | Description | Way of bypassing |
|---|---|---|
| Checking the su binary | File search /system/bin/su | Magisk is hiding it automatically |
| Root applications | Availability of the SuperSU/Magisk application | Icon Hiding (Random Package Name) |
| USB debugging | Active debugging mode | Disconnect before the bank launch |
| Unlocked BL | Flag of unlocked loader | It's hard, sometimes it helps to reflash. |
⚠️ Warning: The constant arms race between bankers and root-rights developers means that today's working method may not work tomorrow. Always have a way to quickly disable concealment modules.
Common Errors and How to Resolve Them
The firmware process rarely goes perfectly smoothly for beginners. One of the most common problems is the "Waiting for device" error in Fastboot. This means that the computer can't see the phone. The solution lies in the drivers: install universal Google drivers. USB Driver or Xiaomi specific drivers USB Driver, try replacing it. USB-cable or connect the device to the port USB 2.0 instead of 3.0.
Another common error is “Signature verification failed” when trying firmware. This happens if you try to flash an image designed for a different version of firmware or a different region. Always use boot.img only from the same version of firmware that is currently installed on your phone. You can check the version in Settings → About your phone.
If after installing Magisk, the sound disappeared or Wi-Fi stopped working, then the incorrect image was stitched or the partition was damaged. vendor_boot (In this case, it will help to firmware a full stock image through the Mi Flash Tool in the “Clean All” mode, which, alas, will again require unlocking and waiting for the timer if the bootloader is blocked again (although usually re-unblocking is faster).
Opportunities and risks after obtaining a Root
Why do you need all this? Superuser rights allow you to access system files, allowing you to remove undeleteable system applications like Mi Browser, GetApps or advertising services. You can change the system fonts, install themes that are not available in the official store, and use powerful tweakers like Kernel Adiutor to overclock the processor or control frequencies to save battery.
However, the risks remain: an error when editing the build.prop system file or deleting a critical component can cause the phone to stop loading (Hard Brick), in which case recovery is possible only through EDL (Emergency Download Mode) flashing, which often requires an authorized Mi Account or disassembly of the phone to close contacts.
💡
Use the Magisk module called Universal SafetyNet Fix (or its current counterparts) to get Integrity checked on Google Play and run high-security applications.
In addition, OTA updates on modified devices usually don’t work or can break access to Root. When notified of an update, it’s best to download the full firmware manually and install it through the Recovery menu by selecting “Select File” (if custom recaps are used) or simply wait for installation knowing that Magisk will need to patch again.
💡
Root on Xiaomi is a balance between full control of the device and loss of warranty, and only do this if you understand the consequences and know how to use the command line.