Android 9 Pie is officially unveiled by Google earlier in the previous month. And thanks to the developer community for making an Android Pie ROM for freakin’ four years older device — Xiaomi Mi 4. The same ROM can be also installed on Mi 3 and Mi 4 LTE because this both devices have the same internals. I have been using Android Pie Custom ROM on my own Xiaomi Mi 4 from the last couple of days and here’s I am with the complete installation guide that will help you to install the ROM without any error or bricking your device.
Huge shoutout for Vasishath for creating this AOSP based Android Pie ROM.
NOTE: Please follow all the steps carefully as I have mentioned. You are going to install a Custom ROM. So, if anything mishappen takes place, the mobile manufacturer will not help you and we will not be responsible for that.
Before we dive into the steps, I would like to suggest to read our detailed article on ‘How to Install Custom ROM without Bricking your device.‘ That will help you to install some information in your mind.
01. Unlock Bootloader of Your Device: Pre-unlocked
This is the primary requirement for any device to install the Custom ROM. For every different mobile manufacturer have their own policy and method to unlock the bootloader. However, for Xiaomi devices, it is very simple to unlock the bootloader. Right now, if we talk about the Xiaomi Mi 4, Mi 4 LTE devices, the bootloader unlocking process is not necessary.
If your device is running on MIUI 8 or higher then there is no need to unlock the bootloader. The MIUI 8 update brings root permissions as well as the pre-unlocked bootloader. So, you can directly process to installing TWRP on your device using Android Debug Bridge (ADB).
02. Install TWRP
First things first, download TWRP files from the link given below. And place it somewhere in a folder on your computer. This TWRP we are going to install using ADB.
Now, to proceed, you have to download and install ADB Tools on your computer. To complete the process I found a detailed thread from the XDA-Developers’ forums. That will help you to get this situation done.
The only change will be of TWRP. That you have to download from the above link I have provided. If you face any problem then feel free to leave a comment below. We will definitely reply to you as soon as possible.
03. Download ROM and GApps
I guess you have successfully installed TWRP on your device. To play with the Android Pie, first, download ROM as well as the GApps. With that, you have to download a ZIP file named ‘Rounded Corner Pie’ in order to enable all those official Android Pie gestures and curved corner look.
Download Rounded Corner Pie ZIP
04. Installation Process
Alright, I hope you have successfully downloaded everything in your computer. Now, here’s main step comes. The installation process is quite complicated so make sure you move exactly as I have mentioned the steps below. So, let’s get started.
#1. Turn Off your device.
#2. Enter into TWRP
Now, we have to enter into TWRP recovery. To do that, press and hold down the power key and Volume up key simultaneously until you get that MI logo on the screen.
#3. First, take Backup of all of your data using TWRP.
- Tap on ‘Backup’.
- On the next screen, there should all three options selected out of four: Boot, Data, and System.
- Simply swipe the button to the right and let the backup process start.
- It usually takes 10-15 minutes depending upon your backup data.
#4. Transfer Backup to your computer.
- Connect your device with the computer using a data cable.
- Your device should automatically appear in your computer’s ‘This PC’.
- Open your device internal storage and go into ‘TWRP’ folder.
- Copy ‘Backup’ folder and paste it somewhere on your computer.
#5. Wipe all data to begin the ROM installation process.
- Go back to the main screen of TWRP.
- Tap on ‘Wipe’.
- Hit the ‘Advance Wipe’ on next screen.
- Select all the option except ‘USB-OTG’.
- Slide the button to the right to wipe all the data.
#6. Move Files to Internal Storage
Once you have wiped all the data, now, simply copy and paste all of the ZIP files includes Android Pie Custom ROM, GApps and Rounded Corner ZIP file to your device internal storage from your computer. And follow the steps to install them.
#7. Install Android 9 Pie ROM.
- Get back on the main screen of TWRP.
- Tap on ‘Install’.
- Select the ZIP file named as ‘Aosp-Pie-cancro-20180812.zip’.
- Swipe the button to begin the installation.
#8. Reboot Device
Reboot your device once the ROM installation finished. Once your device rebooted. Don’t touch anything yet. Because it has not all of those Android Pie features yet. So, it may get hang.
NOTE: You may get pop-up on the screen says, “There’s an internal problem with your device. Please contact your device manufacturer.” Don’t worry you have not done anything wrong nor your device has the internal problem. It’s ROM problem. Just ignore it.
#9. Enter into TWRP
Turn your device off again and get back again in TWRP to complete the remaining installation process.
#10. Install GApps.
- Tap on ‘Install’.
- Select the ZIP file named as ‘gapps_arm_cancro_9.0_pie.zip’.
- Swipe the button to install.
- This time no need to reboot your device.
#11. Install the Rounded Corner ZIP File.
- Get back on the main screen of TWRP.
- Tap on ‘Mount’.
- Now, select ‘System’.
- Go back again on the main screen.
- Tap on ‘Install’.
- Select ZIP file named as ‘Rounded corner Pie.zip’.
- Swipe the button to install.
#12. Voilà
The ROM is now successfully installed on your device having all the features of Android Pie includes Gestures and Rounded corners.
05. Some Settings to Enable
Android 9 Pie has some sweet gestures includes Swipe up the pill to get recent, Swipe pill right to switch between two recent applications. To enable and play with them in your device, simply go into Settings > System > Gestures > Swipe up on Home button > Turn it On. Now you should have pill at the bottom to control everything.
You can catch the latest ROM on XDA Forums by going here.
Please do let me know in the comment section what do you think. I am here to help you.