A simple update guide for xiaomi M2

[hadron]

Some people are having trouble with updating their Xiaomi M2 so decided to share an update procedure.

Please read this full post carefully along with notes at the end please. If you have questions/problems then please at least read the posts at the first page of this thread.

First about the xiaomi Phone partition structure

This phone unlike other phones, have two system partitions (System 1 and system 2) but it uses the same user data and user installed applications for both partitions. So it means for both systems, you just need to install the application only once and it will be available in both partitions along with application data.​

There are two methods to update the M2 to new ROM.

a)- Using the updater App​

b)- Using the pre-installed Recovery

Always backup your data before updating. You can use MIUI Backup application, its really great app already installed on all MIUI ROMs.


a) Using Updater App
To use this method

1. Download the ROM zip file from ROM thread http://xiaomi.eu/community/link-forums/roms.73/
2. Put it on your SDCard (yes Virtual)
3. Open the App named Updater -> press the menu key and select installation pack.
4. Then select the ROM zip file you want to install.
5. It will install the ROM and will ask if you want to reboot to new system.

NOTE1:as this method is very easy, it has one disadvantage!! As M2 have two system partitions it can’t update the current system partition. It always updates the other partition i.e. if you are currently booted in system1 then it will update system 2 and if you are in system 2 then it will update system1. You can also install gapp zip in same way by selecting gapp zip file as installation pack (Gapps are not needed with MIUIandroid release - already included)

NOTE2: It’s the only way to update the system 2 partition.


b) Using pre-installed Recovery
For this method

1. Download the ROM zip file from ROM thread http://miuiandroid.com/community/forums/miui-weekly-rom-releases.103/
2. Rename the downloaded ROM zip file as “update.zip” and put it on the root of SDCard (virtual)
3. Reboot to recovery (power off and then use Volume up + power button, release the buttons when you see MI logo),
4. Select the language ,
5. Select “install update.zip to system ONE”,
6. Select Yes to confirm ,
7. After completion reboot.
8. Repeat this method to install Gapps.zip but again you have to put gapp zip in the root of SDcard and rename it as “update.zip” (Gapps are not needed with MIUIandroid release - already included)

Note:This method always updates the System One!! It can’t be used to update the system 2 partition.
Please check this thread for Complete list of Mi-2 Official ROMs its in English.

All the information is learned from this forum and official xiaomi Chinese web site.

 

[Babbal]

Thanks for collecting info from various sources/posts and combining it in one thread.
Ergo, following a) Using Updater App i will have installed ROM (for instance, latest version from this forum which allow me rooting permisssion) on System Two which mean i will have to reboot (from MI recovery) from System Two, right?
On the System One i will have previous version, which in my caise is stable MIUI version came with MI2.

I guess, every restart will start System Two version from now on

After that I can follow tutorial thread for upgrading MIUI: http://miuiandroid.com/community/threads/how-to-update-upgrade-miui.15424/

At same time, i could allways go back to previous version installed on system One, right?

Anyway, thanks for effort

 

[hadron]

Ergo, following a) Using Updater App i will have installed ROM (for instance, latest version from this forum which allow me rooting permisssion) on System Two which mean i will have to reboot (from MI recovery) from System Two, right?
On the System One i will have previous version, which in my caise is stable MIUI version came with MI2.
I guess, every restart will start System Two version from now on
After that I can follow tutorial thread for upgrading MIUI: http://miuiandroid.com/community/threads/how-to-update-upgrade-miui.15424/
At same time, i could allways go back to previous version installed on system One, right?
Anyway, thanks for effort

1. Yes u will reboot from system 2 always unless you change it !!! and u can change it by rebooting to recovery and then selecting the reboot option . then it will give you the option from which partition you want to reboot . so if you select system one for example then from now on it will keep rebooting from system 2 unless you change it from recovery again. acutually recovery set the default boot partition.

2. as for the tutorial you mentioned, it can not update to system two . and it is for the devices which have CWM recovery not for MI2.

From my experience you can't use two ROMs at same time from two different Forums (Origional Chinese version and translated version) and boot from any of them ! data is not cosistent . Chinese Roms are Odexed but This forum ROMs are Deodexed i think thats the problem. So you have to install both ROMs from same Source (Chinese or MIUIandroid) version can be different (old and new)
1
System One - Origional Chinese (any date version)
System Two - Origional Chinese (any date version)
No problem both are useable
2
System One - Origional Chinese (any date version)
System Two - MIUIandroid (any date version)
Chinese version will have problem Once you rebooted to MIUIandroid (you can make chinese useable by wiping all data in recovery )

3
System One - MIUIandroid (any date version)
System Two - Origional Chinese (any date version)
Chinese version will have problem Once you rebooted to MIUIandroid (you can make chinese useable by wiping all data in recovery )
4
System One - MIUIandroid (any date version)
System Two - MIUIandroid (any date version)
No problem both are useable


hope it will help !

