[GUIDE][Newbie friendly] ALL IN ONE Bypass bootloader lock guide of Redmi 5A - Xiaomi Redmi 5A Guides, News, & Discussion

Disclaimer: I did not found this exploit, but there are some things I want to share about the exploit with some additions of my own. You can also say that this guide is newbie friendly version of this original guide here. without any further ado lets start with the guide. I recommend reading original guide first. :
First, I (or anyone at xda ) is not responsible for your bricked device. Make sure you have read every line of this guide (POST #1 and #2) before performing any of the steps. Because it is very risky and might cause permanent damage if steps were performed incorrectly.
And also make sure you have downloaded everything before like custom ROM, twrp, etc and placed them on external sdcard or otg before performing any steps because there is no going back.
Second, do not quote whole post or I will ignore.
What this guide covers?
It covers
Post #1
1. flashing custom recovery (by bypassing bootloader lock)
Post #2
2. flashing custom rom, flashing MIUI based rom
3. Rooting/flashing custom kernel
4. flashing GSI
Requirements to bypass bootloader lock:
NOTE: Flash nougat fastboot ROM through edl if you plan on using custom ROMs to avoid hassle like network/sim card etc but if you want to use xiaomi EU or miui then stay on Oreo miui.
1. Windows 10 PC (other windows versions might also work)
2. Portable MI Flash tool. Link (updated). Extract it somewhere on your PC, you should see QSaharaServer.exe and fhloader.exe after extract.
3. Firmware files (more on that on Post #2). Download and place them inside your external sdcard.
4. Basic knowledge of using Windows and knwo how to enter EDL mode.
Steps:
1. On your PC open directory where you extracted Portable MI Flash, and create a folder named 'tmp' inside folder containing QSaharaServer.exe
2. Download bypass.7z (Download links on Post #2) and extract all of its contents to tmp folder you created above. DO NOT CREATE ANY FOLDERS INSIDE tmp
3. Go to tmp folder then if you are using MIUI oreo then delete 'PBRP_recovery_official_nougat.img' and rename 'OrangeFox_oreo_unoffical_port_by_saurabh6377.img' to 'recovery.img' and do opposite if you are using MIUI Nougat. I recommend you to save both recoveries to external sdcard of your device for future use.
4. Connect your device in EDL mode (Your device must be POWERED OFF before connecting). Go outside tmp folder.
5. Open command prompt or power shell in the folder containing QSaharaServer.exe and run the following commands one by one
Code:
QSaharaServer.exe -p \\.\COM8 -s 13:prog_emmc_firehose_8917_ddr.mbn -b tmp\
to initialize firehose (Replace COM8 with COM Port of your device, find using device manager)
Code:
fh_loader.exe --search_path=tmp --port=\\.\COM8 --sendxml=twrp.xml
to flash custom recovery.
6. If the above command returns DONE then reboot to recovery. You should see MI logo and then hopefully custom recovery will boot.
Congratulations Now you have bypassed bootloader lock successfully on Redmi 5A.
If the commands does not return done, then Paste the ouput commands here, I will come for help.
Press thanks if this guide helped you.

---

This post covers the following.
1. Flashing custom ROM.
2. Flashing Stock MIUI ROM or Xiaomi EU Rom
3. Flashing custom kernel and rooting
4. Flashing GSI
5. Downloads
Requirements:
1. Appender. Download latest version for both normal and recovery versions and save to sdcard. Optionally read the post to get better idea on how and when to flash Appender.
2. Recovery for nougat fw. You can also PBRP Recovery in bypass.7z. You can also download recoveries from below.
3. Firmware files:
Redmi 5A have two firmwares available as of now, nougat fw and oreo fw.
Currently custom ROMs only work with nougat fw, so you need to flash nougat fw before flashing any custom ROMs. You can download global nougat fw from here
MIUI and Xiaomi EU already contains firmware files so no extra firmware need to be downloaded in most cases (more on that below)
Steps to flash custom ROMs:
1. Flash the downloaded nougat firmware using current recovery (Only required once)
2. If you are coming from oreo fw then flash recovery image (for nougat fw) using current recovery. You can also download recoveries I have uploaded, links at end of this post.
3. Flash Appender-rec.zip then reboot to recovery.
4. Flash the ROM then flash Appender.zip
5. Reboot. And hopefully the ROM will boot.
Steps for MIUI or Xiaomi EU ROM:
1. Flash the ROM
2. If you want to flash stock MIUI and dont want reocvery to be overwritten by stock then flash Magisk. For Xiaomi EU magisk is NOT required.
3. Flash Appender.zip
4. If you are coming from nougat fw and have recovery based on nougat fw installed then flash my Orangefox Recovery (link below) and then flash Appender-rec.zip after performing above steps.
5. Reboot
NOTE: Xiaomi may patch the bug anytime, so latest stock MIUI or Xiaomi EU ROMs might not work with this exploit. However, this bug isn't patched yet in any of the MIUI ROMs as of now, the latest version I have tested is MIUI china nightly v9.9.26. So, it is better to download the oreo firmware file (link below) and flash it EVERY time after flashing MIUI or Xiaomi EU ROMs.
Flashing custom Kernel and Rooting:
Flash the kernel or magisk and the flash Appender.zip
Flashing GSI
No extra steps are needed. Follow procedure to install custom ROM and after that flash GSI in system partition.
Downloads:
1. bypass.7z
2. Orangefox Recovery Oreo fw
3. Pitch Black Recovery Nougat fw
4. Appender
5. Oreo firmware file (Will upload soon)
6. Nougat fastboot ROM link http://bigota.d.miui.com/V10.1.1.0....FI_20181029.0000.00_7.1_global_f444c158ed.tgz

