If you’re excited about Android 7.0 Nougat update and can’t wait for official rollout, here’s how install the preview update.
Last week, Xiaomi launched its new mid-range smartphone in India, the Redmi Note 4. At the time of the launch, Xiaomi confirmed that the smartphone will be treated with goodness of Android 7.0 Nougat in few weeks. Now, ahead of rolling out the final version of the software to the masses, Xiaomi has made the beta preview version of the ROM available for those who want to be the early testers. If you’ve successfully managed to get a Redmi Note 4 from the first flash sale and want to give Android Nougat a try, read on.
The MIUI 8 global beta ROM 7.1.19 is based on Android Nougat. Despite being in beta, Xiaomi says it is quite stable and can be used as a daily driver without any issues. However, considering the ‘beta’ tag, it is likely that few features may not work as expected. Your phone may randomly restart at times, and there are chances wherein apps may crash often. If you don’t mind these minor hiccups and ready to test drive Android 7.0 Nougat on your Redmi Note 4, here’s how to go about it. ALSO READ: 5 ways Xiaomi could have improved the Redmi Note 4
How to install Android 7.0 Nougat on Redmi Note 4
First things first – being in early beta, the installation procedure isn’t as easy as updating over-the-air (OTA). It’s a ‘fastboot’ method based update, for which you will need to do it from a Windows-based PC or laptop. But, before you can go ahead with the flashing, you’ll first need to request to ‘unlock the bootloader’ of your Redmi Note 4. To do this, head over to en.miui.com/unlock/ and then click on ‘unlock now.’ ALSO READ: Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Review
You will be asked to sign in with you Mi Account, enter your phone number and few details like why you want to unlock the bootloader and so on. Once the request is approved, you will get an email / text message about the same. Next, you need to download the Mi Unlock app from here. (Do Note – The approval process may take around 10 days). ALSO READ: Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 sold out? Here are 6 alternative smartphones you can buy
Step 1: To begin with, grab the MIUI ROM flashing tool from here. Double click on it and follow the instructions to install the tool on your PC.
Step 2: Download the compatible ROM for your Redmi Note 4 (Snapdragon 625 version) from here. Save it on the desktop and unzip the contents using a tool like WinZip or WinRar. Inside the folder, you will see a few files and a folder called ‘images.’ ALSO READ: Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 vs Redmi Note 3: Camera comparison
Step 3: Enter the ‘fastboot’ mode on your Redmi Note 4 — turn off the device, wait for 10 seconds, and press the ‘volume down’ and ‘power button’ at the same time for a few seconds until you don’t see the above screen. Your phone has now rebooted in fastboot mode. Now, connect your Redmi Note 4 to your PC using a data cable and run the Mi Unlock app to get the bootloader unlocked. Now, you’re all set to flash the Android Nougat ROM.
Step 4: Open MiFlash tool. On the top left click on select, and point to the folder location that you earlier extracted on the desktop, and tap on the ‘refresh’ button on the right.
Step 5: Your downloaded ROM will show up in the list. Now, at the bottom, select ‘clean all’ and then click on the ‘flash’ button on the top right. This will begin the flashing procedure, and once the process is finished, you will get a notification saying ‘operation successfully completed.’
If everything goes right, your device will reboot with the latest Android Nougat-based MIUI 8 ROM. You’ll get all the goodness of Android Nougat update such as multi-window support to let you use two apps simultaneously, and double tap to switch between them, improved doze mode for extended battery life, bundled notifications and quick reply to messages from notifications, and more. ALSO READ: Android Nougat: Top 10 new features of Google’s latest Android OS
Did you find this guide useful in updating your Redmi Note 4 to Android Nougat? Are you loving the features that the new update brings? Do let us know in the comments section below.
(Note – Unlocking your bootloader will void the warranty and you won’t be able to use ‘Find my Phone’ feature after unlocking the bootloader. Also, your device could be vulnerable to virus attacks. Flashing process could also potentially brick your device, proceed with caution.)
BONUS VIDEO: Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 625) Review