Recently, we did a guide for the Xiaomi Redmi 1s explaning how you could root the smartphone on the stock ROM (most custom ROMs come rooted by default). My encounter with the stock MiUi on the phone lasted really short (< 3 hours) as I flashed a custom rom on the first day itself. I did so because I had heard about MiUi's notoriety for heating issues on Redmi 1S. In order to flash a custom rom, as well as to take full nandroid backups of the device, one needs to flash a custom recovery on their Android device. This guide will help you on doing the same on your Xiaomi Redmi 1S.
In case of less popular devices, we often have limited choice when it comes to choosing a custom recovery. But as the Redmi 1S has sold in large numbers, it is getting its fair share of development work. Redmi 1S users can choose to install Clockworkmod Recovery (popularly abbreviated as CWM), Team Win Recovery Project (aka TWRP recovery) or Philz Recovery.
In case of less popular devices, we often have limited choice when it comes to choosing a custom recovery. But as the Redmi 1S has sold in large numbers, it is getting its fair share of development work. Redmi 1S users can choose to install Clockworkmod Recovery (popularly abbreviated as CWM), Team Win Recovery Project (aka TWRP recovery) or Philz Recovery.
Requirements:
- Xiaomi Redmi 1S (Seriously, you shouldn't follow this guide without one. Unless you want to corrupt the recvoery mode of whatever other Android device you end up trying this tut on)
- Internet connection
- PC (optionally)
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| Redmi 1s running TWRP recovery, with a yellow Lumia-ish back cover bought from a local store. Thanks to Manish Pahuja for letting me capture his Redmi 1s with my Redmi 1s. |
Decide which recovery you're going to flash:
I have written an article specially to help you decide on which one's better here (compares TWRP and CWM recovery). Though I usually prefer CWM over TWRP, in the case of Redmi 1S, I'll suggest you to go for TWRP as it is the most stable recovery around. CWM for Redmi 1s has a few major bugs right now - like OTG and internal memory can't be mounted. TWRP, on the other hand, is free from all such issues, and even supports OTG and backup encryption.
Downloads:
- TWRP 2.8.1.0 (If you have a PC | If you don't have a PC | Locate latest TWRP image here)
- CWM 6.0.3.6 (If you have a PC | If you don't have a PC | Locate latest CWM image here)
- Philz 6.57.9 (If you have a PC | If you don't have a PC | Locate latest Philz image here)
How to flash Custom Recovery on Redmi 1S without PC (using recovery)
- Download the if you don't have a pc link of whichever custom recovery you want to flash, from the downloads section above.
- By default, the files that you download are stored in the Download folder on your phone's internal storage. Transfer the zip file from there to the root of your internal storage and rename it to update.zip (if it isn't already named so). Root of your internal storage means outside any folders.
- Power off your Redmi 1S and once it shuts down, press and hold Volume Up + Power keys together, till your phone boots into Recovery mode.
- Select the install update.zip to system option (or its equivalent) in the recovery qnd confirm your action.
- When the flashing completes, select Reboot option.
- Repeat step 3 once your phone reboots and you should boot into your just installed custom recovery.
How to flash Custom Recovery on Redmi 1S with PC (using Fastboot)
- Set up ADB and Fastboot on your computer.
- Enable USB Debugging on your phone. You can do so from Settings > Developer Options. (If Developer Options option doesn't appear, go to Settings > About Phone and tap the Build Number field 7 times.)
- Power off your phone. Press Power + Volume Down button simultaneously till your phone boots up in Fastboot mode. Once in Fastboot mode, connect your phone to your PC.
- Download the if you have a pc link of whichever custom recovery you want to flash, from the downloads section above.
- Transfer the .img file that you downloaded in the previous step, rename it to recovery.img and copy it to the folder in which your adb and fastboot are present. Search for fastboot.exe on your pc to locate those files. (In case of Philz recovery, you will download a .zip file, not a .img one. You'll have to first extract the recovery.img from this zip file and then complete this step.)
- In the folder where you have your fastboot.exe file, press and hold the shift button and then right click anywhere within the file explorer. Select the Open command window here option.
- In the command window that opens, give the command:fastboot devicesIf you get a non-empty list of devices attached, proceed to the next step. Otherwise, install drivers for your phone properly, or try connecting your phone to a different USB port.
- Finally, in the same command prompt window, issue the command:fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
If your recovery file isn't named recovery.img, replace the recovery.img in the command above with the name of the file. - Once the recovery partition is successfully flashed, give the command:
fastboot rebootto reboot your phone. Otherwise, disconnect the phone, pull out your battery, reinsert it and boot normally.
You can boot into your newly flashed recovery by powering off your device and then pressing and holding Volume Up + Power key when booting it up.
Let us know if you face any difficulties in follwowing the instructions above. We just might be able to sort out your problem.
 - CWM / TWRP / Philz){kind=link}