Develop Bugs

Le S3 factory image 5.8.020S directly from LeEco!

Here it is as promised. This is only for the x522 Le S3 (Le 2 variants for US Market)! Download here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/55m4m5of3uvmef5/S2_X522-NA-OP-IFXNAOP5802012141S-5.8.020S.zip
I couldn't figure how to install this aside from using TWRP so this is what I did from stock unrooted 5.8.019S (which I had root prior, then restored via a back up from someone but could not take OTA):
1. adb reboot bootloader
2. fastboot oem unlock-go
3. fastboot boot twrp.img (has to be the chinese ydss twrp, the official twrp will not let you flash the stock image). Chose read-only instead of swipe to allow modification.
4. wipe factory reset, and format data.
5. go to mount, and enable mtp, and drag the stock image into the root directory of the phone.
6. go to install, and flash the stock rom. This will take a bit of time 5-10 minute or so, the progress bar doesn't move properly so don't panic if you see it "freezing" up.
7. once it is completed, it will tell you it's done. Before reboot, wipe dalvik and cache only, then reboot system.
You should be on stock recovery from this image, and unrooted. In theory, this should still allow you to take OTA. I might be wrong though, I don't know how LeEco does their firmwares and checks. I hope a mod on here make a forum for the Le S3 so we don't keep posting in Le 2 forum. Hopefully someone can cook this factory image to a nice working rom that we can flash, and hopefully figure a way so that we can use flashfire app to update ota even when rooted.
Enjoy It took me a pretty long time to drag this out of LeEco. Please rep if I helped ya'll.

xterminater07 said:
Here it is as promised. This is only for the x522 Le S3 (Le 2 variants for US Market)! Download here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/55m4m5of3uvmef5/S2_X522-NA-OP-IFXNAOP5802012141S-5.8.020S.zip
I couldn't figure how to install this aside from using TWRP so this is what I did from stock unrooted 5.8.019S (which I had root prior, then restored via a back up from someone but could not take OTA):
1. adb reboot bootloader
2. fastboot oem unlock-go
3. fastboot boot twrp.img (has to be the chinese ydss twrp, the official twrp will not let you flash the stock image). Chose read-only instead of swipe to allow modification.
4. wipe factory reset, and format data.
5. go to mount, and enable mtp, and drag the stock image into the root directory of the phone.
6. go to install, and flash the stock rom. This will take a bit of time 5-10 minute or so, the progress bar doesn't move properly so don't panic if you see it "freezing" up.
7. once it is completed, it will tell you it's done. Before reboot, wipe dalvik and cache only, then reboot system.
You should be on stock recovery from this image, and unrooted. In theory, this should still allow you to take OTA. I might be wrong though, I don't know how LeEco does their firmwares and checks. I hope a mod on here make a forum for the Le S3 so we don't keep posting in Le 2 forum. Hopefully someone can cook this factory image to a nice working rom that we can flash, and hopefully figure a way so that we can use flashfire app to update ota even when rooted.
Enjoy It took me a pretty long time to drag this out of LeEco. Please rep if I helped ya'll.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use this with a Thumb Drive, makes life easier
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017XARUKC/ref=cfb_at_prodpg

How will that help in my post? Which part can it cut down?

Thanks a lot. Worked like a charm and I'm now on 5.8.020s. How did you obtain the file?

xterminater07 said:
How will that help in my post? Which part can it cut down?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just for people who are not sure of the mtp part in step 5..
its not a necessary item, i just find it quicker to write files to thumb drive while i am setting up into TWRP,
might not need to format data then either,as only doing that to write file to phone
Its just my personal preference , not a must have item
But thankyou again for your persistence with LeEco and getting this file..

For whats its worth, i restrored 19s , let it run a few mins, then went back to TWRP and without wiping data or anything else and leaving it read only i let the 20s file install, and all is running well..
As of yet i have not tried to load TWRP on the 20s system, but having the full backup will give us OTA's hopefully

Y even use 19s when the image is 20s. The problem with restoring is the backup was done by read and write twrp. This kills ota righ?

They also gave me 19s image but I'm like why use it. Oh by the way guys, LeEco's camera app sucks balls. I ended up using "A better camera unlocked" app and it's ten times better! HDR is amazing but it takes about 1-2 second so hold your hands still! Hehe... If anyone got better camera reccommendation let us know. I tried open camera as well, not good.

I don't know if you can find it and if you do, I have always liked the snapdragon camera.
I am lost, can someone point me were the Chinese TWRP is located, I currently have the official version on the phone.

Charles Broccoli said:
I don't know if you can find it and if you do, I have always liked the snapdragon camera.
I am lost, can someone point me were the Chinese TWRP is located, I currently have the official version on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Snapdragon camera 2.2 was ported for all marshmallow but it requires flashing via twrp. I will try that later in read only mode. The chinese twrp is here https://mega.nz/#!XhYznTzA!z-XfbrIaVrKWAC-OaW86NFj1EAvZs68GmSchedQ-vhI.
Also, after reading around I found out the Le S3 has the exact camera as the Le 2 instead of the Le pro 3 . It uses the omnivision ov 16880, which is decent but nowhere near the sony imx298 which is seen on the one plus 3. LeEco has confirmed to enable camera2api in their EUI 6.0 coming in 2017. However, can any developer tell us how is this any difference from us rooting the device ourselves and enabling camera2api via build.prop? Or does enabling it, just basically turns it on but if LeEco has not build it to their rom, it won't work right?

Will this work on le 2 X526?
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

xterminater07 said:
Snapdragon camera 2.2 was ported for all marshmallow but it requires flashing via twrp. I will try that later in read only mode. The chinese twrp is here https://mega.nz/#!XhYznTzA!z-XfbrIaVrKWAC-OaW86NFj1EAvZs68GmSchedQ-vhI.
Also, after reading around I found out the Le S3 has the exact camera as the Le 2 instead of the Le pro 3 . It uses the omnivision ov 16880, which is decent but nowhere near the sony imx298 which is seen on the one plus 3. LeEco has confirmed to enable camera2api in their EUI 6.0 coming in 2017. However, can any developer tell us how is this any difference from us rooting the device ourselves and enabling camera2api via build.prop? Or does enabling it, just basically turns it on but if LeEco has not build it to their rom, it won't work right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can enable camera api 2 on eui I'm using it by enbling it through build.prop
It works great

Charles Broccoli said:
I don't know if you can find it and if you do, I have always liked the snapdragon camera.
I am lost, can someone point me were the Chinese TWRP is located, I currently have the official version on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
rohansalunkhe71 said:
You can enable camera api 2 on eui I'm using it by enbling it through build.prop
It works great
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, but does that improve picture quality or enabling it just allow you to do manual mode while the pic still look crappy? I had a le max 2, and while the imx230 is a good sensor, eui software sucks compared to using a third party camera app.

xterminater07 said:
Right, but does that improve picture quality or enabling it just allow you to do manual mode while the pic still look crappy? I had a le max 2, and while the imx230 is a good sensor, eui software sucks compared to using a third party camera app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well personally I prefer raw image editing thats why I enabled camera api 2.
Yes image quality is still ****y but due to manual settings it enables to take good images, focus on closer objects. But it doesn't give image quality as sony imx230 sensor.

rohansalunkhe71 said:
well personally I prefer raw image editing thats why I enabled camera api 2.
Yes image quality is still ****y but due to manual settings it enables to take good images, focus on closer objects. But it doesn't give image quality as sony imx230 sensor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I thought. That was my concern bc I want to know if doing camera2api in build prop just enables it or does it actually makes it useless since leeco algorithm is shiet.

xterminater07 said:
Here it is as promised. This is only for the x522 Le S3 (Le 2 variants for US Market)! Download here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/55m4m5of3uvmef5/S2_X522-NA-OP-IFXNAOP5802012141S-5.8.020S.zip
I couldn't figure how to install this aside from using TWRP so this is what I did from stock unrooted 5.8.019S (which I had root prior, then restored via a back up from someone but could not take OTA):
1. adb reboot bootloader
2. fastboot oem unlock-go
3. fastboot boot twrp.img (has to be the chinese ydss twrp, the official twrp will not let you flash the stock image). Chose read-only instead of swipe to allow modification.
4. wipe factory reset, and format data.
5. go to mount, and enable mtp, and drag the stock image into the root directory of the phone.
6. go to install, and flash the stock rom. This will take a bit of time 5-10 minute or so, the progress bar doesn't move properly so don't panic if you see it "freezing" up.
7. once it is completed, it will tell you it's done. Before reboot, wipe dalvik and cache only, then reboot system.
You should be on stock recovery from this image, and unrooted. In theory, this should still allow you to take OTA. I might be wrong though, I don't know how LeEco does their firmwares and checks. I hope a mod on here make a forum for the Le S3 so we don't keep posting in Le 2 forum. Hopefully someone can cook this factory image to a nice working rom that we can flash, and hopefully figure a way so that we can use flashfire app to update ota even when rooted.
Enjoy It took me a pretty long time to drag this out of LeEco. Please rep if I helped ya'll.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
xterminater07 said:
Y even use 19s when the image is 20s. The problem with restoring is the backup was done by read and write twrp. This kills ota righ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its not the fact read/write was used in TWRP, as i also when i got my replacement phone used it read only and still no OTA was taking...
I put 19s on just to see if 20s would go on without all the cleaning of the encrypted data and the such, cuts down on a step or two maybe..
hey any chance you can throw 19s full rom up somewhere..id like to play and try find out what will and wont work when using twrp and ota's

Before I get started, I had originally installed the official TWRP.img as recovery instead of only booting from the twrp.img.
Should I first install the original stock recovery.img before getting started or will the act of flashing the stock rom overwrite the installed twrp.img?
I think I already know to first install the stock recovery.img then just boot into the Chinese twrp.img afterwards to flash the stock rom or will it matter?
I am also on 18s firmware, I don't think it would matter to flash it straight to 20s

You should be OK to just install it .I believe it will ask you if you want to allow TWRP to replace recovery at the end when you go to reboot system and you say no....The ROM should install le eco recovery ...

