How to Flash TWRP on Mi Max 3

It is nice to have a large-screen phone like Xiaomi Mi Max 3. It allows you not only to enjoy a distinctive experience of using an Android device but also to enjoy using the device in much more longer with less charging due to its large battery capacity. Xiaomi has managed to roll out another successor of its Max series with the Mi Max 3. The device that comes shipped with Qualcomm SDM636 Snapdragon 636 is surely a steal for its price. The SoC planted under the hood employs Octa-core 1.8 GHz Kryo 260 CPUs and Adreno 509 Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). Hence, it more than capable to deliver a smooth and lag-free experience in using the phone for many daily tasks as well as light-weight to graphic-demanding games.

Here in this page, we share with you a nice simple trick to enhance the phone by installing the world’s most popular custom recovery: the Team Win Recovery Project (TWRP). By replacing MIUI stock recovery with TWRP means it allows you to flash third-party binaries like Magisk, SuperSU, or even custom ROM on the device. As usual, we always try to make the article as simple as possible so that even beginners can easily follow the guide. However, there might be some parts of the article that are difficult to grasp, please do not hesitate to drop a comment below.

Read also: How to install Red Wolf Recovery on Redmi Note 5A.

Why TWRP v3.2.3-0? This version of TWRP already has a built-in feature allowing automatic installation of MIUI OTA Zip files on encrypted devices. It means users can enjoy an easy update process each time a newer version of MIUI ROM being released through OTA mechanism. Moreover, this version has also supported both md5 and md5sum file extensions when doing MD5 checking for zip files. On top of that, users can easily remove SuperSU directly through the TWRP interface.

Words of caution:

Please read thoroughly the article before really implementing the steps. Make sure you understand what you are going to do prior to doing it. We hold NO responsibility for any risks of the broken device so please proceed with caution. Do not forget to create a backup of all your important data and files including Contact, Call logs, messages, photos, apps, and so on.

Read: How to create a full backup on Mi Max 3 without root.

Requirements

1. A Xiaomi Mi Max 3 device (Codename Nitrogen).
2. A compatible USB data cable. Make sure it is the USB data cable and not USB charging-only cable. It is recommended to use the original USB cable shipped with the phone;
3. A Windows-based laptop / PC. We strongly suggest you use Windows 8/8.1/10with 64-bit system;
4. Your phone should have enough juice. Just make sure it has at least 65% battery power remaining;
5. Download Minimal ADB & Fastboot Driver;
6. Download RWRP for Mi Max 3 (grab the .img file);
7. Download the latest version of DM-Verity Encryption disabler tool;
8. A spare time of your life which is not more than 30 minutes.

Prerequisite:

Prior to flashing a custom recovery, your phone bootloader have to be unlocked officially. The unlocking mechanism is basically easy but you have to wait for official permission from Xiaomi developers team. Please read and follow our previous guide on how to unlock your phone bootloader. Read: How to properly unlock the MIUI bootloader – a complete guide.

The Steps to Install

Step 1 – Extract and install Minimal ADB & Fastboot driver into your computer. It is recommended to firstly disable Windows Driver Signature Enforcement mechanism prior to installing the driver. You can re-enable that Windows feature again once you have installed the driver.

Necessary reading: Windows Driver Signature Disabler and Enabler tool.

Step 2 – Now install Minimal ADB & Fastboot driver software onto your computer.

Step 3 – Grab your phone and enable Developer options and USB Debugging options on your phone.

Enabling Developer Options on Mi Max 3:

Settings > about phone > click MIUI Version 7 to 8 times continuously

Enabling USB Debugging on Mi Max 3:

Settings > Additional Settings > Developer Options > enable usb debugging

Step 4 – At this point, we assume you have already unlocked your device bootloader. Now copy or transfer the zip package of DM-verity disabler into your phone’s internal storage. Alternatively, you may simply open the download page with your favorite mobile browser and grab it directly into your phone.

Step 5 – Open up Windows Explorer on your computer. Find the newly downloaded twrp’s img file. Now rename that file from “twrp-3.2.3-0-nitrogen.img” to “recovery.img“. Copy that recovery.img file to your ADB folder which is commonly located at drive C:\adb.

Step 6 – Next, grab your phone again, and turn it off completely. Reboot your phone into bootloader mode (which also known as Fastboot mode) by pressing Volume Down (-) and Power buttons together simultaneously until you see the Bunny Fastboot logo.

Step 7 – Connect your device which is already in Fastboot mode into your computer using its USB cable.

Step 8 – Now back to Windows Explorer. Go to the location of where you have extracted the TWRP flash-able image file (Step 5 above).

Step 9 – Hold down the “Shift” button on your keyboard and right-click on anywhere inside that folder. Next, choose “Open command window from here” or “Open Powershell Window here“.

Step 10 – Now in command prompt / Powershell window, type following command to check the status of your device whether it has been connected successfully or not:

fastboot devices

Your device will be displayed there. Otherwise, you may try either reinstalling the ADB & Fastboot driver or try installing Mi Flash tool.

Step 11 – Finally, issue the main magic command below which is the main magic spell to flash TWRP into your phone:

fastboot flash recovery recovery.img

The flashing process should take only a few minutes (not more than 3 minutes).

Step 12 – Once done, you can now reboot your device into normal mode by issuing this command:

fastboot reboot

That’s it. Now you can disconnect your phone from your PC.

Give it a try!

How to reboot into recovery? There are two methods to boot Mi Max 3 into Recovery Mode which in this case has been replaced with TWRP.

The first method is through Updater app:

1. On your phone, open up Settings.
2. Tap on “About phone”.
3. Then tap on “System Update”.
4. Tap the three dots at the top right-hand corner of the screen.
5. Then choose “Reboot to Recovery Mode”

The second method is much more simple.

1. Turn off your phone completely.
2. Once it has been off, press the Volume Up and Power button simultaneously.
3. Your phone will reboot into Recovery mode.

The first time using TWRP you will be asked to do the “Slide to allow modifications”. This will grant TWRP to do necessary modifications on the system. Everything is self-explanatory after that. You will also see TWRP’s main menu.

Where to go after this point? Most users will flash (read: Install) Magisk through TWRP to gain root access on their devices. You can start with it if you want. Some users also want to replace MIUI with many cool custom ROMs available out there. However, the decision is up to you. Just make sure you proceed with caution and full responsibility.