Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 5 Pro was amongst the best selling devices launched in 2018 but it runs on Android 8.1 (Oreo) based MIUI 10 as of now. As per an official announcement, Redmi Note 5 Pro is expected to get Android 9.0 (Pie) in Q1 2019 but the public beta testing for the MIUI Global ROM hasn’t started yet.
Earlier, we tried Resurrection Remix, Oxygen OS 9.0 Port, Pixel Experience and Pixel Experience Extended ROM on Redmi Note 5 Pro, all of which were based on Android Pie. Developers have ported Android One ROM to Redmi Note 5 Pro from Mi A2, we tried it on our unit and here are our impressions,
Performance and Benchmarks:
Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 is still being used in a midrange as even now it’s decent midrange SoC, we obtained AnTuTu score of 120860 which is highest that we saw on any custom ROM on Redmi Note 5 Pro we tested. It’s not just the Antutu score, but we also experienced a smooth and reliable day to day performance and phone didn’t have any problem in handling multitasking. By default, PUBG runs on medium graphics and we didn’t notice any frame drops and stutters during the game.
Software, UI, and Apps:
Android One ROM is ported from Mi A2, it is based on Android 9.0 (Pie) and runs on November 2018 security patch. Out of 64 GB internal storage, 10.54 GB is occupied by the system and users get around 53 GB of free storage. Unlike MIUI, Android One based on Android 9 Pie looks minimal and offers a pure stock Android experience. One of the best things about Android One is its no bloatware approach.
The ROM isn’t feature packed unlike MIUI but users can choose accent colors as per their preference, during our testing we found Dark theme setting broken as can be seen in the following screenshot.
Users can choose between navigation buttons, and pill based Android Pie navigation gestures but the pill based navigation gestures aren’t as refined as MIUI gestures. The ROM also offers Dual 4G VoLTE, during our testing we found Jio and Airtel VoLTE working simultaneously without any issues.
Android Pie features like Adaptive brightness and Digital Wellbeing are also present in this ROM.
Fingerprint Sensor:
The fingerprint works just fine on this ROM and users can add up to five different fingerprints to unlock the phone. The phone takes some time to get unlocked as the fingerprint animation is a little slow compared to stock MIUI Global ROM, but during our usage, it was accurate and reliable.
Camera:
Android One ported ROM comes preloaded with MIUI camera 2.0, if you have used any Xiaomi device in the past, you must be familiar with the app interface and UI.
Cam2API is enabled by default, unlike MIUI. Users can use ported GCam to enjoy Portrait mode and Night sight, a working GCam apk can be downloaded from here, for more ported GCam apks users can visit this website.
Battery Life:
The battery performance on this ROM is similar to stock MIUI ROM, it lasts for a whole day with heavy usage. On moderate usage, the device should last for more than a day. I was able to get 6 hours screen on time on a busy day with 4% charge left on my device and device lasted for 2 days on moderate usage.
It takes about 2 hours to charge the device from 0 to 100%, but 0-60% takes only 1 Hour. It also shows charging information on the lock screen while charging.
Pros
- Fluid day to day performance
- Bloat-free UI
- Cam2API enabled
- Dual 4G VoLTE support
- Decent battery life
Cons
- Swipe fingerprint for notifications is broken, and phone registers a touch if you tap on fingerprint
- Dark theme option doesn’t work.
- Slow Fingerprint unlock animation
- Lack of MIUI like gestures based navigation (Native Android Pie gesture-based navigation is available)
- No face unlock
- Lack of customizations
Requirements
-
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro with an unlocked bootloader – To Unlock the bootloader of your device, apply here.
- Android One port – Download the latest ROM ZIP file from here.
- GApps – Included in ROM, no need to flash manually.
- Redwolf TWRP for Redmi Note 5 Pro – You can download the recovery file from here.
- Bypass Anti-rollback – Download the ZIP file from here.
- ADB software (For Windows) / Android zip file (For Mac)
If you are on a Mac you need to
- Extract the Android zip and place the folder on your Desktop.
- Open Terminal
- Type cd Desktop/Android
- Enter ./ADB-Install-Mac.sh
Follow the procedure mentioned below to flash the ROM on the device,
- Switch off the phone and boot it into Fastboot mode by long pressing Power and Volume down buttons simultaneously.
- Connect your phone to PC by a USB cable, open command prompt on your PC and navigate to the folder where you have downloaded Zip to bypass anti-rollback and Redwolf TWRP Recovery ZIP.
- Type ‘fastboot devices’ in command prompt and check if the device is detected by the system.
- If the system detects the phone, type ‘fastboot flash antirbpass anti-rollback_filename.zip’ and hit enter, now type ‘fastboot flash recovery redwolf_twrp_filename.zip’ and hit enter, the process will be completed in seconds.
- Now long press the Volume up and Power Button to boot the phone in recovery mode.
- It will ask to allow modifications, Slide towards the right to allow Modifications.
- Select ‘Wipe’, and choose ‘Advanced Wipe’, tick on ‘Dalvik / ART Cache’, ‘System’. ‘Data’, ‘Cache’ and then swipe towards the right to Wipe.
- Go back and click on ‘Install’, navigate to the location where you have stored ROM file, it’s better to keep ROM file on SD Card or USB OTG drives. Select the ROM file and swipe towards the right to flash.
- Click on ‘Reboot’, within 10 minutes device will boot with Android One ROM.
Warning disclaimer: Bootloader unlocking and flashing ROM may void the warranty of your devices, and FoneArena is not responsible for any damage or loss caused to your device. The credits for porting the ROM and developing Redwolf Recovery go to their respective developers. Join Whyred Updates on Telegram for more Redmi Note 5 Pro custom ROMs.