@codeworkx can you help us identified why OTA does not work even when backing up from twrp? I dont have the 19s full image as leeco only gave me the latest one.

xterminater07 said:
@codeworkx can you help us identified why OTA does not work even when backing up from twrp? I dont have the 19s full image as leeco only gave me the latest one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought in earlier post you said they gave you 19s also...Would of been a useful tool
---------- Post added at 08:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:06 PM ----------
xterminater07 said:
They also gave me 19s image but I'm like why use it. Oh by the way guys, LeEco's camera app sucks balls. I ended up using "A better camera unlocked" app and it's ten times better! HDR is amazing but it takes about 1-2 second so hold your hands still! Hehe... If anyone got better camera reccommendation let us know. I tried open camera as well, not good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
here i thought ya got 19s also

Terrible video quality. How do I fix it?

The camera is good. as soon as I switch the video however, the quality is terrible (yes I tried 1080 and 4k, and for 1080 trying both 30fps and 60fps). For both pictures and video, there is a lot of frame skipping. I tried third party apps. the video quality is good in other apps, but still has frame skipping and even the image freezing (not the phone itself, only the viewfinder freezes) for a couple of seconds. also, the lack of video stabilization in third party apps make it so shaky that it's quite unpleasant if I move at all. troubleshooting steps google gave me didnt work, as well as factory resetting and flashing the factory image again. I was offered a replacement but I already replaced my phone for camera issues. Help!
I am having battery problems as well, but i should probably make a separate thread for that.

Well, if you haven't already, try a factory reset. It can be a pain but it may fix both issues. Also, are you stock, rooted, etc.?
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

ahent said:
Well, if you haven't already, try a factory reset. It can be a pain but it may fix both issues. Also, are you stock, rooted, etc.?
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried that, and all troubleshooting steps google gave me, as well as flashing the factory image (multiple times but that was to update my rooted phone).
My phone is stock. I'm not rooting anymore because I'm tired of all my data being wiped so I can update (If you have any steps I can follow to update a rooted pixel without losing any data/settings that would be infinitely appreciated!). I don't want a custom rom, loving stock on this phone.

Abigailrup said:
as soon as I switch the video however, the quality is terrible (yes I tried 1080 and 4k, and for 1080 trying both 30fps and 60fps). For both pictures and video, there is a lot of frame skipping.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you re-flashed the factory firmware and took a video and used the built-in app to view the video and see lots of frames missing/skipping, then I'd send the phone back for warranty.
But only if you tried this BEFORE installing all your third party apps that can sometimes screw with other things.

Abigailrup said:
I tried that, and all troubleshooting steps google gave me, as well as flashing the factory image (multiple times but that was to update my rooted phone).
My phone is stock. I'm not rooting anymore because I'm tired of all my data being wiped so I can update (If you have any steps I can follow to update a rooted pixel without losing any data/settings that would be infinitely appreciated!). I don't want a custom rom, loving stock on this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can update without losing all your stuff. Download the latest factory image that you need to update to. Extract the archive and find the flash_all (.Sh for Linux, .Bat for Windows) right click it and open with notepad. Down near the bottom you'll see a line that says something like "fastboot -w update blah blah". Remove the -w parameter so instead it looks like "fastboot update blah blah". Now when you run it to flash the newest image, it won't wipe any data and everything will be as you left it, just like you took an OTA.
As far as the camera thing goes, grab a camera APK from a lineage rom, from what I've read it takes use of our image stabilization however you loose HDR.

noidea24 said:
You can update without losing all your stuff. Download the latest factory image that you need to update to. Extract the archive and find the flash_all (.Sh for Linux, .Bat for Windows) right click it and open with notepad. Down near the bottom you'll see a line that says something like "fastboot -w update blah blah". Remove the -w parameter so instead it looks like "fastboot update blah blah". Now when you run it to flash the newest image, it won't wipe any data and everything will be as you left it, just like you took an OTA.
As far as the camera thing goes, grab a camera APK from a lineage rom, from what I've read it takes use of our image stabilization however you loose HDR.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much!!
And okay. I can't find the lineageOS camera apk for the pixel though. Where is it at?

Somewhere in the questions subsection there is a thread named "lineage 14" or something similar. They are trying out lineage and you can find links a few pages in.

If you want to see if any of your installed apps are responsible for any kind of bug, you can boot into safe mode - https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/2852139?hl=en

nabbed said:
If you want to see if any of your installed apps are responsible for any kind of bug, you can boot into safe mode - https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/2852139?hl=en
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did try that, the camera app is still just as bad.

noidea24 said:
Somewhere in the questions subsection there is a thread named "lineage 14" or something similar. They are trying out lineage and you can find links a few pages in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no lineage camera apk in there. I just spent a long time going through every single page..

Zenfone 2 ZE551ML - Updating System after rooting with TWRP and Unlocked Bootloader?

I got the new phone 15 days ago, thinking it'll be as amazing as Zenfone Max ZC550KL (Great Camera, everlasting battery) but it had super annoying issues, specially the battery draining too fast. Even during deep sleep (screen off for hours) the battery drained from 100% to 70% in like an hour or so, without any SIM/WiFi/Hotspot.
I had to fix this as it was impossible to go outside for a day and not have it switch off on my face when I needed it. None of the power saving settings helped.
So, I unlocked the bootloader following a youtube guide (it was a batch file on windows, not the original app which I found out about 10 mins ago), and flashed TWRP into it. Took a full system backup of all partitions and rooted it by flashing the latest SuperSU Binary. Worked like a charm. Installed CPU Tuner, deleted all triggers and set frequency to manually locked 500 MHz. When I need to play a game or do something which needs performance, I'd just go and manually pull the slider ahead to 2.3 GHz.
The avg. battery drain during deep sleep or screen off for hours, reduced from 1120 mAh to 10 mAh which is HUGE (found out with an app I cant remember). I'm happy with it as now it can last about a day and about 3 days if I'm mostly not using it, with WiFi on all the time. Its just slightly not as butter smooth with the UI as before.
Now, the camera quality is the worst I've ever seen. During dark, the PixelMaster Camera makes things crippling dark and too much purple pixelated noise and grain, pics taken from it look like from my Galaxy Tab 2 which I bought in 2012, and I tried different camera apps and everything I could, no luck. Where, the image taken from almost the same place at the same time, both phones held side by side, my old phone ZC550KL takes a million times clearer picture, brighter, perfectly visible and great looking. I also tried setting the same enhancements and stuff but nothing helped.
Some posts on googling it, suggest to update the system firmwire to improve camera quality but it requires the original recovery mode to be there, where I have TWRP.
I want to update the system as I have nothing to lose, already have 4-5 complete TWRP backups of every state (Original before rooting, rooted once, some modifications later, etc). Just if the phone gets bricked or doesn't boot anymore, that would be the problem.
I've messed around with almost everything I could on my Windows 7 and Windows 10 Desktop over past 6 years, so I have an idea about how things work.
Now, how do I update the system?
I think I could flash an update manually downloaded on my PC using adb and fastboot drivers... If so, how?
Current Software Information:
Current Android Version: Lollipop v5.0
Build Number:
LRX21V.WW-ASUS_Z00A-2.20.40.184_20160504_4658_user_044030427
Available System Update from the inbuilt app:
Last Check: 09/14/2017 12:00 PM (today)
Build Number: WW_2.20.40.198_20160930_8756_user_rel (93.31 MB)

CaptianXLAB said:
I got the new phone 15 days ago, thinking it'll be as amazing as Zenfone Max ZC550KL (Great Camera, everlasting battery) but it had super annoying issues, specially the battery draining too fast. Even during deep sleep (screen off for hours) the battery drained from 100% to 70% in like an hour or so, without any SIM/WiFi/Hotspot.
I had to fix this as it was impossible to go outside for a day and not have it switch off on my face when I needed it. None of the power saving settings helped.
So, I unlocked the bootloader following a youtube guide (it was a batch file on windows, not the original app which I found out about 10 mins ago), and flashed TWRP into it. Took a full system backup of all partitions and rooted it by flashing the latest SuperSU Binary. Worked like a charm. Installed CPU Tuner, deleted all triggers and set frequency to manually locked 500 MHz. When I need to play a game or do something which needs performance, I'd just go and manually pull the slider ahead to 2.3 GHz.
The avg. battery drain during deep sleep or screen off for hours, reduced from 1120 mAh to 10 mAh which is HUGE (found out with an app I cant remember). I'm happy with it as now it can last about a day and about 3 days if I'm mostly not using it, with WiFi on all the time. Its just slightly not as butter smooth with the UI as before.
Now, the camera quality is the worst I've ever seen. During dark, the PixelMaster Camera makes things crippling dark and too much purple pixelated noise and grain, pics taken from it look like from my Galaxy Tab 2 which I bought in 2012, and I tried different camera apps and everything I could, no luck. Where, the image taken from almost the same place at the same time, both phones held side by side, my old phone ZC550KL takes a million times clearer picture, brighter, perfectly visible and great looking. I also tried setting the same enhancements and stuff but nothing helped.
Some posts on googling it, suggest to update the system firmwire to improve camera quality but it requires the original recovery mode to be there, where I have TWRP.
I want to update the system as I have nothing to lose, already have 4-5 complete TWRP backups of every state (Original before rooting, rooted once, some modifications later, etc). Just if the phone gets bricked or doesn't boot anymore, that would be the problem.
I've messed around with almost everything I could on my Windows 7 and Windows 10 Desktop over past 6 years, so I have an idea about how things work.
Now, how do I update the system?
I think I could flash an update manually downloaded on my PC using adb and fastboot drivers... If so, how?
Current Software Information:
Current Android Version: Lollipop v5.0
Build Number:
LRX21V.WW-ASUS_Z00A-2.20.40.184_20160504_4658_user_044030427
Available System Update from the inbuilt app:
Last Check: 09/14/2017 12:00 PM (today)
Build Number: WW_2.20.40.198_20160930_8756_user_rel (93.31 MB)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
very first of all you must update to MM latest MM it has improved battery life and there are also security related issues fixed. the very best thing to do is.. go to the following link. see the section flash firmware without AFT. (you do not need to change recovery or boot image or any thing just follow the instruction)
reboot your phone in fastboot mode and run each and every command step by stem. even if some of them fails.. not reboot, after first boot go to recovery mode and factory reset. start again and then again sideload latest MM from asus website
https://forum.xda-developers.com/zenfone2/help/thead-bricked-phone-updating-to-mm-tips-t3452785

Not so sure I wana upgrade to MM though. Feels like something will definitely go bad during that.
On ASUS support site, in the firmwire tab, I found a LOT of options to download. It'll take time to find the correct version.
Say I found the correct version (or ROM) and downloaded it. (about 1.2 GB), what are the steps to flash it on my phone? Can it be done using TWRP?

