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MIUI Stable Developer Ported Global China Recovery Fastboot ROMs Explained!

MIUI Stable Developer Ported Global China Recovery Fastboot ROMs Explained!

This thread will be full of words, so if youre the kind of person who prefer seeing only graphics or just read the title, you can skip this thread. Also, we wont be talking about Alpha ROMs, as they are only available under certain circumstances

Fellow MIUIers,

MIUI 8s Stable release is just around the corner, and Im pretty sure many of you will be wondering whether you should stick with a Developer ROM or change to a Stable ROM. So what are the differences between the two? Also, what is a ported ROM? How do I differentiate between a Fastboot ROM and a Recovery ROM? By combining data from several old threads by me and retired administrator @meredithhan and some new elements added, I hope it helps to explain the doubts and questions you have, before you even have them.


Stable, Developer or Ported: What are the Differences?

Stable ROMs are made by MIUI Official Developers, usually updated once per month, bi-monthly or even longer without a specific update frequency depending on how much time needed for solving bugs. Stable ROMs are, as the name suggests, the most stable ROM with the least amount of bugs. Users who prefer a stable and bug-free release and doesnt want to try out new features immediately, should stick with this ROM. The nomenclature of MIUI 8 stable version is V8.X.X.0.XXXXXXX, with the first two X representing the version and revision number, with the other seven representing the Android version, phone model and China/Global ROM. While there used to be many codenames for different countries, it is now united under one MI code for the global market, while CN stands for China. For users who have provided feedback using the built-in bug reporter application, you might find yourself receiving updates unavailable to others, these are called grey updates meant as a beta-testing platform for the public.

e.g.:

The latest China Stable ROM for a Mi 3 device is V7.5.6.0.MXDCNDE

In this case,
V7 represents MIUI 7
5.6 represents the 5th major update and the 6th minor revision of it
MXD represents Android Marshmallow 6.0.1
CN represents China ROM
DE represents Mi 3/4 W/CDMA


Developer ROMs (also known as Beta ROMs) are also made by MIUI Official Developers but is updated weekly. The usual update changelog and changelog preview you see on the forums are the changelogs for the Developer ROM. Developer ROMs receive new features weekly but are more prone to bugs and thus is not recommended for users who use only one phone. The nomenclature of the Developer ROM is a simple X.Y.Z, with X representing the year (eg. 6 for 2016), Y for month and Z for day. Developer ROMs have daily* incremental ROM pack downloads which contain the services and elements that have been changed rather than the full ROM, but is accessible only by Special Team members in the form of Beta updates.

*Only applies to certain devices


Ported ROMs are made by unofficial or third-party developers and are mostly based on the Developer ROM. They are usually named after the date of release, just like the Developer ROM. Ported ROMs usually contain much more bugs than Developer ROMs as the ROM its based on is not made for the device but rather a device of similar specifications. Users will have to contact the developer to have the bugs solved. Some of the developers will upload incremental ROM packs like the Developer ROM to allow for users to update to the weekly release if they stopped in between the week. Currently, ported MIUI 8 ROMs might be buggy as the source code for it is not released yet.


China or Global: Which Should I Use?


Users are often confused whether its safe to use the China Build for their devices as they fear the compatibility of hardware or software. In fact, you dont have to worry at all, the China Build will work on your phone like a charm, just like the Global Build. The fastest way of differentiating a China ROM from a Global ROM (only for Stable ROMs) is the nomenclature difference of CN for China and MI for Global. The difference between the two builds are as follow:-

China Build (CN)

The China Build doesnt contain Google Apps and Services (GAPPS) and contains some Chinese apps and services, which according to some is called bloatware, but for Chinese people those are actually very useful. The problem of not having GAPPS can be easily solved by heading to this thread:Find all the Google Apps in Google installer! Just install the app then in it contains all the Google apps, Google Service Frameworks, Google Account Manager and Google Play Services necessary for you to use it as a full fledged normal Android phone. China ROMs usually comes with more features than Global ROMs, as they have no conflicting copyrights issues and have less restrictions than the Global market. There will be certain elements of Chinese within, as translation work might not be absolutely complete for certain parts of the ROM. Also, Google integration via installation through applications might be imperfect and could cause issues.

Global Build (MI)

Preferred by most global users, this build comes with full GAPPS without the Chinese apps and services. Usually updated at a later period than the China build, the Global Build comes with English as the default language, with multilanguages for certain devices. In exchange for full GAPPS, users lose some features such as online music and Xunlei download accelerator, but gains some more usable storage space. The Global Build usually comes with only Stable ROMs, but the Redmi 1S is the first devices to receive a Global Developer Build. Today, nearly every internationally-launched device by Xiaomi has a Global Developer ROM. You get a native GAPPS integration, but loses on some functionalities, still a pretty good trade-off for many as installing GAPPS on a China ROM might still give problems with use of Google services. The other significant benefit over the China ROM is the language packs within (which is one of the reasons MIUI Global ROMs are usually bigger in size than MIUI China ROMs), which is great as many prefer their native tongue over English.


Difference Between Fastboot ROM and Recovery ROM files.

You can also check the Android version of the ROM via the ROM file name.

Or in Settings > About Phone

Flashing with Recovery ROM

The Recovery ROM can be used to flash in a new ROM via two ways. One is through the Updater app and the other is via the Mi Recovery or any other custom recoveries. Downgrading using this method wont work, as the system detects the downloaded ROM file being older than the installed ROM file. Note that some devices have their bootloader locked, so youll have to unlock your bootloader first before attempting to use the Mi Recovery.

Read more on bootloader unlocking here and here.

- Flashing through Updater app:
The process is easy, just place the ROM file in any folder in your phone, then head over to Update app and tap on the three button menu on the top right corner and select "Choose Update Package". After that, the phone will open up Explorer and you just have to locate the file and let it update.

Flashing through Mi Recovery

Similar to flashing with Updater app, the process involves placing the ROM file in the phone, but rather than placing it in any folder, youll have to place it in the root folder of your internal storage. After that boot into Recovery by either long pressing Power button + Volume+ button or tap the "Reboot to Recovery mode" button in the Updater app. Once in Recovery, select "Install update.zip to System" and the flashing process will initiate right away.

Flashing with Fastboot ROM

Flashing with the Fastboot ROM can only work with a PC installed with any tools that allow for Fastboot flashing, including the MiFlash or Mi PC Suite (flashing using the Mi PC Suite is an automatic flash_all command, so take care if you dont wish to have a clean install), then boot your phone to Fastboot mode (Long pressing Power button + Volume- button) and connect it to your PC. The Fastboot ROM file contains three different Fastboot script files, in two languages, one in .bat for Windows and another in .sh for Linux. Note that having a locked bootloader doesnt disable Fastboot, so you can still Fastboot flash a ROM no problem.



- flash_all will wipe the phone clean before flashing a new ROM into it. All user data, including your personal files, folders and apps will be removed. This script is usually used when users are flashing back to an older ROM or want to start anew.
- flash_all_except_storage will wipe all apps and user data from your phone but leave the files in your internal storage untouched. This script is usually used when users want to flash back to an older ROM or when you want to remove all apps without affecting your personal files.
- flash_all_except_data_storage will just flash in an update without touching your settings, apps, user data or your personal files. This is usually used when users just want to flash to a newer ROM without affecting anything else.

Check out more about Fastboot update, Recovery update and System update here.

I hope this collection of data will help you out and answer the questions you have in mind.

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