Download Custom Firmware for Mi Mix 2S (polaris)

Let’s take a look at the most interesting unofficial ROMs for Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S device. Below you’ll find latest Android 9.X and Android 8.X ROMs.

Android 9.X Custom ROMs

LineageOS 16 UNOFFICIAL for Mi Mix 2S

Status: Beta | Developer: bgcngm | Download link

How to install:

1. Install MIUI Pie, recommended version is 8.9.20.
2. Install TWRP Custom Recovery on your device.
3. Wipe system/cache/dalvik and data partitions. It’s recommended to “format data” as well.
4. Flash downloaded ROM and install gapps (arm64-9.0) if needed.
5. Optionally you can flash Magisk if you need root.
6. Reboot into system.

GooglePixelROM or Mi Mix 2S

Android 9.0.0_r8 | Status: Beta | Based on AOSP | Developer: argraur | GitLab | XDA Thread

1. Install TWRP Custom Recovery, v.8 or above is required.
2. Wipe system/data/cache/dalvik partitions. Then “format data”. After data format you’ll need to reboot the recovery.
3. Flash downloaded .zip archive.
4. Reboot into system for the first time.

Pay attention! Do not lock the screen on the first startup, otherwise you can’t unlock it further. The solution is simple, after the first system startup go to “Settings” > “Screen” > “Additional” > “Automatic Screen Lock” and turn-off “Always enabled” option.

Also you can fix other issues by flashing additional patches.

Android 8.X Custom ROMs

PixelExperience for Mi Mix 2S

Android 8.1 | Status: Beta | Based on AOSP | Developer: YazumiWuHung | XDA Thread

MoKee OpenSource Project for Mi Mix 2S

Android 8.1 (MK81.0) | Status: nightly | Based on AOSP | Developer: bai_wood | XDA Thread | Download

How to install:

1. Install MIUI Oreo ROM, 9.6.4.0 version is preferable.
2. Install TWRP.
3. Wipe system/data/cache/dalvik partitions. Then “format data”.
4. Flash downloaded ROM, optionally install Gapps and Magisk.
5. Reboot into system.

LineageOS 15.1 UNOFFICIAL for Mi Mix 2S

Android 8.1 | Status: Test | Developer: bgcngm | Download

Resurrection Remix OS Unofficial for Mi Mix 2S

Android 8.1 (MK81.0) | Status: nightly | Based on AOSP | Developer: 8224Freak | XDA Thread | Download

How to install:

1. Flash MIUI 10.0.2.0 Global ROM because it supports the correct vendor.
2. Download and extract unpacked “vendor”.
3. Wipe system/data/cache/dalvik partitions in TWRP. Then “format data”.
4. Flash patched “vendor” to “vendor” partition.
5. Now you flash ROM and optionally install Gapps & Magisk.

If you’ll need to update the firmware, then just wipe “Cache” and “Dalvik” partitions, no need to install patched vendor once again.

Patched vendor file can be found here http://luis-builds.de/downloads/lineageos/rr/Xiaomi_Mi_Mix_2S_(polaris)/Firmware/

Download TWRP Unofficial for Mi Mix 2S

Download v11: twrp-3.2.3-0-polaris-unofficial-v11.img

Since the MIUI10 8.7.16 version, only TWRP v7 and above will work. On Android 9.0 and MIUI Global 10.0.2.0 only TWRP v11 works fine.

More information can be found on main XDA thread.

The post Best Custom ROMs for Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S appeared first on Xiaomi Firmware.

Some of the new features Android P promises include:

• Enhanced security: Background apps will not access a phone’s camera or microphone. Also, the OS will prevent apps from reading call logs unless you explicitly allow them to.
• Improved call features: Call blocking will become a default, better integrated feature in the OS. Phones will produce a tone when you activate call recording to support lawful call recording.
• Better management of non-responsive apps: Apps that become non-responsive will quit silently. They will no longer interrupt your usage with invasive dialogs.
• Other notable improvements: Screenshot editing, gesture controls, and support for emoji 11.0

Despite participating in Project Treble, Xiaomi has hesitated to release the latest Android version over the air (OTA). Because the P beta firmware for Mi Mix 2S is available online, however, you can test it by using the fastboot method.

So, to install Android P, you need to grab these files first.

1. Android P beta firmware: global_image_8.5.3.tgz
2. MIUI Flashing tool: MiFlashTool

You’ll also need to unlock the Mi Mix 2S bootloader. If you’ve not done it yet, apply for unlock permissions here.

Flash Android P beta on Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S

You’ll need a PC for this exercise. So, turn it on and follow the steps below.