Worth upgrading to Marshmallow IMHO
No freezing, less ram usage, better battery usage especially with a new battery, more compatibility to newer apps, Permissions control (love it)
If you say that you are handy on PC then great, cos you may need to be
ASUS ZenFone2 (ZE551ML) software Image: V4.21.40.352 for WW SKU only*(andriod M)
Thats the current version of MM
Download and place onto SD card, unplug cord and system should recognise.
Plenty of info on the web about upgrading however you need to unroot and renable all disabled.
More then likely will brick phone but piss easy once you have done many times lolol
Check out the Unbrick threads
https://forum.xda-developers.com/zenfone2/general/guide-fix-bricked-ze550ml-ze551ml-usb-t3405840
https://forum.xda-developers.com/zenfone2/general/guide-recover-fastboot-bricked-zenfone-t3284337
And what i initially used
http://www.techyoutubers.com/2017/04/fixed-how-to-fix-zenfone-2-hard-brick.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsAse5F5xtM

CaptianXLAB said:
Not so sure I wana upgrade to MM though. Feels like something will definitely go bad during that.
On ASUS support site, in the firmwire tab, I found a LOT of options to download. It'll take time to find the correct version.
Say I found the correct version (or ROM) and downloaded it. (about 1.2 GB), what are the steps to flash it on my phone? Can it be done using TWRP?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as i suggested it is foolproof method to update to MM. i am 100 percent sure you will not brick if you follow what i suggested. don't see multiple threads. multiple instructions. do as i told earlier

Sorry to be away for such a long time... I'm back. xD
As soon as my exams are over, to do this upgrade.
I'll do it like this:
1. Copy the update zip file to MicroSD. [Filename: UL-Z00A-WW-4.21.40.352-user.zip]
2. Full system image backup using TWRP - All Partitions to MicroSD, then transfer to my PC (Just because I want to xD )
3. Clean format all partitions on my phone (I've had enough "errors after updating" issues on PC, so)
4. Select the update zip file from TWRP, flash it.
5. HOPEFULLY there won't be any errors (If there will, I'll simply restore everything from the backup I just made on step 2. Nothing lost!)
6. Reboot and pray for it to work xD
[if it still works and boots just fine]
7. Remove SIMs, MicroSD, etc., Factory Reset (again. Just cos I want to xD )
[Hope for it to still work on rebooting]
8. Check if everything's working (all apps, calling, playstore, etc. just to make sure)
9. Install everything, sync up, make it my phone again
10. Reboot, boot into Recovery (to see if TWRP is still there?)
11. if TWRP isn't there, Boot into Fastboot, flash a stable TWRP recovery to replace the default one using my PC.
12. Create a MM (before-root) backup of all partitions. (Actually, I'll create THREE backups, can't risk any failures xD )
13. Download the latest SuperSU, Flash it. Download a supported Viper4AndroidFX v5 apk or flashable zip, install/flash that too.
14. Set up root apps (CPU Tuner, Titanium Backup, BusyBox, etc) and first thing to see if Viper4Android works.
[Cos if my phone aint havin' v4a, everything above is useless for me because I can't live without that perfected sound and I'll just revert! xD ]
That seems to be about it. Will all this work? Any suggestions?
Some questions I still have -
There's also a recovery.img file in that zip. Will it overwrite TWRP?
Will the bootloader be locked again after this update? (unlocking it was a long search for android LP)
And the main reason not-that-tech-related I'm wanting an upgrade now (Substratum!):
Spoiler
Will Substratum Theme Engine work with MM? (I just want EVERYTHING BLACK - to rest my eyes. I'll buy themes too)
How well can substratum skin my phone? (I want literally everything dark themed, as much as possible)
Will backgrounds of apps like messenger/facebook be dark themed?

