How to install Android 9 Pie on Xiaomi Poco F1

Xiaomi’s Poco F1 is arguably the world’s best gaming phone that gets a super processor in Snapdragon 845 for a price of just $300. Things get even better when you know you can unlock the device to open up its full potential, unlike Huawei who have chosen to lock the devices down.

The Poco F1 comes with Android 8.1 Oreo pre-installed, and Xiaomi has already confirmed that they plan to release Android 9 Pie update for the device in Q4 2018.

Yet, if waiting for an update is not our strong game, the unofficial Android 9 Pie update is available already thanks to Android 9 system GSI.

Poco F1 Android 9 Pie update

Official Android 9 Pie update expected in Nov-Dec 2018
Unofficial update available via custom ROMs

Official update

Not available.

Unofficial update

Thanks to the wonder of Project Treble, you can already install the Android Pie update unofficially on your Poco F1.

Download Android 9 Pie GSI ROM

Android 9 AOSP ROM v104 (A-only, ARM64)
[Download the latest ARM64 A-only ROM from here.]
Android 9 Gapps

How to install

You should really check out the known issues with the ROM on its development page here before installing the ROM. The ROM may not be suitable for use as a daily driver, hence install it only if really need to try Android 9 already.

Make sure you have the latest TWRP recovery installed. Find the guide to install TWRP on Poco F1 here. {Take your time doing this as this is a lengthy procedure.]
Download the latest Android 9 ROM and Gapps files from above. (The ROM comes in .XZ format, while Gapps comes in .ZIP format.)
Extract the ROM file in .ZX format to get the larger ROM file (system GSI) in .IMG format. (You can use a free software like 7-zip for this on your PC.)
Take the appropriate backup of your device as this will need a factory reset, which would delete everything on the device.
Once the above is done, let’s install the unofficial update in Android 9 AOSP ROM on your Poco F1 now. Transfer the ROM (.IMG) and Gapps (ZIP) files to your Poco F1.
→ Be sure to transfer the extracted .IMG file of the ROM, not the downloaded file.
Reboot into recovery mode to access TWRP. For this:
1. Power off the device.
2. Press and hold power and volume up buttons together for a few seconds until you see the Poco logo on the screen. You will see the TWRP soon.
[Careful!] Perform a factory reset. In TWRP, tap the Wipe button, and then perform the swipe action to confirm the factory reset.
On TWRP main screen, tap on Mount, and then make sure System is selected.
Install the Android 9 Pie ROM on your Poco F1.
1. Go back to home screen of TWRP.
2. Tap on the Install button.
3. Tap on the Install image button.
4. Now select the System Image file you transferred earlier.
5. Select System Image option.
6. Now Swipe at the bottom to confirm the installation.
Install the Gapps file. Go the home screen of TWRP, and then tap on Install, select the Gapps file you transferred above, and then confirm the installation by swiping at the bottom of the screen.
Tap on Reboot system button after installing the Gapps file to restart the device.