Install TWRP and Root Xiaomi Mi5

Xiaomi 2016 flagship smartphone, the Mi5 is still one of the greatest smartphones that you can pick up for moderate use. Xiaomi Mi5 carries a 5.15 full HD screen. Its screen is protected by Gorilla Glass 4. Mi5 is powered up by Snapdragon 820 CPU accompanied by Adreno 530 GPU. The phone comes in 3 RAM and storage options. You can get the Mi5 3 GB RAM and 32 GB or  64 GB storage and you can also get a Mi5 with 4 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage. Xiaomi Mi5 has a 16 MP camera on its back and a 4 MP camera on the front. The phone ran on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out of the box and it was later updated to Android 7.0 Nougat. Xiaomi uses its own MIUI atop of the Android firmware. Xiaomi Mi5 is currently enjoying the MIUI 8 ROM.

Xiaomi Mi5 is also among the devices which have been blessed by a lot of custom material. You will find a plethora of custom ROMs and custom MODs for the Mi5. The gateway to customization on your Xiaomi Mi5 is the custom recovery and root access. Custom recovery for the Xiaomi Mi5 is available for a while now. You can flash TWRP custom recovery on the phone to begin. After flashing the TWRP recovery, you can install the SuperSU package to root your phone. Installing TWRP recovery will give you the privilege to create backups of various partitions including Nandroid, EFS and other partitions. TWRP also makes you capable of wiping individual partitions from your phone. You can also flash .img and .zip files and you can also change the format of partitions on your phone. On the other hand, root access is helpful for running applications that require the permissions to use your phone’s system files.

If you are on this page at the moment, we are going to assume that you are here for a method to install a custom recovery on your Xiaomi Mi5. In this guide, you will go through the detailed steps to install TWRP and root Xiaomi Mi5.

Requirements

1. This guide is only for the Xiaomi Mi5. Do not try this on any other phone.
2. Charge your phone good enough so that it doesn’t go dead during the installation process.
3. Backup your call logs, contacts and SMS messages. Also backup your media content. This is important since unlocking the bootloader will completely wipe your phone.
4. Enable OEM Unlocking and USB Debugging mode on your Mi5.
5. Use the OEM data cable to connect your phone to your PC.
6. Unlock your Xiaomi Mi5’s bootloader using this guide.
7. Follow this guide carefully.

Note: These are highly custom processes and are not recommended by device manufacturers. Rooting or flashing custom recovery also voids the warranty of your phone. In case of a mishap, TechBeasts or the recovery developers may not be held responsible. Make sure that you are doing this at your own risk.

Required downloads and installations

1. Download and install Minimal ADB and Fastboot drivers on your computer.
2. Download and install Xiaomi USB drivers on your computer.
3. Download TWRP Recovery 3.0.2-3.img file. Rename this file to recovery.img and copy it to C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot folder.
4. Download TWRP Recovery 3.1.1-0.img file and copy it to your phone’s internal or external storage.
5. Download SuperSU.zip file and copy it to your phone’s internal or external storage.

Install TWRP and Root Xiaomi Mi5

1. Connect your Xiaomi Mi5 to your computer now.
2. Go to the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot and then launch the MAF32.exe file.
3. Now in the command window, enter the following commands one by one.
   1. adb devices
      1. If this command returns a list of attached devices with a code, that means your phone’s connect has been established.
   2. adb reboot bootloader
      1. This command will reboot your phone into the bootloader mode.
   3. fastboot devices
      1. This command will confirm the connection in bootloader mode.
   4. fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
      1. This will flash the TWRP recovery 3.0.2-3.img file that you renamed to recovery.img
   5. fastboot reboot recovery
      1. This will reboot your phone into the newly installed TWRP.

Installing latest TWRP 3.1.1-0 and rooting your Xiaomi Mi5

1. Now disconnect your phone from your PC.
2. In the TWRP recovery, tap Install > Install Image > Locate the TWRP 3.1.1-0.img file > Select this file > Swipe screen to flash.
3. After flashing the latest TWRP 3.1.1-0.img file, get back to the main menu in TWRP.
4. Tap Reboot > Recovery.
5. Once your comes back in the upgraded TWRP 3.1.1-0, tap Install > Locate and select SuperSU.zip file > Swipe screen to flash.
6. Flashing SuperSU will root your phone. You can reboot the system now.
7. That’s all.