A comprehensive guide to installing custom GSI ROMs on the Mi 8 Pro

As so many others have pointed out, it is pretty hard to get any custom GSI ROMs running on the Mi 8 Pro / Explorer Edition (Equuleus). I was also absolutely oblivious to the fact that the Mi 8 Pro would require different ROMs than the Mi 8 when I bought my handset as I always check if there are custom ROMs available before I buy a new phone and there are some for the Mi 8. As far as I can tell there are no custom ROMs specifically adapted to run on our phones, but luckily enough, it is GSI-compatible or "treble-enabled". So as sad as it is that there are no real custom ROMs you can install, there is a major upside to our situation - theoretically any GSI ROM might run on it, which offers far more options than are available for the phones I have been using before I got my Mi 8 Pro. The big question is: How on earth do you get them to run on the Mi 8 Pro? If this is as puzzling for you as it was for me at first, you have come to the right place - After days and days of trial and error and growing despair, I have found a way to get both Oreo and Pie ROMs to boot and function up to a level that I'm comfortable working with and as this site has helped me so much over the years, I thought I could at least share my findings, hoping that others would be able to benefit a bit as well.
Having said that, I'll start with a list of features that won't work, so if you need them, feel free to move on (or maybe even help me find a way to get them working?). I would love for other forum members to help us expand and refine this guide (especially when it comes to the list of working ROMs) as I plan to keep this thread updated for some time.
A big shout-out goes to nealed , whose post on GSI ROMs got me started and who was OK with me laying out my information in a separate post. :good:
Not working (as of now):
In-Screen fingerprint sensor
IR face unlock ("normal" face unlock works fine)
VoLTE
Many stock Xiaomi / Mi apps won't work - you will have to find modded apks if you want to use Xiaomi's stock apps (such as the Compass app, which I rather liked but haven't found a working version for yet)
Fixed in newer Pie ROMs:
Note that Pie GSI ROMs based on earlier Phh-Treble Vanilla (AOSP 9.0) versions come with a weird ambient display bug (at least on our device). If you decide to have your ambient display set to "always on" it will flicker on and off all the time (which is why I have disabled it, it's driving me crazy when the phone is just lying on my desk and constantly stealing my attention - what does work though are the options "New notifications" / "Show when charging", so that's what I ended up with.)
Another problem with Pie ROMs I ran into was that the Android phone service would simply crash whenever I tried to manually select my network provider. I could see all available cell phone companies in my area but as soon as I would try to switch to a different provider than the one automatically chosen, the Android phone service would immediately crash.]
If none of this is an issue for you, you can expect a smooth and stable Android on our extremely powerful handset. You will be working with a ROM that can be highly customized and will also probably refrain from sending all your data to Xiaomi (which is one of the major reasons I wanted to have a rooted custom ROM and decided to accept that that also means I can't have all the features the phone normally offers - such as the very flashy fingerprint sensor).
Step-by-step instructions on how to install a custom GSI ROM
As a matter of fact, you should be aware that all data that is currently stored on your phone is lost when following this guide, so make sure you have a backup and don't ask me what you can do if you didn't create one! (short answer: nothing)
This guide also assumes you have already waited long enough and successfully unlocked your bootloader using a working Mi Account. If not, have a look here.
Step 1: Flashing an official ROM
Flashing tool - MiFlash
The easiest way to flash an official ROM that doesn't come with loads of system hogs or other "features" you don't want to have, is using MiFlash 2017.4.25.
Official ROM
Next, you will need to download a flashable global MIUI ROM. A list of all available ROMS can be found here.
Depending on which Android version you are going to install later, you want to download
Android 8.1 / Oreo: V10.0.1.0.OECMIFH (fastboot link / .tgz-file)
Android 9.0 / Pie: Try this more recent version first: V11.0.5.0.PECMIXM (fastboot link / .tgz-file). Note, however, that most of the ROMs in the GSI list have been installed on top of V10.2.2.0.PECMIXM (fastboot link / .tgz-file), so give that a try if V11.0.5.0.PECMIXM isn't working out for you.
Android 10.0 / Q: So far, we haven't been able to get any Android Q GSI ROM running on the MI 8 Pro, but there is an official MIUI Android 10 ROM available if you want a stock Android Q device:V11.0.3.0.QECMIXM (fastboot link / .tgz-file). Any ideas on how to get Android 10 GSI ROMs running on the Mi 8 Pro are much appreciated.
Once you have downloaded your ROM, extract it into a directory - I found that MiFlash was having some troubles working with directories whose directory names contained spaces, so I'd recommend simply extracting everything that is contained in the .zip-file into a directory such as "C:\flash", this way I had no trouble flashing any ROMs.
When that is done, you can start MiFlash and select the directory that contains your ROM files.
The next step is important if you want to make sure your bootloader stays unlocked (which you do): you need to select "clean all" at the bottom right of MiFlash so that flash_all.bat is selected. The default option is "clean all and lock" which is not what we want.
Should you have forgotten to change the option you simply have to unlock the phone again afterwards but as that requires a connection to the Xiaomi servers and a Mi Account that lets you do so, it's anything but ideal.
To make your phone talk to MiFlash, put your powered-off phone into bootloader mode by simultaneously pressing the power button and the volume down button and connecting it to your PC via a USB-C cable (preferably the one that came with the phone, but others should work too).
You're good to go - click on "flash" in the MiTool and watch it do its magic. It will take some time - just be patient - after 5 - 10 minutes the phone should automatically boot into MIUI and you're one step closer to installing the ROM you actually want to have on your phone.
Step 2: Installing TWRP recovery
Finding a working TWRP recovery for our phone (ideally in English) is like trying to find a miniature-size needle broken into three parts in a giant haystack. Unfortunately, our phone isn't officially supported by TWRP (yet?) so you won't find anything on their website.
What can be found, is a mixed bag, but after many many attempts of locating a proper source for TWRP image files, I finally came across this forum post.
To cut a long story short, for Android Oreo (Android 8) and Android Pie (Android 9) you want to download
TWRP 3.3.1-0607 (Firedance Edition)
as it is one of the very few versions for our device that are actually able to decrypt your data once you have set a PIN in your Android system. There seems to be a bug with some current TWRP versions that keep you from accessing your data once you have set a screen-lock PIN in your system (which is a requirement to use such features as face unlock).
So if you use a version that can't decrypt your phone (even when entering the correct PIN to enter TWRP) and you encounter a bootloop, you're out of luck: You can't access your system either from recovery or from within the system (If you have come across this post because you're in exactly this situation, you should be able to solve the problem by flashing TWRP 3.3.1-0607 on your phone to regain access).
For Android Q (Android 10) / MIUI 11, this version seems to be working:
TWRP-3.3.2B-0301 (Chinese Version)
Once you have downloaded the .img-file, the best thing is to put it into a directory that already has adb.exe and fastboot.exe in it. If you don't have such a directory, you can very easily create it by downloading and installing Minimal ADB and Fastboot.
Choose any install location you like, you will have to place your TWRP image file in your install location folder afterwards.
To prepare your phone, power it off and then put your powered-off phone into bootloader mode by simultaneously pressing the power button and the volume down button and connecting it to your PC via a USB-C cable.
Next, either start Minimal ADB and Fastboot or manually open a command prompt (cmd.exe) in the directory you have just created and enter the following two commands:
Code:
fastboot flash recovery equuleus-331-607.img
Code:
fastboot boot equuleus-331-607.img
Note that sometimes after flashing TWRP, the phone will boot into recovery twice - don't worry if you only see the TWRP screen and your phone starts rebooting straight afterwards. This is only an issue on first boot.
Congrats, you have now installed a working version of TWRP for the Mi 8 Pro. You can now also manually boot into TWRP by simultaneously pressing the power button and the volume up button on your powered-off phone.
Step 3: Installing a custom GSI ROM of your choice
Once you have a working TWRP recovery, you can install any GSI ROM that might run on our device (scroll down to my second post on this page for a list of working ROMs or click here to jump to it instead) - Prerequisite: Your ROM needs to be an ARM64 / A-Only ROM as this is the only kind of ROM our device can run.
Here's how to go about it:
Boot into TWRP, connect your phone to your PC via USB and transfer the ROM img.-file you want to install
Wipe > Factory Reset
Wipe > Advanced Wipe > System (This will prompt TWRP to ask you later if you really want to reboot - "No OS Installed! Are you sure you wish to reboot?" - which you can simply ignore, TWRP doesn't recognize that a new OS is installed after a system wipe)
Install > Install Image, select your chosen image, choose "System Image" as target partition and swipe right.
If you just want to test the image and not use any Google functionality, you can reboot now (Ignore "No OS installed") - However, this will mean that on most ROMs that don't already come with Google Apps included you won't have any Google functionality (i.e. no face unlock, no Play Store, ...) and you won't get it either if you try to install it after having already booted into your new system - so you probably want to move on to Step 4 before you reboot (unless your ROM already comes with Google Apps).
Step 4: Flashing Google Apps / Enabling Google functionality (Optional)
I'm assuming that since you're reading a guide on installing custom ROMs on an Android smartphone that it will be absolutely no news to you that instantly after installing a custom ROM and BEFORE booting into it for the first time you HAVE to install the Google functionality you want to have as there is no way of adding it afterwards. You simply have to do it right after flashing your ROM.
To flash Google Apps, you have to download them first on https://opengapps.org/.
Select the ARM64 option for the Android version you have just installed (either 9.0 (Pie) or 8.1 (Oreo)) and choose the package that best suits your need. I always go for the "Nano" package as it includes everything you can't install by yourself from the Play Store later on. This means you can also uninstall any Google App that isn't included in this package if you don't need it any longer. The bigger packages come with many more apps but if you install them now before you boot into your OS for the first time, they get turned into system apps and can't be easily uninstalled later.
Once you have downloaded the Google Apps package of your choice, you can transfer it to your phone via Windows Explorer if it's still connected via USB and in TWRP (which it should be in anyway ). Now just go to Install, select the .zip-file you have just transferred to your phone and swipe right.
Problems you might run into when installing your Google Apps:
This message or similar messages might appear in TWRP when you try to install your Google Apps package, even though you are using the correct version for your ROM (Pie ROM and Pie Google Apps, for example):
This Gapps pkg is for Android 9.0.x ONLY
Please download the correct version for your ROM: 8.1.0 (SDK 27)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If this happens, go to the Reboot Menu in TWRP and select Recovery to reboot into TWRP. Once you've done that, Google Apps should install without problems and recognize that you do indeed have the right Android version installed.
Many times, the System partition will also be too small to also accommodate the Google Apps package, so you will be greeted with the following message:
Insufficient storage space available in System partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If this happens to you, here's the fix:
Go back to the main menu in TWRP
Wipe > Advanced Wipe
Select System
Tap on Repair or Change File System
Tap on Resize File System
Swipe to Resize
Go back to the main menu, installing Google Apps should work without problems now
Voilà. You have just successfully gapp'ed your phone .
Step 5: Rooting your ROM (Optional)
Thanks to Magisk, rooting is incredibly easy these days. All you have to do is head over to the Magisk releases page on Github and download the latest .zip-file.
Once it's downloaded, install the .zip-file via TWRP and reboot into your OS.
For Magisk to work, you also need to have the latest Magisk Manager apk installed, which you also find on the above Github page, however I found that all GSI ROMs already have this included anyway (It appears to be included in Phh-Treble AOSP) - so all you need to do is really install Magisk in TWRP.
The preinstalled Magisk Manager will probably be outdated and ask you to update, which it can do itself. So most times, you won't even have to download the Magisk Manager apk yourself.
Step 6: Installing a working Xposed Framework (Optional)
As easy as it has become to root a phone these days, it is becoming increasingly harder to get Xposed to work as active development has been rather stalled lately. Luckily enough, someone was kind enough to unofficially get Xposed to work on Android Pie, however, this time it's a Magisk module.
Getting it to work on the Mi 8 Pro is a different matter. I have found that only certain versions do actually work and offer the Xposed functionality I have gotten so used to. If you install the specific versions I'm mentioning here, Xposed should work without problems (But as always, not all Xposed modules are still under active development and therefore won't work with Android Pie or this new unofficial version of Xposed).
To get Xposed up and running, you need to have Magisk installed already (see Step 5).
I'm currently running AOSP 9.0 (v123) and these more recent Riru package versions run fine (If you have trouble with these, check the links below) - I could only install them directly via Magisk but not in TWRP:
Riru - Core (19.7)
Riru - Ed Xposed 0.4.6.2.4529 (YAHFA)
You will also need this app installed to manage your Xposed framework and to activate Xposed modules:
The latest Ed Xposed Manager which you can download here.
For older custom Android Pie ROMs, these Riru packages were the only versions that I could successfully get working:
Riru - Core (17.1)
Riru - Ed Xposed 0.4.1.2_beta (YAHFA)
The older Riru packages can be installed directly via TWRP or in Magisk, but since you have to reboot afterwards if you install it from inside your OS, you might as well just install the two .zip-Files from TWRP directly after installing Magisk in TWRP.
The latest Ed Xposed Manager is simply an apk, so you will have to install it after booting into your system. Easy as Pie. Have fun EdXposing your system to new functionality .
Step 7: Special fixes
As I've layed out before, custom ROMs are prone to come with certain functionality missing or malfunctioning. This is especially the case with GSI ROMs that weren't developed with our specific device in mind. Nevertheless most functions will work without bigger problems right away. Some problems might still arise, but luckily there are solutions.
Sending and receiving SMS messages
After I had installed my GSI ROMs, it took me a while to realize I wasn't getting any text messages (they're not that frequent any more anyway). This is because I had to change my preferred network setting (for whatever reason). If you set it like this, everything should work as expected:
Preferred network type
4G (Recommended)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bluetooth Media Streaming
I also didn't realize right away that there was a Bluetooth problem. Calls were working fine, people could hear me talking, I could hear them talking. Things got a bit weirder, when I tried to listen to music streaming from my phone to my Bluetooth speaker - it simply wouldn't work. Nada - no matter what I tried. Luckily I came across a .zip-file that worked wonders. If you install the FixGsiBTSound.zip file in TWRP that I was able to find in this XDA thread, Bluetooth media is streaming without any problems and calls continue to work.
Unfortunately, I still have to change Bluetooth Audio Codec to AAC in the Developer options every time I connect my speaker if I want to listen to music and get driving instructions via Google Maps at the same time. It automatically reverts back to SBC but after I've made the change I can have several apps stream audio at the same time, which might be a problem with my speaker that only supports SBC but I didn't have this problem with my old phone.
By the way, none of the other fixes in the thread mentioned above (specifically the VoLTE fix) were working for our phone when I tried them.

