Following the huge success of last year’s Mi A1, Xiaomi has launched yet another Android One device called the Mi A2. It comes in two variants, viz, Xiaomi Mi A2, and the Mi A2 Lite. The original A2 comes with Snapdragon 660 SOC and the Lite variant comes with Snapdragon 635 with RAM ranging up to 6 GB and ROM up to 128 GB. Now, the first (unofficial) TWRP recovery build is available for Xiaomi Mi A2 device. You can now proceed to root Mi A2 with latest Magisk Manager.
This guide will enable you to root Xiaomi Mi A2 on latest Android One 8.1 Oreo firmware update. However, due to the device’s A/B partitioning system, you will need to issue special commands through Fastboot mode. We will be going through the complete root procedure for your Mi A2 and A2 Lite in the step by step rooting guide for Mi A2.
Step 1: Requirements to root Xiaomi Mi A2 (Lite)
- Enable Developer options. To do so, go to Settings> About Phone> Tap on the Build Number several times until you get a new Developer Options in the Settings.
- Now go to Settings>Developer Options and Enable OEM Unlock. This is an important step. Otherwise, the fastboot commands won’t work.
- Enable USB Debugging and Advanced Reboot on your device. Open Developer Options and enable USB Debugging from there. Trust the connection by allowing it when you connect it to your PC for the first time.
- Install quick ADB and Fastboot drivers on your PC. Download the quick ADB Installer for Windows, Mac OS, Linux, and Chrome OS.
- Make sure you have latest device drivers setup on your PC for a better connection. Get it from the official page of Google.
Download TWRP for Xiaomi Mi A2 and A2 Lite
Courtesy of developer, Jasmine and the TWRP post by TingyiChen, the TWRP is now available for Xiaomi Mi A2 and the installation procedure is also available.
- Download TWRP recovery from here
- Official TWRP will be updated here
- Flash Magisk 16.7+ to Root Mi A2 → Download
Currently, TWRP recovery for only Xiaomi Mi A2 is available for download. We will update the Mi A2 Lite recovery once available.
Warning and notes: Unlocking bootloader, rooting, or installing TWRP may void your device’s warranty. Even though the instructions provided below have been tested on other devices, you should still be cautious about it. Readers discretion is advised.
Step 2: Unlock Bootloader on Xiaomi Mi A2 (Lite)
Unlocking Bootloader leads to factory reset! So backup! This is the first step towards Android development and unlocks various developmental features on your phone.
Step 1: Connect your Android device to the PC and trust the connection- tap Yes on “Always allow from this computer” when you plug in the device into PC for the first time.
Step 2: If you have installed the quick ADB installer, launch a command prompt or terminal window anywhere. To do so, just click the address bar and type cmd and press Enter key or hold the shift key on the keyboard and right-click on an empty space and select “Open command window here” option to launch a cmd window.
Step 3: Now reboot into the bootloader, issue the following commands. (If ADB does not detect your device try switching your phone’s USB mode from Charging to MTP or PTP.)
Step 4: Once in the Bootloader mode or Fastboot mode, keep the device connected. Issue the following Fastboot command to unlock the Bootloader.
fastboot oem unlock
Step 5: Once you get to the unlock confirmation screen on your Android device, Press Volume Up button and hit the Power button to select it. Your bootloader unlocking process will begin may take a couple of minutes.
Step 6: Once the bootloader has been unlocked, your device will reboot. If it gets into bootloader mode again, reboot into system by issuing the following command:
fastboot reboot
You should get a success message. Re-check the status of the Bootloader screen. See if it has been Unlocked. You may now proceed TWRP installation.
Step 3: Install TWRP Recovery and Root Xiaomi Mi A2 (Lite)
Important! Do not proceed unless you have unlocked the Bootloader! Note: If you accidentally flash TWRP to your device using Fastboot instead of temporarily booting the image, you will need to download the latest factory image for your device and re-flash the boot image.
For detailed tutorial on how to install TWRP on any other Android phone, visit this tutorial – How to install TWRP on any Android device.
The procedure is similar to installing TWRP on most other Android phones. However, due to A/B partitioning Fastboot commands have changed a little. To install TWRP, first, we will be booting the TWRP image and then flashing Magisk.
Step 1: Download the TWRP recovery and latest Magisk zip file from above. Transfer TWRP recovery to PC and Magisk zip to phone storage.
Step 2: Now, connect Mi A2 device to your computer and open a command prompt or terminal window on your PC where the TWRP image is present.
Step 3: Reboot your Android device into the bootloader or Fastboot mode. To do so, issue the following command through Command Prompt or terminal. You can also manually boot into it using the hard key combination like Power+Volume Down while the device is turned off. Meanwhile, use code:
adb reboot bootloader
Step 4: Now issue the following command in the command prompt to check your device connectivity.
fastboot devices
Step 6: Now issue the following commands to boot TWRP image.
fastboot flash boot_b TWRP-3.2.3-jasmine-20180804.img
fastboot set_active b
Note: If you have downloaded latest version of TWRP, then ensure that you have changed the TWRP file name. So the command would be fastboot flash boot_b .img
Step 7: Now, reboot and hold Volume Up to boot into TWRP recovery.
Step 8: Once your device Reboots into the temporary TWRP recovery, use the TWRP interface to flash the Magisk zip. Navigate to install and selectMagisk.zip file.
Step 9: In order to go back to System, Activate Slot A at TWRP Reboot Menu and reboot to system.