Despite getting immense popularity from the South Asian smartphone enthusiasts, Xiaomi is yet to roll out Android 5.1 Lollipop update to its two most-sold smartphones, Mi 4 and Mi 3. Both the devices are rich in hardware specification and were offered with a decent price tag but the unavailability of Lollipop at the age of Android Marshmallow will surely be counted as a big letdown.
Though Xiaomi has launched its latest version of MIUI ROM, they haven't confirmed any specific date for the Lollipop update for the above devices. Even the MIUI 7 is available in beta and can only be updated manually as the company has said it will soon release the final edition over-the-air.
You can upgrade your Mi 3 and Mi 4 to Android 5.1.1 with the help of Cyanogenmod ROM. Cyanogen has recently released its nightly edition of Cyanogenmod 12.1 ROM for both the devices. The Anroid 5.1.1 Lollipop-powered CyanogenMod 12.1 ROM is very popular among Android enthusiasts.
The upgrade process has been demonstrated below through a step-by-step guide.
Precautionary Measures
- Ensure you have backed up necessary data before going through the process.
- Ensure your device has at least 75 percent of battery life left.
- Ensure you have installed ADB (Android Debug Bridge) on your computer.
Install Recovery through Fastboot
- Download and Install Fastboot on your computer.
- Ensure both the Fastboot and ADB are in working state.
- Download recovery from here and place it inside the fastboot directory on your computer.
- Connect the Mi 3 pr Mi 4 to the computer via USB.
- Open the command terminal on your computer and reboot in to the fastboot mode by typing ADB reboot bootloader.
- Once your device boots in the fastboot mode, type fastboot devices on your command terminal to ensure the device is recognised by the system.
- If you're unable to find your device re-install the fastboot again.
- Type fastboot flash recovery recovery_image.img. Kindly note the recovery_image portion should be replaced by the recovery image filename you've downloaded a while ago.
- Once the flash completes successfully, reboot the device into recovery to verify the installation. Boot to recovery instructions: Hold Volume Up & the Power button. Continue to hold buttons until the "MI" logo, then release all buttons.
Install CyanogenMod 12.1 from Recovery
- Download the Cyanogenmod ROM file from here.
- Once downloaded, place the file on the root of your device storage.
- Now hold the volume up and power button of your device together until the Mi logo appears.
- In TWRP, select Menu choices and select backup to create a backup.
- Select Wipe and then factory reset.
- Select Install and navigate to select the CyanogenMod Zip file you have just copied.
- Follow the on-screen instructions.
- Once the installation is finished select reboot and choose System.