List of working GSI ROMs
This post is meant to give an overview of ROMs that can be installed and booted into on the Mi 8 Pro as long as you follow my installation guide.
To give a more complete picture, I have also included the ROMs I couldn't get to boot into a working OS.
The Mi 8 Pro is an ARM64 - A Only device, so make sure you only try to install ARM64 - A Only GSI images.
I first ended up using AOSiP (August 19, 2019 version) after having given MSM Xtended a try. However, after half a year my screen started flickering, so I reflashed a stock MIUI to send my phone back for repairs, which is when I discovered that the screen still seemed to be working. This might have been just a coincidence and the screen may still have some issues that are just not showing, but it is, of course, also possible that a custom GSI ROM could mess with your hardware.
I'm now using AOSP 9.0 (v123) with Magisk, Substratum and EdXposed and I'm really happy with it. If you're interested in why, you can read more about it here.
Please help me expand this list - feel free to test other or newer ROMs you can find via these lists on Github and on XDA .
Android 9.0 (Pie)
AOSP 9.0 / Phh-Treble
v123 - reported working with MIUI 11.0.5.0.PECMIXM by Laurisss :good:
Image file 1: system-arm64-aonly-vanilla-nosu.img.xz (11.12.2019 / without Google Apps preinstalled)
Image file 2: system-arm64-aonly-gapps-su.img.xz (11.12.2019 / Including Google Apps)
v119
Image file 1: system-arm64-aonly-vanilla-nosu.img.xz (23.08.2019 / without Google Apps preinstalled)
Image file 2: system-arm64-aonly-gapps-su.img.xz (23.08.2019 / Including Google Apps)
XDA page
All releases: See this page
AOSiP
Image file: AOSiP-9.0-GSI-arm64_aonly-20190819.img (19.08.2019)
All releases: See this page
ArrowOS
Discovered by PCrazee :good:
Image file: system_arm64_a.zip (27.01.2020)
XDA page
All releases: See this page
Bliss OS
Image file 1: Bliss-2019-04-11-arm64-a-stock.img.xz (11.04.2019 - without Google Apps)
Image file 2: Bliss-2019-04-05-arm64-a-gapps.img (05.04.2019 - Google Apps preinstalled)
This OS only started on second boot (boot animation loop on first boot); the camera app was not functional and it seemed a bit unstable on the Mi 8 Pro
XDA page
Release page: Check it out here
Descendant
Image file: Descendant_4.0.1_arm64_aonly (06.08.2019)
This image file can be "dirty-flashed", i.e. if you follow my installation guide, don't wipe the system partition as you normally would when installing a GSI ROM
XDA page
All releases: See this page
FlokoROM
Image file: system-arm64-aonly-vanilla-nosu.img.zip (09.06.2019)
All releases: See this page
Lineage OS 16.0 (AndyYan)
Image file: lineage-16.0-20190811-UNOFFICIAL-treble_arm64_avN.img.xz (11.08.2019)
Newer images available - if they work for you, let me know and I will update this section
XDA page
All releases: See this page
MSM Xtended
Image file: MSM_Xtended-20190820-arm64_a.img.xz (20.08.2019)
There are newer versions, if they work on the Mi 8 Pro, please let me know
XDA page
All releases: See this page
Pixel Experience (Unofficial)
Image file: PixelExperienceP-arm64-aonly.zip (24.03.2019)
This is an older version, but unfortunately the only version I could get to boot - if you find a newer one that works on the Mi 8 Pro, please let me know
XDA page
All releases: See this page
Zirconium AOSP
Image file: ZirconiumAosp-9.0-IGNITE-arm64-a-20190319.rar (19.03.2019)
Release page: Check out this page
/e/
Reported working by PCrazee :good:
Image file: e-pie-20190827-UNOFFICIAL-treble_arm64_aeN.img.zip (27.08.2019)
XDA page
More releases: See this page
Android 8.1 (Oreo)
Please note that I only tested three ROMs to see if I could get Oreo ROMs working as well. As there is no support to hide the Mi 8 Pro notch in Oreo ROMs and as I managed to get Xposed working on Pie, I quickly abandoned Oreo again .
Nevertheless, please let me know if there are any other Oreo GSI ROMs out there that you got working on the Mi 8 Pro so I can expand this section.
AOSP 8.1 / Phh-Treble
Image file 1: system-arm64-aonly-vanilla-nosu.img.xz (06.07.2019 / without Google Apps preinstalled)
Image file 2: system-arm64-aonly-gapps-su.img.xz (06.07.2019 / Including Google Apps)
XDA page
Release Page: Check it out
Resurrection Remix (phhuson)
Image file: system-arm64-aonly.img (20.05.2018)
XDA page
Android 9.0 (Pie) (Non-working)
I couldn't find a working version Pie version for:
AOSP Extended
HavocOS
nitrOS
Resurrection Remix
Android 8.1 (Oreo) (Non-working)
I couldn't find a working Oreo version for:
Treskmod

Special apps and functionality
Google Camera with Night Sight
Installing a modded Google Camera app helps you get the most out of your camera, especially when using Night Sight or the Playground that aren't available to most non-Pixel devices out of the box.
In order to enable the special Google Camera features, the Camera2Api needs to be enabled. This can be done by going into Magisk and downloading and installing Pix3lify which enables some other Pixel features (I found that running my phone with AOSiP and Pix3lify also gave me a much nicer Pixel-like experience to the one that Pixel Experience offered (this applies at least to the version of Pixel Experience I could get to work on the Mi 8 Pro).
To get a working modded Google camera
Open Magisk Manager and download and activate the module Pix3lify, then restart
Download a modded Google Camera apk such as BSG's MI9SE V4_P2 which can be found on this page.
There are many Google Camera mods out there and you can find a pretty extensive list here.
However, BSG's MI9SE V4_P2 was the only mod that had both the camera (including Night Sight) and the video camera working correctly, even though it doesn't seem to offer all the functionality that other Google Camera mods seem to provide.
Should you find any other modded version that might be working even better on the Mi 8 Pro, I'd be happy to hear from you.
Augmented Reality / Playground support
Even if you have Google's ARCore (Google Play Services for AR) installed on your device, it doesn't mean it's up and running. There's a built-in check that makes sure your device is officially supported and - you guessed it - the Mi 8 Pro isn't (whereas the Mi 8 is).
I'm assuming here that you've already have ARCore installed, but if you haven't, you can download and install this version: ARCore_1.12.19082605.apk.
The important steps to getting it to work, are:
Go into your Magisk Manager and install the module MagiskHide Props Config
Make sure you have a terminal app installed, I've had some good experience with Termux
Open your terminal app and enter the following commands
Code:
su
props
1 [COLOR="Silver"](Edit device fingerprint)[/COLOR]
f [COLOR="Silver"](Pick a certified fingerprint)[/COLOR]
22 [COLOR="silver"](Xiaomi)[/COLOR]
7 [COLOR="silver"](Xiaomi Mi 8)[/COLOR]
1 [COLOR="silver"](Android version 8.1.0)[/COLOR]
y [COLOR="silver"](change fingerprint)[/COLOR]
y [COLOR="silver"](reboot)[/COLOR]
From now on, your Mi 8 Pro will identify itself as a Mi 8, enabling ARCore and thus any Augmented Reality app.
You probably also want to enable your Google Camera AR feature:
If you're on Android Pie, download and install Playground_2.5build-2.6.190725076.apk
If you're on Android Oreo, download and install ARStickers_All_Pack_V1.5build-1.3.180720036.apk
Afterwards you are able to download "Playmojis" from within your Google Camera (More > Playground). However, sometimes you're out of luck and Google Play will stubbornly tell you that your device is not compatible with a selected package (e.g. Avengers: Endgame or Childish Gambino).
In this case, simply download the corresponding apk package directly from apkmirror.com and you should be all set.
More information on the Google Cam AR support can be found here.

Reserved

This looks great! I'll have to try it and see if I can get it to work.

yo-less said:
List of working GSI ROMs
Android 9.0 (Pie) (Non-working)
I couldn't find a working version Pie version for:
AOSP Extended
HavocOS
nitrOS
Resurrection Remix
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have had HavocOS (My favourite GSI ROM that I have tried) working n the Mi 8 Pro, as well as nitrOS. Never got RR to boot (bootanimation? didn't try to delete it) and never tried AOSP Extended.

nealed said:
I have had HavocOS (My favourite GSI ROM that I have tried) working n the Mi 8 Pro, as well as nitrOS. Never got RR to boot (bootanimation? didn't try to delete it) and never tried AOSP Extended.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply!
Are you saying you have had it boot using the steps I have outlined here? If yes, please let me know the exact version you got to boot, preferably with a link, and I will add it to the list of working ROMs. After I had finally figured out how to install GSI ROMs successfully in a way that can be reproduced, I went through the same motions every time I tried a GSI ROM and all the ROMs in my list were booting into the system, however, no version of HavocOS that I could find was booting up after going through the above steps and I tried several times and different versions, too, because some people seem to think it's a great ROM.

yo-less said:
Thanks for your reply!
Are you saying you have had it boot using the steps I have outlined here? If yes, please let me know the exact version you got to boot, preferably with a link, and I will add it to the list of working ROMs. After I had finally figured out how to install GSI ROMs successfully in a way that can be reproduced, I went through the same motions every time I tried a GSI ROM and all the ROMs in my list were booting into the system, however, no version of HavocOS that I could find was booting up after going through the above steps and I tried several times and different versions, too, because some people seem to think it's a great ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Havoc-OS-v2.8-20190811-phhgsi_arm64_a-Official.img was the one I had working. I have yet to find a consistent way of installing GSI ROMs. Havoc was the same. I had boot loops and also managed to boot the ROM, could not be sure that there were any differences in approach. I have tried with the latest september release of Havoc and could not get it working..
Back to LineageOS for me... Too many issues with GSI ROMs.. until I can get VoLTE OR Fingerprint working, I shall stay with LineageOS - it's really OK with MAgisk XPosed and Faceunlock... with VoLTE working well.

nealed said:
Havoc-OS-v2.8-20190811-phhgsi_arm64_a-Official.img was the one I had working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for letting me know the version you got to boot. I'll give it a try to see if I can get it to work using the method I've described here - if yes, I'll add HavocOS to the list of working ROMs.
I really liked the privacy features LineageOS offers but as far as OS customization is concerned I always felt it was lacking. And as I can live without VoLTE (Didn't even know what it was until I read that my new phone supports it ) and face unlock is working fine, I'm very happy with AOSiP for now, everything I use on a daily basis is working without any hitches and the system is super responsive.

