This post was edited by marcus_keong at 10:53, Sep-21-2016
Hey MIUIers!
Do you know that we have some guides on MIUI version which already posted under MIUI General:
Yet some users are still confused on the difference between them. On top of that, many users are having problem with their newly purchased Xiaomi devices, which come with tampered MIUI ROM and they have no idea about it. Hence, I would like to prepare a comprehensive guide with my own understanding, with the purpose of giving users a clear view and perspective on different MIUI version for their Xiaomi devices.
How many types of MIUI ROM are there?
Usually a Xiaomi device has five types of MIUI ROM:
If we buy a Xiaomi device from official source which has warranty from Official Mi Website, we will usually get MIUI Global Stable version out of the box. Unless we bought the Xiaomi device directly from Mi Website at China, then we will get MIUI China Stable version.
What is Alpha ROM? What are the devices that support this version?
Alpha ROM is a special MIUI version only available in China ROM, which is more updated than Developer (Beta) ROM. In other words, it will have newer features than Developer ROM. However, Alpha ROM only available for several Xiaomi devices. Here are the devices which have Alpha ROM: - Xiaomi Mi 2/2S
- Xiaomi Mi 3
- Xiaomi Mi 4
- Xiaomi Mi Note
- Xiaomi Mi 5
- Xiaomi Mi Max
Here is how the MIUI China version arranged in descending order for latest features available: Alpha ROM > Developer ROM > Stable ROM
How can I know my current MIUI version in my device?
There are several solutions for this question, but I will list out two of them.
1. We can easily differentiate Global ROM and China ROM by checking its Theme App Store. Global ROM will be fully in English, while China ROM will have chinese words under options in Theme App Store, even your system language is English.
Global ROM on the left, China ROM on the right
2. With some knowledge, we can easily recognize which MIUI version our device is using by checking in Settings > About Phone.
China Stable on the left, Global Stable on the right.
China Developer on the left, Global Developer on the right.
Stable Version format is in 8.X.X.X, where 8 means MIUI 8 and X.X.X is the version of MIUI 8.
Developer Version format is in X.X.X. For instance, 6.7.14 represents year.month.day, means this developer version is released on 14th July of 2016.
In addition, we can identify which type of MIUI Stable version by checking 7 letters in MIUI version.
Let's acquire the 7 letters of Stable version from image above: "KHDCNDG" and "KHDMIDG".
The 4th and 5th letters are the indicator, where CN = China and MI = Global.
What are the differences between China and Global/Stable and Developer?
I will compile them into a table so you can have a better view on their differences.
p/s: Alpha ROM not included as it only support some devices.
We will always prefer Global ROM as it comes with pre-installed Google Apps, especially Google Playstore. However, we can manually install Google Apps in China ROM as well. Yet it may have issues with Google Services if not properly installed.
MIUI China Developer has a native root which enable us to root our device without any 3rd party apps or tools, in condition that the device bootloader is unlocked.
Though I stated that the risk for facing bugs in Dev ROMs is higher than Stable ROMs, we can still use Dev ROMs in daily life as the chances of having serious bugs isn't as frequent as we thought. If you are familiar with handling bugs, you should try on flashing a Dev ROM.
How can I switch from Global Stable to Global Dev/China Stable/China Dev, and vice versa?
The safest method for changing MIUI ROM type in your Xiaomi device is Fastboot method. This means you need a Fastboot ROM to switch your MIUI ROM to another MIUI ROM.
Fastboot ROM can be flashed by either one of these tools: Mi Flash Tool or SP Flash Tool.
Qualcomm devices uses Mi Flash Tool, Mediatek devices uses SP Flash Tool.
Here are the list of Xiaomi devices with Qualcomm and Mediatek:
Tutorial of Fastboot Method with Mi Flash Tool: p/s: Credit to the Author MS Tube.
Tutorial of Fastboot Method with SP Flash Tool: p/s: Credit to the Author MS Tube.
**In some special case, we can use Mi Flash Tool to flash Fastboot ROM in these Mediatek devices with Fastboot Mode and unlocked bootloader.
Fastboot to overcome Bootloop/Softbrick for Redmi Note 2/Prime
Upgrade/Unbrick using MiPhone Tool for Redmi Note 3 (MTK)
p/s: Credit to @feds64 for the info.
Why my Xiaomi device does not have Global ROM?
The solid reason is because the respective device isn't officially on sale in Xiaomi Global Market. However, exception has been given for Redmi 3 as there are many users outside China have bought it and having a huge voting section persuading MIUI Developers to support MIUI 8 Global ROM for Redmi 3.
Here are the list of Xiaomi devices which are supported with official MIUI Global ROM: - Redmi 1
- Redmi 1S
- Redmi 2/Prime
- Redmi 3/Prime
- Redmi 3S/Prime
- Redmi Note 3G
- Redmi Note 4G
- Redmi Note Prime
- Redmi Note 2
- Redmi Note 3 (Qualcomm)
- Xiaomi Mi 2/2S
- Xiaomi Mi 3
- Xiaomi Mi 4
- Xiaomi Mi 4i
- Xiaomi Mi 5
- Xiaomi Mi Note
- Xiaomi Mi Max
- Xiaomi Mi Pad
A tampered ROM (also known as unofficial ROM or fake ROM) is a ROM that has been modified by individuals to have different features or settings. For example, a China ROM is tampered with pre-installed Google Apps and some bloatwares. Third party sellers usually flash this ROM into new devices before selling to users outside China, as Google Apps are essential for global users.
How do I know if my device is using tampered MIUI ROM
By appearance, tampered MIUI ROM looks exactly same as official MIUI ROM. The best place to check is in Settings > About Phone > MIUI version.
By checking the version on the Official MIUI Download page, you will find out that these version cannot be found in download page. First screenshot shows that it is Global Stable, but from the 7 letters, its a China ROM. Second screenshot has a weird version, which is 7.0.22.2.
If you are not sure how to check, you can simply post a thread with your "About Phone" screenshot in MIUI Forum to check with the forum community here.
How should we avoid buying phone with tampered ROM?
The answer for this is simple. (1) Purchase device only from official source. Do your homework before buying a Xiaomi device, so that you know where should you buy one. If you are lazy to search and read, just simply drop by MIUI Forum and post your questions here. Our special team will be glad to answer your doubts.
If your country isn't one of the Xiaomi Global Markets and have limited access to official source, you can still at least double confirm that the specs of Xiaomi device you are going to buy is original.
Can we convert tampered ROM into an official MIUI ROM?
Yes of course. With proper procedures, we can easily change the ROM in our devices into an official MIUI ROM. You can refer to this useful guide for converting into official MIUI ROM:
Specially thanks to @MSB2016 for the efforts in preparing the tutorial!
If you have any doubts on MIUI version, feel free to give your feedback and I will answer you or improve this thread!
Which MIUI version you are using now? |
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