Redmi Y2/S2/YSL custom ROM installation, What worked for me!

[nksgopikrishnan]

Over the weekend I spent a significant amount of time flashing a custom ROM on an old Redmi Y2/S2/YSL.
What was supposed to be a 1-hour, or at the max 2-hour job, turned out to be a nightmare, due to software incompatibility.

For anyone venturing to do this, below are the things that worked (and did not) for me!
I used Havoc OS, Other ones I tried never flashed correctly or never booted (DotOS, Pixel Extended, LineageOS-unofficial, Elixir OS)
Havoc OS I downloaded: https://sourceforge.net/projects/havoc-os/files/ysl/

1. Use Mi unlock tool for enabling bootloader unlock. - https://en.miui.com/unlock/download_en.htmlNote: you will need a windows machine to run this tool! But straightforward. No glitches were seen.
2. Use Redfox recovery - https://orangefox.download/device/ysl
   Ditch TWRP, It doesn't work! (I followed this, and DID NOT work: https://xdaforums.com/t/guide-to-flash-twrp-unofficial-and-root-redmi-y2-s2-ysl.3854906/)Issues with TRWP - fastboot driver issues, which means ADB commands don't work when inside TWRP (ADB sideload etc.)Together with weird storage encryption (Which I don't remember enabling, doesn't decrypt with any valid password that you remember setting on the device!)
3. Then the usual stuff: `adb reboot bootloader, `adb flash recovery redfoxrecovery.img`
4. Boot to recovery by: `Press VolumeUP + Power`
5. From menu - `adb sideload`
6. From computer - `adb sideload havoc-os-gapps.zip`

Finally, the OS booted. Installed some stuff. Everything that I tried is working till now.

 

[AayanAli]

Over the weekend I spent a significant amount of time flashing a custom ROM on an old Redmi Y2/S2/YSL.
What was supposed to be a 1-hour, or at the max 2-hour job, turned out to be a nightmare, due to software incompatibility.

For anyone venturing to do this, below are the things that worked (and did not) for me!
I used Havoc OS, Other ones I tried never flashed correctly or never booted (DotOS, Pixel Extended, LineageOS-unofficial, Elixir OS)
Havoc OS I downloaded: https://sourceforge.net/projects/havoc-os/files/ysl/

1. Use Mi unlock tool for enabling bootloader unlock. - https://en.miui.com/unlock/download_en.htmlNote: you will need a windows machine to run this tool! But straightforward. No glitches were seen.
2. Use Redfox recovery - https://orangefox.download/device/ysl
   Ditch TWRP, It doesn't work! (I followed this, and DID NOT work: https://xdaforums.com/t/guide-to-flash-twrp-unofficial-and-root-redmi-y2-s2-ysl.3854906/)Issues with TRWP - fastboot driver issues, which means ADB commands don't work when inside TWRP (ADB sideload etc.)Together with weird storage encryption (Which I don't remember enabling, doesn't decrypt with any valid password that you remember setting on the device!)
3. Then the usual stuff: `adb reboot bootloader, `adb flash recovery redfoxrecovery.img`
4. Boot to recovery by: `Press VolumeUP + Power`
5. From menu - `adb sideload`
6. From computer - `adb sideload havoc-os-gapps.zip`

Finally, the OS booted. Installed some stuff. Everything that I tried is working till now.

Try using SHRP Recovery. It works great for me with extra advanced features. And It also has OFFICIAL (STABLE) support for Redmi S2/Y2/YSL. (P.S. OrangeFox didn't work for me. Just got stuck the boot screen(⊙_⊙).)