---

Reserved 2

---

@saurabh6377 Thanks a ton for this. Hopefully I might be able to try this next week when I get home. Just wanted to ask though if it was absolutely necessary to flash a nougat version of MIUI for using custom rom. And if there is no other choice which version should I flash? Also do I need any special account or sthng for flashing fastboot rom or should i just follow some tutorial on youtube?

---

adityam0338 said:
@saurabh6377 Thanks a ton for this. Hopefully I might be able to try this next week when I get home. Just wanted to ask though if it was absolutely necessary to flash a nougat version of MIUI for using custom rom. And if there is no other choice which version should I flash?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, nougat miui is necessary for custom ROMs (except xiaomi eu) latest global stable (nougat version) is recommended. You can use any nougat version though.
I added link to nougat fastboot rom in post 2.
adityam0338 said:
do I need any special account or sthng for flashing fastboot rom or should i just follow some tutorial on youtube?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lastly flashing through edl does not require any account on redmi 5A as far as I know.

---

@saurabh6377 It is not necessary to set up the device after flashing nougat version, right? I mean could i just flash the nougat version and then without starting the device follow this thread as it would be easier to get the device in edl mode then.

---

adityam0338 said:
@saurabh6377 It is not necessary to set up the device after flashing nougat version, right? I mean could i just flash the nougat version and then without starting the device follow this thread as it would be easier to get the device in edl mode then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need to setup, some users reported that edl does not work after flashing fastboot rom so, you may need to fully power off after flashing ROM from edl. So reboot then shut down then follow the guide. You can also just remove the battery socket then reconnect to fully power off, and then enter edl mode.

---

@saurabh6377 the link for portable mi flash tool doesn't work anymore. "404 not found"

---

@saurabh6377 Now I'm getting a different error. I'll attach a snapshot of the error. Hope u can help quick.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

---

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wpTgmHDifrV
sCKiY2uys2ZrM9h9GiOrQ/view?usp=drivesdk
@saurabh6377
12:35:54: ERROR: function: sahara_rx_data:237 Unable to read packet header. Only read 0 bytes.
12:35:54: ERROR: function: sahara_main:924 Sahara protocol error
12:35:54: ERROR: function: main:303 Uploading Image using Sahara protocol failed
This is the error that I'm getting.

---

Can anyone confirm if we can flash pie based ROM after installing twrp this way or not? I'm currently on DotOS based on N.

---

Ripper1412 said:
Can anyone confirm if we can flash pie based ROM after installing twrp this way or not? I'm currently on DotOS based on N.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can. I read someone say he booted LOS 16 after flashing TWRP by this method. But if you are on dot os, it means ur Boot loader is unlocked. It would be better to flash TWRP by normal method in your case.

---

Ripper1412 said:
Can anyone confirm if we can flash pie based ROM after installing twrp this way or not? I'm currently on DotOS based on N.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well yeah it works. I am using lineage os 16 based on pie at the moment after flashing by this method.

---

Edl mode
Can i enter EDL mode without test point method?

---

I have an unlocked bootloader of Redmi 5a global miui 11 Oreo ..can u tell me from where and what should I do to downgrade the firmware

---

sha0307 said:
I have an unlocked bootloader of Redmi 5a global miui 11 Oreo ..can u tell me from where and what should I do to downgrade the firmware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://forum.xda-developers.com/xiaomi-redmi-5a/how-to/rollback-downgrade-to-miui-nougat-t3938904

---

Deleted

---

Ripper1412 said:
Can anyone confirm if we can flash pie based ROM after installing twrp this way or not? I'm currently on DotOS based on N.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can even flash android q based rom as i am using pixel experience rom based on android 10 on naugat firmware.

---

Can someone help me how to flash a android 10 gsi in Redmi 5a Riva .cause I get bootloop or stuck at bootlogo whenever I try to install gsi ..can anyone help me plss

---

I have entered both the commands and it was written there "DONE" in powershell. But after that i have booted in recovery but it booted in MI recovery not in custom recovery. I followed all the steps correctly.