yo-less said:
Thanks for letting me know the version you got to boot. I'll give it a try to see if I can get it to work using the method I've described here - if yes, I'll add HavocOS to the list of working ROMs.
I really liked the privacy features LineageOS offers but as far as OS customization is concerned I always felt it was lacking. And as I can live without VoLTE (Didn't even know what it was until I read that my new phone supports it ) and face unlock is working fine, I'm very happy with AOSiP for now, everything I use on a daily basis is working without any hitches and the system is super responsive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You list VoLTE as not working in your OP, but say you can'r live without it. Could you please detail how you got VoLTE working on your Mi 8 Pro with AOSiP please? OR any other GSI ROMs for that matter. Thanks.
Haven't had time to try it yet, but there is another dev version of HavocOS GSI: https://sourceforge.net/projects/ha...90914-phhgsi_arm64_a-Official.img.xz/download Unfortunately, it takes me a lot of time to get my phone back to the state I want it (encrypted, decryptable by TWRP, all SD Card content present, working) when testing as I often lose the encryption and have to copy all SDcard content back to TWRP restore.... if it was just as simple as that I woudl have no prroblem, but it's not. Anyway, for those willing to try, another HavocOS GSI that may or may not work on the Mi 8 Pro.
Also, I think it important to list the vendor image and firmware images used with GSI ROMs as these can have an impact on how things work .

nealed said:
You list VoLTE as not working in your OP, but say you can'r live without it. Could you please detail how you got VoLTE working on your Mi 8 Pro with AOSiP please? OR any other GSI ROMs for that matter. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's what I wrote:
And as I can live without VoLTE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So as I've outlined, I know of no way to get it to work at this stage but if anyone does, please let us know
Haven't had time to try it yet, but there is another dev version of HavocOS GSI: https://sourceforge.net/projects/ha...90914-phhgsi_arm64_a-Official.img.xz/download
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will test the ROMs you have mentioned to see if they work using the method I've described here.
Also, I think it important to list the vendor image and firmware images used with GSI ROMs as these can have an impact on how things work .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried to streamline the ROM installation process as much as possible, if you follow Step 1 of my guide, you should be all set and don't have to worry about flashing additional vendor or firmware images. It is, of course, possible to start experimenting with vendor images as well, but the process I've outlined here seems to work fine for all the ROMs I've listed.

Thanks for your clarifications Jens. I appreciate it.
yo-less said:
Here's what I wrote:
So as I've outlined, I know of no way to get it to work at this stage but if anyone does, please let us know
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My bad, I need to learn to read English :laugh:
yo-less said:
I've tried to streamline the ROM installation process as much as possible, if you follow Step 1 of my guide, you should be all set and don't have to worry about flashing additional vendor or firmware images. It is, of course, possible to start experimenting with vendor images as well, but the process I've outlined here seems to work fine for all the ROMs I've listed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So all of these test results are with the 10.2.2 vendor. As the vendor partition plays a big role with GSI images, other vendor images may break / improve some functionality. It is important that this is understood and eventually documented with regards results of working / non working GSI images.

I have a question, why can't we just port Mi 8 (dipper) Roms? Is there anything hardware differences besides the fingerprint reader and front camera?

nealed said:
So all of these test results are with the 10.2.2 vendor. As the vendor partition plays a big role with GSI images, other vendor images may break / improve some functionality. It is important that this is understood and eventually documented with regards results of working / non working GSI images.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would love for more users to report back their findings - the more community data we can gather, the better this guide will become over time. As it stands, I'm pretty happy that I've found a way of reliably getting all the ROMs I have listed to fully boot. When I started out, it was all trial-and-error, trying different firmware versions and GSI ROMs, also flashing different vendor images on top, and nothing seemed to work. Feel free to experiment with me and see if you can find different methods (including firmware / vendor images) of getting GSI ROMs to boot reliably.

eremeya said:
I have a question, why can't we just port Mi 8 (dipper) Roms? Is there anything hardware differences besides the fingerprint reader and front camera?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not a ROM developer but I look at it that way: As much as it's not possible to install a Mi 9 ROM on the Mi 8 Pro, it's also not possible to install a Mi 8 ROM on a Mi 8 Lite or Mi 8 Pro. You can't even install a dipper TWRP image on an equuleus device, give it a try - you will see it won't work.
Ideally a ROM would detect what kind of device you have and adjust its code accordingly. But as of now, every device needs its own specifically tailored ROM. But GSI ROMs seem to try and give us a way out of this situation.
The question I'm asking myself is why there is virtually no custom ROM development happening for the Mi 8 Pro - this is the first time I own an Android device that can't be easily customized (or unlocked - but that's a different matter).

yo-less said:
I'm not a ROM developer but I look at it that way: As much as it's not possible to install a Mi 9 ROM on the Mi 8 Pro, it's also not possible to install a Mi 8 ROM on a Mi 8 Lite or Mi 8 Pro. You can't even install a dipper TWRP image on an equuleus device, give it a try - you will see it won't work.
Ideally a ROM would detect what kind of device you have and adjust its code accordingly. But as of now, every device needs its own specifically tailored ROM. But GSI ROMs seem to try and give us a way out of this situation.
The question I'm asking myself is why there is virtually no custom ROM development happening for the Mi 8 Pro - this is the first time I own an Android device that can't be easily customized (or unlocked - but that's a different matter).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I might normally agree with your idea but the hardware is almost exactly the same except for the finger print reader and the front camera so in theory it should be fine except for those. A different example might be installing Poco phone roms on a Mi 8 or Mi 8 roms on a Mi 8 Ursa.

eremeya said:
I might normally agree with your idea but the hardware is almost exactly the same except for the finger print reader and the front camera so in theory it should be fine except for those. A different example might be installing Poco phone roms on a Mi 8 or Mi 8 roms on a Mi 8 Ursa.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not saying it's beyond possible to make it happen, all I'm saying is that it doesn't seem to work as the hardware is not the same - or have you been able to install a Mi 8 ROM on a Mi 8 Pro? I couldn't even get a Mi 8 TWRP running on a Mi 8 Pro, so I'm guessing the difference does matter.

yo-less said:
I'm not saying it's beyond possible to make it happen, all I'm saying is that it doesn't seem to work as the hardware is not the same - or have you been able to install a Mi 8 ROM on a Mi 8 Pro? I couldn't even get a Mi 8 TWRP running on a Mi 8 Pro, so I'm guessing the difference does matter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried with one rom and it failed to install. It gave an error about the zip not being signed or signed wrong. I modified a file in to ROM zip to remove references to dipper. (This is the process that is done to install Poco phone Roms on a Mi 8). I'm not sure how to modify the rom zip and re-sign it so it installs. Unfortunately I don't have much time right now to experiment as I'm busy with school.

eremeya said:
I tried with one rom and it failed to install. It gave an error about the zip not being signed or signed wrong. I modified a file in to ROM zip to remove references to dipper. (This is the process that is done to install Poco phone Roms on a Mi 8). I'm not sure how to modify the rom zip and re-sign it so it installs. Unfortunately I don't have much time right now to experiment as I'm busy with school.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like an interesting route, so if you follow it through and get it to work, please let us know how you made it happen.

Testing day yesterday, I am currently running HavocOS, with the just released chinese Xiaomi V11.0.2.0.PECCNXM vendor.
I believe that to get it working, SELinux needs to be set to permissive.
Steps taken to boot:
1. Flash 10.3.4 ROM using Xiaomi Flash tool - wiping and cleaning everything, including data and SDCard.
2. Boot and set passcode.
3. Reboot to Bootloader
4. Flash recovery-TWRP-3.3.0-0504-XIAOMI8UD-CN-wzsx150 TWRP.img to recovery partition
5. Boot recovery-TWRP-3.3.0-0504-XIAOMI8UD-CN-wzsx150
6. Factory Reset
5. Flash Havoc-OS-v2.9-20190914 (thread, download
6. Flash permissiver-v4 by erfanoabdi for GSI images
7. Boot
8. Upon reboot to recovery - wipe cahche / dalvik, reboot recovery, then reboot system
9. If you are sent back to recovery. Just reboot - it will boot eventually.
10 Subsequently, from TWRP, resize system partition and flash gapps (yes, you can do this and everything works fine. I have done this on plenty of occasions. It is also possible to invoke the android one time setup wizard if you need that to restore from a backup etc.).
11. Flash Magisk 20.0
12. Flash PolarKernel (see this section for download and details)
HavocOS allows:
Using gesture navigation (I use OnePlus gestures) - native feature
Using Face unlock with the option of dismissing the lock screen automatically - native feature
Hide the clock (great for our notched devices (for me anyway as I have a clock widget on the home screen anyway)) to gain valuable screen real estate - native feature
Battery circle icon - native feature
Great theme options built in
Many more features.
I am reaching out to some devs to see if I cannot cook this for our Mi 8 Pro. I would dearly love to get the under screen fingerprint working. On one hand others have tried and failed. On the other, I'm not sure how much effort has gone in to the trials - as this is not exactly the most popular device on the planet. Not many devs have it.
However, with fanix-uk working on LineageOS - and possibly the FP sensor - as well as the possibility of having VoLTE and infrared face unlock (as is present in LineageOS for Mi 8 Pro) working - this would be my perfect setup.
Despite not having VoLTE (I may do some tests today) I am considering staying with this setup as it really is great. Time will tell...