1. Extract the Andoid firmware file (with the suffix: .tgz) you downloaded earlier and save it on the PC.
2. Extract the flash tool and install it on the computer.
3. Run the flash tool’s executable file called MiFlash.exe
4. Go back to the folder where you extracted the firmware file and note its address path
5. Enter this path in the flash tool’s address bar
6. Reboot your phone in fastboot mode. First, switch off the phone. Then, press the power button while pressing the volume buttons to enter this mode.
7. Connect your Mi Mix 2S to the computer using a USB cable
8. Refresh the flash tool by clicking on its yellow button
9. If the tool recognizes your phone, start flashing by pressing the tool’s red button
10. Wait for the flash tool to finish installing the Android P firmware. You should see a green bar run to show the installation progress.
11. When the flashing concludes, your phone should reboot

You may have noticed that I didn’t suggest the recovery method for installing Android P beta. The primary reason why the recovery approach may fail is because MIUI’s recovery mechanism needs zip files to update the ROM. Yet, the Android P firmware is in a .tgz format.

With that said, you need to note that Android P is still in development. You should thus not expect to use the beta OS as a daily driver. Functions like photo editing, voice search, and voicemail are buggy or unusable at times.

If you’ve managed to install Android P beta on your Mi Mix 2S, share your experiences in the comments section. What would you like to see improvements on? Which features please you the most?

The post How to fastboot Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S with Android P beta appeared first on Xiaomi Firmware.

The phone’s aggressive noise cancellation may be causing this. And no, the upcoming MIUI 10 update will not fix this. See, the Mi A1, for example, also suffers from this problem even though it’s not MIUI-based.

Listen to the audio recordings below.

(Rec. 1 comes from a desktop mic while Rec. 2 from Mi Mix 2S. And they’ve all recorded from the same distance. In this exercise, I used the Xiaomi Recorder. You’ll find the app in your phone’s Tools folder.)

Rec. 1:

Rec. 2:

Notice the difference? Rec. 2 sounds like its playing from behind a soundproofing foam.

How to increase quality of audio recordings on Mi Mix 2S

So, let’s face it — Xiaomi installed microphones in its devices that are just not capable of handling loud, saturated aural environments.

Fortunately, there are two ways to workaround this shortcoming. One is lengthy (but it doesn’t need root permissions). The shorter one, however, needs root.

Workaround 1

I should warn you in advance: this method forces you to synchronize the audio with a video using a third-party tool. So, if you’re not interested in doing some considerably involving editing every time you wish to record a scene head on to Workaround #2.

Anyways; this how you should go about it:

1. Install an audio recording app from Google Play. I suggest Hi-Q MP3 Voice Recorder (Free).
2. Install a full-featured camera app, like Open Camera — Free.
3. To record a scene, use the camera while it’s in mute (check under its settings)
4. Simultaneously, capture the scene’s audio using the Hi-Q recorder. Recommended settings: set the gain to +12db and change the mic settings to unprocessed raw.
5. Transfer the two files (a mute video and high-gain audio) to an editing tool for synchronization. You may use KineMaster for this. It’s a full-featured video editor.
6. Enjoy the video with high-quality, loud audio.

Note: this workaround will work for all ROMS.

Workaround 2

This method requires that you root your Mi Mix 2S first.

With that out of the way, execute the steps below.

1. Download these two files: media_profiles_vendor.xml and mixer_paths_tasha.xml. You’ll use these two to replace your phones’ media profiles and mixer paths files.
2. Using a root explorer (say, ES File Explorer File Manager) find files with the prefixes: media_profile and media_paths in the folder System/vendor/etc.
3. Delete these files.
4. Replace the deleted files with the two that you downloaded in step 1.
5. Assign the rw- r-- r-- permissions to both files.
6. Find your phone’s build.prop file in the folder /System/.
7. Change its properties to read as I’ve shown below: (If a line does not exist already, just add it to the file.)

   use.voice.path.for.pcm.voip=true
   persist.vendor.audio.fluence.voicerec=true
   persist.vendor.audio.ras.enabled=true
   ro.vendor.audio.sdk.fluencetype=none
   ro.vendor.audio.sdk.ssr=true
   vendor.audio.dolby.ds2.enabled=true
   vendor.audio.dolby.ds2.hardbypass=true
   vendor.audio.hw.aac.encoder=true
   vendor.audio_hal.period.size=192

8. Restart your phone and test the audio quality of recordings.

What if the audio quality is still poor after the workaround?

If the audio is still muffled, use the root explorer to find the mixer_path_tasha.xml file.

Edit the following lines:

<ctl name="DEC5 Volume" value="xx" />
<ctl name="DEC6 Volume" value="yy" />

Replace xx and yy with higher values.

Restart and test the audio. You can set the DEC5 Volume and DEC6 Volume values as high as you see fit.

Yet, this workaround doesn’t persist across updates. So, you’ll have to redo all the steps above to reclaim the improved audio recording quality.

Note: this workaround will work for stock ROMS only.

Which workaround worked best for you? Have you noticed an improvement in the audio quality? Share your experience in the comments section.

The post Get rid of the poor audio in Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S recordings appeared first on Xiaomi Firmware.