 

[Babbal]

1.

hope it will help !

More then you know
Was afraid of chinese setup/language for doing something wrong

 

[grondinm]

thank you for this. Xiaomi should really make it so you can select what partition to install to in recovery. Also i though the Mi2 zip already had gapps included.

 

[hadron]

thank you for this. Xiaomi should really make it so you can select what partition to install to in recovery. Also i though the Mi2 zip already had gapps included.

Yes gapps have to be installed separately
Edit: MI1 and MI2 miuiandroid ROMs already have the Gapps.
Sent from my Xiaomi M2

 

[iBotPeaches]

Yes gapps have to be installed separately

Sent from my Xiaomi M2

Not on Mi2 or mi

Sent from my MI 2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[hadron]

Not on Mi2 or mi

Sent from my MI 2 using Tapatalk 2

Thanks for correction

 

[Babbal]

Hadron, today I updated originally installed JLB3.0 (System one) to JLB5.0. (System two)

Few minutes ago i installed 2.12.7 from this forum, and it ended up on System One.
Because of that, i was able to get root permission.

Wanted to check recovery mode with ROM Manager, and rebooted my phone to recovery. But instead getting recovery screen with NO/YES options (like in iBotPeaches tutorial thread), I ended up with MI Recovery 2.0.0.(as before).

So my question is do i need to wipe all data or installing next version (automaticly to different System) will overwrite previous Chinese version?

 

[hadron]

Hadron, today I updated originally installed JLB3.0 (System one) to JLB5.0. (System two)

Few minutes ago i installed 2.12.7 from this forum, and it ended up on System One.
Because of that, i was able to get root permission.

Wanted to check recovery mode with ROM Manager, and rebooted my phone to recovery. But instead getting recovery screen with NO/YES options (like in iBotPeaches tutorial thread), I ended up with MI Recovery 2.0.0.(as before).

So my question is do i need to wipe all data or installing next version (automaticly to different System) will overwrite previous Chinese version?

Yes it will be updated. no need to data wip. just wipe cache
Unless some one made CWM recovery for Mi2 we have to use MiRecovery. You will not get that screen. Its not valid for Mi2. Screen shots are from CWM recovery.

 

[peppe1503]

Hello everyone, sorry if I offer a question a bit stupid,
I am Italian, I bought the phone Xiaomi m2, it is coming, and I wanted to ask how do I install the Italian language, I ask you kindly to help me step by step 'cause I do not understand much, I'm a beginner. I do the root? how do you? or there is no 'need.
thank you in advance, as always very kind

 

[Babbal]

Peppe, Im sure somebody will answer you (not me cause I dont use language pack) but, in mean time, you might check this site:
http://miui.nexus-lab.com/site/
...if you didnt check it so far

 

[hadron]

Hello everyone, sorry if I offer a question a bit stupid,
I am Italian, I bought the phone Xiaomi m2, it is coming, and I wanted to ask how do I install the Italian language, I ask you kindly to help me step by step 'cause I do not understand much, I'm a beginner. I do the root? how do you? or there is no 'need.
thank you in advance, as always very kind

1. First install the latest ROM for mi 2 from this forum. Then install the multi Lang pack with out wiping any data. Follow the first post then if you have problems ask here.
2 it's already rooted. So no need.
hadron

Sent from my Xiaomi M2

 

[g0mib0y]

I was wondering what the function with the two partitions is? Is it possible to just have one partition? I am using the dev ROM from the Chinese forum since this is what I started using and was wondering how I would go about using this forums ROM instead. Also, how would I go about doing a clean install on the phone, like format all wipe & partitions etc?

 

[Babbal]

Just one question, even though subject might be for different thread...

Default ROM JLB3.0 i got with MI2, changed to 2.12.7 from this site.

Today i updated to 2.12.21.

Since those ROMs supposed to be english translated, etc,etc....i am curious why do i get this on chinese, under "share system update info":

 

[hadron]

Just one question, even though subject might be for different thread...

Default ROM JLB3.0 i got with MI2, changed to 2.12.7 from this site.

Today i updated to 2.12.21.

Since those ROMs supposed to be english translated, etc,etc....i am curious why do i get this on chinese, under "share system update info":

Strange! Even I am on original Chinese ROM and it's in English.

hadron

Sent from my Xiaomi M2

 

[davidetrivella]

Hello, sorry, some information when I change rom, GJB from 5.0 to miuiandroid 2:12:21 and 'better format the internal SD and then wipe before putting 12.02.21? not to have problems? thanks

 

[davidetrivella]

With the galaxy s2 cleaned the internal SD and then wipe to have a clear situation, then flesh the new rom
I want to avoid problems between China and the miuiandroid rom rom
Could this be the problem of compatibility 'with games such as asphalt 7?

