How to Install LineageOS 15.1 on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro is heavily supported by the developer community and this tutorial will show you how to install LineageOS 15.1 on it.

Xiaomi really did make a mess when they released three different versions of the Redmi Note 5. There’s the regular Redmi Note 5, the Redmi Note 5 Plus, and then the Redmi Note 5 Pro. Usually these OEMs can keep their variants separated with unique codenames but that wasn’t the case here either. Two of these devices use the the codename whyred while the other uses the codename vince.

Let’s just hope that Xiaomi has learned there lesson with this series because it has caused a lot of confusion within the community.

So, as of right now the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro is the device getting all of the attention from the developer community. It’s the device that I showed you how to install a Treble ROM on, and it will be the device that I continue to do tutorials for you on. When in doubt, you should always reference the hardware inside these devices.

Now, to continue with this tutorial of installing the Redmi Note 5 Pro with LineageOS 15.1, you will need to have the bootloader unlocked. Thankfully I have already written a tutorial on how to do that so just follow those steps. Plus, you will also need to have a custom recovery installed on the Redmi Note 5 Pro and thankfully again, I have already detailed the steps that are required to do that as well. So, with all of that done you can follow this tutorial that I’m going to outline below.

Installing the Redmi Note 5 Pro LineageOS Custom ROM

1. Download the latest version of LineageOS 15.1 for the Redmi Note 5 Pro
2. Copy or move that ZIP file to the internal storage of the smartphone
3. Then download a copy of Open Gapps for the Redmi Note 5 Pro
4. When choosing the Gapps package, select ARM64, 8.1 (unless we’re onto Android 9), and a variant of your choice (I normally chose Micro)
5. Then move or copy that Open Gapps package to the internal storage of the smartphone as well
6. Now, we can boot the Redmi Note 5 Pro into Recovery Mode
7. Tap the Wipe button at the top right
8. Tap the Advanced Wipe option at the bottom left
9. Select the following partitions to erase. . .
10. Dalvik /ART Cache, Cache, Data, System, Vendor
11. Be sure to leave Internal Storage, USB-OTG, and Micro SD Card UNCHECKED
12. Then swipe the white arrows to the right to erase those partitions
13. When complete, tap the Home button to go back to TWRP’s home screen
14. Tap on the Install button at the top left
15. Browse to and tap on the the LineageOS ZIP file
16. Tap the Add More ZIPs button
17. Browse to and tap on the Open Gapps ZIP file
18. Then swipe the white arrows to the right to begin the installation
19. Wait for it to be completed and then tab the Reboot System button
20. Now wait for this first boot cycle (it can take a few minutes)
21. So you can finally activate the LineageOS 15.1 Android install

Explanation

If you have ever installed a custom ROM before then most of this is second nature. The only differences here is that you need to download the proper custom ROM file and then grab the Open Gapps package that matches the Redmi Note 5 Pro. If this is completely new to you though then it may seem quite complicated since there’s a lot of words that you may not understand. I do my best to break down each and every step included in the guide so that you know what you need to do next (other guides will just presume you know what you’re doing).

I have also embedded a video above that is actually me walking through the entire steps I included in this guide. So if you’re the type that learn easier by watching a video, then that is there just for you. You can even watch the video and follow along with the step by step instructions so you know you won’t miss a beat. To start here, we need to download the LineageOS ZIP file from their own website. I suggest LineageOS because it’s the most popular custom ROM and most other ROMs are based on it.

However, if you want to try out a different custom ROM then I suggest you check out some of the options available on XDA-Developers. The only thing that will be different compared to this guide is that it may come with some specific instructions that aren’t listed here (but are listed in the XDA thread). This can be anything from using a different versions of Gapps (aka not Open Gapps), or installing a specific root solution afterwards. The rest of the guide should be the same though so you’ll want to copy these files the to the Redmi Note 5 Pro and then boot into TWRP so we can start erasing some partitions.

Again, we want to do into the Advanced Wipe section and wipe the Dalvik /ART Cache, Cache, Data, System, Vendor partitions while leaving the others alone. With them gone, tap the Home button to go back to the home screen and then tap on the Install button. Browse to and locate the Redmi Note 5 Pro LineageOS 15.1 ZIP file that we downloaded and then tap the Add More ZIPs button. Do the same to the Gapps package (as this needs to be installed after the custom ROM.

With all of that done, you can then swipe the white arrows to the right to begin the installation. The install can take a couple of minutes and then we can tap the Reboot System button. This first boot cycle can also take a few minutes to complete so don’t be afraid and just be patient. Just like the video I embedded above, you will be taken directly to the LineageOS activation screen and then the whole tutorial is complete.