Getting Android 13 On Your N10 By Flashing Pixel Experience GSI

Hello, my fellow Nord N10 owners and other potential readers!​===========================================​
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​​Pixel Experience is a custom rom (in this case, we're using a GSI made by ponces) which has a lot of Pixel goodies (incl. Gapps, Pixel Launcher, etc). I've used some GSIs (many of which had trouble with calling, using calling in some apps like Signal, and general issues.) However, for me, this is a better suited GSI for this phone as, even though I've had to tweak it, it wasn't as bad as the other GSIs.​Plus, flashing this GSI brings ANDROID 13 to your Nord N10! (Nord N10, as you know, is stuck at A11) with the May Security Patch already on the GSI.
(as of writing this guide)
Why I Made This Guide:
Simply put, I didn't enjoy the fact that the N10 was not only getting Android 11 as its only update, but also the fact that custom rom development is slow for this device.
Therefore, I wanted to make a guide informing my fellow N10 owners how to get Android 13 on their N10 devices!
DISCLAIMER:
Please do know that you, the reader, are responsible for what you do with your phone.
I'm simply providing the instructions which worked for me.
I also can't dive in too deep in code as I'm just a dude with a phone who likes to do cool stuff with it.
I also would like to point out the fact that I did NOT make any of the attached files here OR the GSI itself. I am simply gathering them here for the purpose of easier availability for the people who wish to follow this guide. Thanks to the people that I've credited in the main post along subsequent updates who've uploaded these files around different threads.
Also think of this guide as how I, mouseracer, successfully flashed the GSI. I don't know the best practices of flashing a GSI. I am simply sharing what WORKED for me.
Extra Info:
This is being done with a BE2029 OnePlus Nord N10 5G.
Pre-requisites:​
An updated, stock N10! (11.0.13 as of typing out this guide.)
A laptop/desktop with android tools (incl. fastboot) on it.
A USB cable
The Pixel Experience GSI itself: https://github.com/ponces/treble_build_pe/releases (I USED THE ARM64 -- NO VNDKLITE AND SLIM -- VERSION OF THE GSI) (In other words, I used the first option out of the three versions of the GSI.)
The Provided Recovery (It is attached at the very bottom of this post. It is named "recovery.zip". Shouldn't be hard to miss.)
First of all, unlocking the bootloader WILL erase your data! (Your photos, videos, et cetera!). Thus, make a backup of EVERYTHING.
Now, grab a cup of coffee and let's get right to the flashing!
The first thing you need to do is open your preferred terminal (cmd, linux terminal, anything that allows you to use fastboot) and check if fastboot is working for you.
Then, after the GSI image has been downloaded to your PC, you need to unzip it and retrieve the IMG file.
Now, hop over to your phone and enable developer options and then enable OEM unlocking.
Then, reboot your phone and hold the VOL down button to enter recovery. Enter your passcode (I hope to GOD that you are securing your phone with one) and tap on advanced -> reboot to fastboot.
Your phone will now boot to the bootloader and this is where you connect your phone to the PC and enter the following commands on your PC:
Code:
fastboot oem unlock
On your phone, you will see a warning message followed by two options. Use the vol keys and select the UNLOCK option for the bootloader.
Now, your data will be wiped.
After it is wiped, reboot to the recovery again and this time, reboot to fastboot mode. You will now be at the bootloader and this is where you unzip the recovery zip file ("recovery.zip") that I have provided at the bottom of this post.
After the recovery zip file's unzipped, enter the following:
Code:
fastboot flash recovery [recovery file you have unzipped]
fastboot reboot fastboot
Your phone will now reboot to fastbootd mode.
Once it does enter fastbootd mode, type in the following commands now:
Code:
fastboot erase system_a
fastboot delete-logical-partition product_a
fastboot delete-logical-partition system_ext_a
fastboot flash system (ENTER GSI YOU UNZIPPED HERE)
fastboot -w
Once it's done, do not reboot just yet. While in fastbootd mode and using the volume keys of your N10, enter recovery and factory reset your phone from there.
AFTER factory resetting your phone from the recovery menu, Press VOL UP to get to the back arrow symbol and reboot your phone.
( Also, sometimes, the phone may get stuck on the "bootloader unlocked" message. Keep calm and reboot your phone again. The Google 'G' SHOULD come on after some seconds of the warning message.)
And it is here that your phone now has the Pixel Experience GSI!
(btw, if this is your first time flashing a GSI on a phone, pat yourself on the back! )
Root it (via @andreas__ 's guide), use it, do whatever!
I'll add some general optimizations later.
For now, you should know that you need to enable some Fixes in the Phh Treble Settings menu.
PHH Treble Settings Options You MUST ENABLE (includes calling and other things)
Qualcomm features --> Enable both (Use Alternate audio policy & Disable stereo support on VoIP)
Misc features -> Force FPS (CHOOSE 90 FPS and then tap on RESTART SYSTEMUI), Enable (Use System Wide BT HAL)
IMS Features -> Install IMS APK from the notification bar after tapping on the Install IMS APK option (After which, enable both request IMS network and Force presence of 4G Calling and FINALLY create IMS APN. Reboot your phone afterwards)
OnePlus features -> Optionally, enable (Enable DT2W) for that cool double tap to wake feature.
I also recommend that, once your phone has rebooted after doing IMS changes, to change from 3G to LTE!
You can also have a go at Wifi Calling as well!
Now, since this is a GSI that you -- the reader -- are flashing, please know that it will have some bugs since it wasn't tailor-made for our devices.
For some reason, battery life has been good for my usage. (Sometimes watching yt vids and general tasks)
...and there we go!
You've just flashed the Pixel Experience GSI on your Nord N10 phone!
Both Play Integrity and Safetynet pass on this GSI, even when rooted! (at the time of typing this guide out, at least.)
Incoming calls and outgoing calls work well!
====================================================
If you successfully followed this guide, let me know how helpful this guide was and give some feedback as well!
That's all for now!
Good luck!
- Mouseracer
ISSUE 1: SIM OPTION STUCK/NOT WORKING IN GSI
==================================
TEMPORARY FIX: REBOOT THE PHONE AND CHECK THE OPTION AGAIN. IF OCCURS AGAIN, REPEAT (worked for me.)
IMPORTANT UPDATE 1: AUTO BRIGHTNESS
This is for the current users of the GSI who want to use Auto Brightness function on the GSI.
Please enable USB Debugging in the settings and download the overlay file by @Generic123. below.
Enter the following code:
Code:
adb root
adb shell avbctl disable-verification --force
adb reboot
The phone will now reboot and after reboot, enter the following code again after unlocking the phone:
Code:
adb root
adb remount
adb push (overlay file I have provided) /vendor/overlay
adb reboot
The phone will now reboot again for the final time and after the reboot, you should now see a big auto brightness button near the brightness slider.
CONGRATULATIONS, you now have the auto brightness function in the GSI!
Thanks @Generic123. for the overlay file!
Enjoy!
- mouseracer

is this rom better than stock rom ? ( like smoother or smth )

pxxell said:
is this rom better than stock rom ? ( like smoother or smth )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey there, @pxxell . That's a great question!
So, I've been using this GSI for some time now and have not noted any significant breakage of daily functions.
Sure, you may face some issues, but those are usually minor.
Compared to stock? Oh man, call me biased but I love it!
On stock, there was this one issue that bugged the ever loving heck outta me. That being the share function between work profile and personal profile.
This GSI, doesn't have that.
Also, if your talking about the "Smoother" display rate (90hz), unlike stock rom, you can force the phone to operate at 60fps or at 90fps. At 90fps, it won't switch between 60 and 90. It'll just stay at 90.
Of course, compared to Stock Rom, your camera may be affected on this GSI. And also, since this is a GSI (Generic System Images. Basically, you can flash them on ANY Treble Supported Device but this is sort of like a GENERAL rom. Unlike Custom Roms made for a particular device, GSIs are made for a wide variety of devices so they may be lacking in a few aspects when running on some devices. Some GSIs may not even boot! However as we've established, this Pixel Experience GSI does boot and also works.), there may be some issues.
However, I just use the GCAM I've talked about and it works well provided I don't need 4K video. ([email protected] seems to be the highest for that gcam before it just doesn't work while recording.)
And of course, you get the newest Android 13 on your phone. No more will your phone be capped to a version that OnePlus gave us with this phone (Android 11).
I obviously have also rooted my phone (Magisk Delta) using @andreas__ 's rooting N10 guide (first flashed Magisk then Magisk Delta. For process simplification, made some boot patches. If you need guide then I'll make one later) and EQ apps like Viper4Android REALLY make me love listening to music! I also am using shelter to isolate those apps which seem to detect root at all stages.
(I also use my phone for watching YT videos and listening to music and etc.)
Since this GSI tries to be like a Pixel, it passes SafetyNet as well as Play Integrity (obviously, you can't pass STRONG yet bc your bootloader's unlock but up till now, most banks dont seem to check for it..)
TLDR: I daily drive this GSI and like it a lot.
Sure, it may have some bugs (battery drain may be higher. Don't know how or why I don't have it but eh.) But, compared to other GSIs (no incoming call/outgoing calls, stuttering videos, other issues), this is a bit more stable. At least for me, that is.
and it makes apps that were inoperable on stock to run on this GSI!
Take for example, CAPods, an app which essentially shows you battery info and helps to give you functions for your airpods such as pausing when you take out airpods and tapping on one of them to stop music and more.
On stock, you would see none of the airpods you've paired show up. (at least, for me!)
On this GSI, you see the paired AirPods, just like you were always supposed to but couldn't!
It's so cool that we can run GSIs like this and keep things fresh for our phones and even experience updates that, while our phones can run them, we wouldn't even get at all. Especially when you consider this phone has 6GB of RAM!
Even WhatsApp and other essential apps run!
And this is why I wanted to make this guide, so I can share this knowledge with other people who also feel the same as me and also want to try the latest version of Android!
You are welcome to try flashing the GSI on your phone. Personally, I love it!
and remember...
Have Fun!
- mouseracer