 

[hadron]

Hello, sorry, some information when I change rom, GJB from 5.0 to miuiandroid 2:12:21 and 'better format the internal SD and then wipe before putting 12.02.21? not to have problems? thanks

Internal sdcard is not a problem and you don't need to clean it. It's your choice if you want to do it. Important thing is to clean data partition . Wipe all data from recovery. And it's ok . Maybe in some special case when sdcard is corrupted then its required to format.

hadron

Sent from my Xiaomi M2

 

[Markus Leo]

According to the info stated in the OP, user data will be shared across the 2 partitions. So does this mean that both partitions have to run the same version of Android for all apps to work?

Also, which method of updating do you guys recommend? The updater one or the manual recovery one?

So, can I safely say that the Mi-2 is actually dual-booting two ROMs? Will the phone have 2 ROMs by default when it's first bought, in factory condition?

 

[hadron]

According to the info stated in the OP, user data will be shared across the 2 partitions. So does this mean that both partitions have to run the same version of Android for all apps to work?

Also, which method of updating do you guys recommend? The updater one or the manual recovery one?

So, can I safely say that the Mi-2 is actually dual-booting two ROMs? Will the phone have 2 ROMs by default when it's first bought, in factory condition?

1. Yes both partition will have the same ROM when you first buy the phone
2. Both method are OK but from recovery you cant update the system 2 partition and updater method always update other system partition. So depending on your situation you can choose any one.
3. My experience is that if you want to use both ROMs alternatively then both partitions should have the same version of the ROM. Then transition from one partition to other is more stable. But you can put any ROM on 2nd partition problem is then you have to clear all user data from recovery when you want to use 2nd ROM.

hadron

 

[Markus Leo]

Thanks for the quick reply!

I guess I'll leave the stock China ROM in Partition 1 and the MIUIAndroid ROM in Partition 2. If that's so, to switch from Partition 1 to Partition 2, I just need to boot into recovery and reboot into Partition 2 right?

I would personally prefer the updater method. For a beginner like me, I guess it's better to start off with a simpler method... I really appreciate Xiaomi for providing two system partitions, so I can use two different ROMs without having to install apps on each of them manually...

But just to clarify, according to the weekly update post on 21/12/12, Gapps aren't included anymore, so I have to flash them manually right? Seems like Friday will become my favourite day soon...

 

[sedat8879]

dude. is there a any program for imei changing. ı bought xiaomi m2 from ıbuygou.com. but ı cant use the phone wıth stock ımei. there is a huge tax about my phone. ı dont wanna pay extra 150 dolar. what must ı do.

 

[x2tharay]

How to Update In DUCTH/NL

download de laatse rom versie van deze website
http://miuiandroid.com/community/forums/miui-weekly-rom-releases.103/
kies je mi2 (aries) en download het bestand zet m op de hoofdmap van je telefoon

download het multitaalpakket van je telefoon
http://miuiandroid.com/community/forums/news/ (zelfde versie als hierboven)

zet m in de hoofdmap (root ) van je telefoon

Verander het eerste bestand (de grootste) in update.zip (geen hoofdletters!)

Dan ga je via de telefoon naar het programma updater en kies menu en selecteer
restart recovery

dit kun je ook doen als je telefoon uitzet en power + volume omhoog ingedrukt houd tot Mi in je scherm komt.

In het menutje wat je dan ziet (recoverymodus) kies je engels met de volumeknoppen en selecteer je met de power knop.

Dan kies je install update.zip to system one en w8 tot hij klaar is.
hiermee is de laatste update op je telefoon. alleen engels dus.

herstart naar system one

en vervolgens verwijder je het update.zip bestand en hernoem je het taalpakket bestand naar update.zip

herhaal de stappen hierboven weer.
en herstart weer naar systeem one

Nu ben je geupdate en kan je alle talen in het menu selekteren!!

Met dank aan.. http://miuiandroid.com , http://miuiandroid.com/community/members/markhuk.3/ ,
http://miuiandroid.com/community/members/ingbrzy.55523/ and http://miuiandroid.com/community/members/hadron.72526/

SUCCES!

 

[Doug Wee]

Hi, am having trouble now with updating my new xiaomi m2, hope someone can help...

My current build number is 2.11.30, and I am trying to update to 2.12.28, which is the latest version, as Google play store is giving me trouble with downloading apps.

So I tried method b) Using pre-installed Recovery, because I'm unable to find for the Updater app. After downloading the ROM zip file (275 mb) and renaming it to update.zip and placing it in the root folder of the virtual SD card, I then proceeded to boot into recovery and only saw these options: reboot system now, apply update from sdcard, apply update from cache, wipe data/factory reset, backup user data, and restore user data. From there, I went to apply update from sdcard, and selected the update.zip. However, I got Error: Invalid OTA package, missing scatter. Update.zip is not correct. Installation aborted. Can someone please advise? There wasn't any "install/reboot system 1/2 at all....