How to Install Official TWRP Recovery on Xiaomi Mi 5 and Root it

Xiaomi Mi 5 (codename: Gemini) was launched in February 2016. The phone came out of the box with Android 6.0 Marshmallow and later upgraded to Android 7.0 Nougat. Recently this device has received official TWRP recovery support. So, on this page, we will guide you to install the TWRP Recovery on Xiaomi Mi 5. This guide contains written instructions and a video tutorial to help you install it quickly. Make sure to download the required files and then jump straight into instructions on installing TWRP Recovery and Rooting your Xiaomi Mi 5.

Remember that before heading over to the process, you will need to unlock the device bootloader first. As smartphone OEMs provide a locked bootloader to their devices due to some security concerns, to install any third-party file, you will need to unlock the bootloader. Then you can install TWRP Custom Recovery on your Xiaomi Mi 5 device and root. The TWRP Recovery can also take Nandroid backups, restore, wipe out system/data/cache, and more.

Xiaomi Mi 5 features a 5.15 inches IPS LCD display with a screen resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels. The device is powered by Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820 (14 nm) processor under Adreno 530 GPU. The handset packs 32/64/128GB variant with 3/4GB of RAM. Xiaomi Mi 5 sports a Single rear camera with 16MP camera and Single Selfie camera with 4MP depth camera. The smartphone is running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, upgradable to Android 8.0 Oreo under MIUI 10 software package and backed by 3000 mAh battery. It has a fingerprint reader on the front.

TWRP Recovery and its Advantages

Team Win Recovery Project is an open-source software custom recovery image for Android-based devices. It provides a touchscreen-enabled interface that allows users to install third-party firmware and back up the current system which is functions often unsupported by stock recovery images. – WikiPedia

How to Install Official TWRP Recovery on Xiaomi Mi 5 (gemini)

Before going to the TWRP installation process, make sure to follow all the pre-requirements mentioned below properly.

Pre-Requirements:

• The file and guide are supported for the Xiaomi Mi 5 (gemini) model only. Don’t try it on other devices.
• Xiaomi Mi 5 bootloader should be unlocked.
• A PC/Laptop and a USB cable are required for this process.
• Make sure to take a Full Backup of Device Data (No Root).
• Charge your device battery to full.
• Download All Required Files:
  • No Verity opt Encrypt
  • Download SuperSU Zip – For root using SuperSU
  • Download Magisk Zip – For root using Magisk
  • USB Drivers: Xiaomi USB Drivers | Qualcomm
  • Download ADB and Fastboot and install it on your PC

TWRP Recovery Details

Method: ADB and Fastboot Tool

After downloading all the required files, drivers, and tools, follow the installation process.

• First of all, enable the Developer Options and USB Debugging mode on your device.
• Head over to the device Settings > System > About Phone > then tap on the Build Number for seven times to enable Developer options mode.
• Now, go to the Developer options in the Settings menu and turn on the toggle to enable USB debugging.
• Next, open the ADB & Fastboot folder on your computer. Then press and hold the Shift key and right mouse click to open the command window.
• Turn off your device > Press and hold the Volume Up + Power button together for a few seconds to enter into Fastboot mode.
• Connect your device with the PC via a USB cable and type the following code on the command windows and hit enter:

adb reboot bootloader

• Now, your device is connected successfully as a fastboot device.
• Type the following command and hit enter to check the fastboot device connected or not:

fastboot devices

• Now, in order to install TWRP Recovery on your phone, type the following command and press enter:

fastboot flash recovery twrpname.img

• To just boot, you can use the command fastboot boot twrpname.img
• That’s it. You’ve successfully installed the TWRP Recovery on the Xiaomi Mi 5 device. Now, you have to flash the Root.

What is Root?

Smartphone Rooting is the unofficial way to enable an administrator or superuser access to your device system and subsystem. Therefore, the user can easily tweak, change, edit, or delete system files and apps easily.

With the help of rooting, you can uninstall bloatware, increase device performance, reduce battery draining, install Xposed modules, and more. However, smartphone rooting will void the device warranty and you may not get software OTA updates anymore. Improper way of rooting can also brick your device easily. Therefore, make sure to follow the guide properly.

The advantage of Rooting:

• You can get access to all files on your Xiaomi Mi 5, even the files which present in the root directory of your phone.
• You can increase the performance of your Xiaomi Mi 5 by overclocking.
• By rooting you can increase battery life by underclocking Xiaomi Mi 5.
• Uninstall Bloatware on Xiaomi Mi 5.
• You can block Ads on any Android applications such as Youtube and other game-related applications.

Also Read: Top 5 Adblock Plus Alternatives for Android

• By Rooting Xiaomi Mi 5, you can View, Edit, or Delete any system file inside the root directory.
• You can install the Xposed Framework and many Xposed module support.

Steps to Root Xiaomi Mi 5

Guide to Root Xiaomi Mi 5 via SuperSU

Guide to Root Xiaomi Mi 5 via Magisk

We assume that this full-depth installation guide will be helpful to you. For any queries, feel free to ask in the comments below.