Xiaomi has been on a roll, with the launch of its latest mid-range devices, the Redmi Note 5 and the Redmi Note 5 Pro. However, its previous device, the Mi A1 is still preferred by many, thanks to the stock Android experience it offers. While being part of the Android One initiative, the device currently runs on Android Oreo 8.0. This is indeed disappointing, considering the latest version of Android is 8.1, and considering the device is an Android One device, users did expect it to be running on the latest variant. Nonetheless, thanks to third-party development, it seems as if the latest version of Android is finally available on Mi A1.
The kernel sources for the Mi A1 were recently released, which came in as a major boost for the development scene. Now, making use of those kernel sources, XDA Senior Member abhishek987 has released an unofficial build of LineageOS 15.1 (based on Android 8.1 Oreo) for the Xiaomi Mi A1. While the build is currently unofficial, early adopters report the ROM to be fairly stable.
As stated by the developer himself, the majority of the features on the device work, including RIL, fingerprint sensor, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, camera, video recording, VoLTE, and more. However, a certain number of users have reported issues with double-tap to wake and Live Display.
In case you’re interested in trying out the ROM on your device, unlock your device’s bootloader and install a custom recovery, such as TWRP. Then, simply download the ROM from here as well as the Gapps package to your device. Now, wipe data and cache, and flash the ROM and the Gapps file. Additionally, users can also download and flash Magisk to get root access.
Despite being the initial release, the ROM seems to be quite stable for use as a daily driver. Thanks to the kernel sources being released by Xiaomi, we expect plenty of new and stable ROMs to grace the Mi A1. If you’re a Mi A1 owner, let us know about your favorite custom ROM in the comments down below.