mouseracer said:
Hey there, @pxxell . That's a great question!
So, I've been using this GSI for some time now and have not noted any significant breakage of daily functions.
Sure, you may face some issues, but those are usually minor.
Compared to stock? Oh man, call me biased but I love it!
On stock, there was this one issue that bugged the ever loving heck outta me. That being the share function between work profile and personal profile.
This GSI, doesn't have that.
Also, if your talking about the "Smoother" display rate (90hz), unlike stock rom, you can force the phone to operate at 60fps or at 90fps. At 90fps, it won't switch between 60 and 90. It'll just stay at 90.
Of course, compared to Stock Rom, your camera may be affected on this GSI. And also, since this is a GSI (Generic System Images. Basically, you can flash them on ANY Treble Supported Device but this is sort of like a GENERAL rom. Unlike Custom Roms made for a particular device, GSIs are made for a wide variety of devices so they may be lacking in a few aspects when running on some devices. Some GSIs may not even boot! However as we've established, this Pixel Experience GSI does boot and also works.), there may be some issues.
However, I just use the GCAM I've talked about and it works well provided I don't need 4K video. ([email protected] seems to be the highest for that gcam before it just doesn't work while recording.)
And of course, you get the newest Android 13 on your phone. No more will your phone be capped to a version that OnePlus gave us with this phone (Android 11).
I obviously have also rooted my phone (Magisk Delta) using @andreas__ 's rooting N10 guide (first flashed Magisk then Magisk Delta. For process simplification, made some boot patches. If you need guide then I'll make one later) and EQ apps like Viper4Android REALLY make me love listening to music! I also am using shelter to isolate those apps which seem to detect root at all stages.
(I also use my phone for watching YT videos and listening to music and etc.)
Since this GSI tries to be like a Pixel, it passes SafetyNet as well as Play Integrity (obviously, you can't pass STRONG yet bc your bootloader's unlock but up till now, most banks dont seem to check for it..)
TLDR: I daily drive this GSI and like it a lot.
Sure, it may have some bugs (battery drain may be higher. Don't know how or why I don't have it but eh.) But, compared to other GSIs (no incoming call/outgoing calls, stuttering videos, other issues), this is a bit more stable. At least for me, that is.
and it makes apps that were inoperable on stock to run on this GSI!
Take for example, CAPods, an app which essentially shows you battery info and helps to give you functions for your airpods such as pausing when you take out airpods and tapping on one of them to stop music and more.
On stock, you would see none of the airpods you've paired show up. (at least, for me!)
On this GSI, you see the paired AirPods, just like you were always supposed to but couldn't!
It's so cool that we can run GSIs like this and keep things fresh for our phones and even experience updates that, while our phones can run them, we wouldn't even get at all. Especially when you consider this phone has 6GB of RAM!
Even WhatsApp and other essential apps run!
And this is why I wanted to make this guide, so I can share this knowledge with other people who also feel the same as me and also want to try the latest version of Android!
You are welcome to try flashing the GSI on your phone. Personally, I love it!
and remember...
Have Fun!
- mouseracer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for helping me, btw how can i contact u if i faced any error when i install this rom, like telegram or discord.

pxxell said:
Thanks for helping me, btw how can i contact u if i faced any error when i install this rom, like telegram or discord.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, @pxxell .
I don't exactly have telegram or discord.
But feel free to post issues you may have and I'll attempt to diagnose or find a fix for them.
But ultimately, just know that I'm a guy with a phone along with some ambition but not a developer. I don't delve deep into code and just use what options I am provided with to try to find a workaround of sorts.
I may NOT be able to fix your problem 100% and if that problem is a massive deal to you, I recommend you to be on stock as even though I have a tendency to sometimes be a bit frustrated with stock, it is at least made for this phone as opposed to this GSI which isn't.
Ultimately, stock is the best at reliability. If you have to make critical calls or are using the phone as your only phone, I recommend to be on stock since at least OnePlus is giving N10 owners the occasional security patch update for the next year or so.
However, if you do know that ultimately there'll be a few issues and are still willing to go for it, then its up to you. Sometimes incoming call audio stays blank or smth. For that, I restart the phone and call works.
Other than those hiccups, I generally have minor issues.
But yeah, if you are giving your phone for repairs or something of the sort, I'd recommend flashing the stock rom back using MSMDownloadTool as provided by some of the folks here for this phone.
Ultimately, I'd also say that you don't need root nowadays. (unless you are on a custom rom for which you may need to have some sort of play integrity bypass). If debloating is your question, ADB is the answer to it! (Even works on NON ROOTED phones and doesn't trigger any bad things to happen on your phone as long as your smart about it and not uninstall System Webview or Android System or some other important component like them.)
Personally, I just root my phone for systemwide ad blocker, audio tweaks and for having the option to do some other things not possible without root.
So yeah, that's all.
Hope you got some questions of yours answered!
- mouseracer

I have the metro variant, will it work with that?

mirzanuman6612 said:
I have the metro variant, will it work with that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello there, @mirzanuman6612!
Now, I don't know about the metro variant or other variants. But, if possible, make a backup if you do want to try it.
I'll state again though that my phone model's a BE2029 non carrier version of the phone.
I do think that it may work, but please do make a backup and try. Also, please lmk if it does work.
I hope that it goes well for you!
-mouseracer
(ps, love the meme as your dp. )

IMPORTANT UPDATE 1
I've added an additional tutorial on how to enable AUTO BRIGHTNESS in the GSI.
Check the main post.

mouseracer said:
Hello, @pxxell .
I don't exactly have telegram or discord.
But feel free to post issues you may have and I'll attempt to diagnose or find a fix for them.
But ultimately, just know that I'm a guy with a phone along with some ambition but not a developer. I don't delve deep into code and just use what options I am provided with to try to find a workaround of sorts.
I may NOT be able to fix your problem 100% and if that problem is a massive deal to you, I recommend you to be on stock as even though I have a tendency to sometimes be a bit frustrated with stock, it is at least made for this phone as opposed to this GSI which isn't.
Ultimately, stock is the best at reliability. If you have to make critical calls or are using the phone as your only phone, I recommend to be on stock since at least OnePlus is giving N10 owners the occasional security patch update for the next year or so.
However, if you do know that ultimately there'll be a few issues and are still willing to go for it, then its up to you. Sometimes incoming call audio stays blank or smth. For that, I restart the phone and call works.
Other than those hiccups, I generally have minor issues.
But yeah, if you are giving your phone for repairs or something of the sort, I'd recommend flashing the stock rom back using MSMDownloadTool as provided by some of the folks here for this phone.
Ultimately, I'd also say that you don't need root nowadays. (unless you are on a custom rom for which you may need to have some sort of play integrity bypass). If debloating is your question, ADB is the answer to it! (Even works on NON ROOTED phones and doesn't trigger any bad things to happen on your phone as long as your smart about it and not uninstall System Webview or Android System or some other important component like them.)
Personally, I just root my phone for systemwide ad blocker, audio tweaks and for having the option to do some other things not possible without root.
So yeah, that's all.
Hope you got some questions of yours answered!
- mouseracer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you create one ? Cuz we have a telegram channel but only @kronflux dev rom, maybe u can be second dev for our phone.

pxxell said:
can you create one ? Cuz we have a telegram channel but only @kronflux dev rom, maybe u can be second dev for our phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh yeah, @kronflux .
Ngl, I also was going to use his ROM after @jnelle stopped development of official roms for this phone.
But I eventually decided to stay put and figure out how to run a GSI on this phone.
I think the unofficial recovery rom came from his thread.
Sometime later, I did but had several issues with the way I was going about it.
This is now my other attempt at flashing this GSI and this time, I haven't seen much instability.
I doubt that I'll be a second dev for this phone. Unlike devs like @kronflux or @jnelle, I don't know much coding aside from tinkering around with my phone with adb and fastboot and some good ol' Stack Overflow. I also don't really know how to port roms and I've a low RAM HDD laptop.
I, however, can volunteer as a rom tester of sorts. So if any developer for this device wants to test a Custom ROM, I'll try to run that on my phone.
I, like other people on XDA, like having the newest features and also dislike the fact that phone manufacturers keep doing this trend of either discontinuing updates or having a VERY short update cycle (except for security updates) for a clearly capable phone.
So, out of frustration, I decided to post any information about this device having A13 that I could try on my own on this device's forum. (GCam post, asking about running GSIs and etc.)
I also would like to point out that I did NOT make any of the items in the main post by myself at all. (I simply get the attached files from around different threads for this Device's Forum and gather them for availability for people to use them. I do not take credit for any of the things which help people flash this GSI or improve their experience using it. I credit the makers of these files in the main thread itself.)
I am still thinking about trying other GSIs as well and sort of ranking them based on how well I found them to be (severity of the inevitable bugs on the GSIs, etc)
About the telegram thingy, I may consider it but for now, I am happy to discuss any potential issues which do arise from using this GSI on this thread itself.
Btw, lemme know how was the experience of using the GSI?
Bye!
- mouseracer

Does your phone have poor wifi connection on this GSI PE rom? I remembered last time I flashed it with @twindragon6's guide and daily drove it for a while, my wifi connection was really bad like, when I'm on the first floor of my house, stock rom would have excellent or good signal strength, while on this GSI rom, it dropped to only poor and sometimes fair.

redabrao said:
Does your phone have poor wifi connection on this GSI PE rom? I remembered last time I flashed it with @twindragon6's guide and daily drove it for a while, my wifi connection was really bad like, when I'm on the first floor of my house, stock rom would have excellent or good signal strength, while on this GSI rom, it dropped to only poor and sometimes fair.
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Hello there, @redabrao .
No, not really. Either I don't notice it or something but for me, I don't have poor wifi connection on the GSI PE.
I find it almost similar to stock, if I have to compare it to stock.
Now, if the problem persists, I highly recommend you root and flash the "Wifi Bonding" magisk module if you can. Just follow the instructions while doing so.
It claims to improve wifi bandwidth for phone. Haven't tried it but seems safe to use.
But please do test it out and see if the connection's better.
Also, remember to backup!
Personally, I don't really game on my device apart from sometimes emulating some old game.
But eh, that's my experience using this GSI.
Good Luck!

mouseracer said:
Hello there, @redabrao .
No, not really. Either I don't notice it or something but for me, I don't have poor wifi connection on the GSI PE.
I find it almost similar to stock, if I have to compare it to stock.
Now, if the problem persists, I highly recommend you root and flash the "Wifi Bonding" magisk module if you can. Just follow the instructions while doing so.
It claims to improve wifi bandwidth for phone. Haven't tried it but seems safe to use.
But please do test it out and see if the connection's better.
Also, remember to backup!
Personally, I don't really game on a device apart from sometimes emulating some old game.
But eh, that's my experience using this GSI.
Good Luck!
- mouseracer
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Thank you very much for your experience. I guess I might give this another try using your method.

redabrao said:
Thank you very much for your experience. I guess I might give this another try using your method.
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No problem, man!
It makes me happy that we can prolong the use of this device through GSI like Ponces' Pixel Experience.
We've had custom roms that were at one point in development but which are now either N/A or not being developed at all.
This GSI, while it has its quirks, feels like an almost good custom rom alternative to this phone.
That being said, it is still up to you if you wanna decide to flash Ponces' GSI.
If you ARE going to go with it, then good luck bro!
Also, lemme know if it worked for you!

i have wifi issu its not working at all