MIUI – one of the well-known and most popular custom ROMs for Android that provides a totally unique experience – recently celebrated its 2 year anniversary. This moment was also taken to release the first MIUI ROMs based on Jelly Bean Android 4.1, the latest and one of the best versions of Android. And of course, the Nexus devices were the first to get MIUI based on Jelly Bean, including the Galaxy Nexus.

Along with the butter smooth feeling of Jelly Bean and its other features such as advanced voice recognition, improved actionable notifications, smarter keyboard, etc, you get MIUI’s unique interface and features such as inbuilt themes support (with scores of fan-made themes available), privacy protection features, optimized calls and SMS features, and more. The ROM is very stable for every day use, but since this is the initial release of the ROM, it may have a few issues in it (though none should be major) and some things still may not be butter smooth.

Read on to find out how you can install MIUI ROM based on Jelly Bean on the Galaxy Nexus.

Compatibility

This ROM and the guide below are compatible only and only with the international GSM Galaxy Nexus, model number i9250. It’s not compatible with Verizon/Sprint variants or any other device. Check your device model in Settings » About phone.

Warning!

The methods and procedures discussed here are considered risky and you should not attempt anything if you don’t know completely what it is. If any damage occurs to your device, we won’t be held liable.

How to Install Jelly Bean MIUI ROM on Galaxy Nexus

  1. This procedure will wipe all your apps, data and settings. Backup your Apps and important data — bookmarks, contacts, SMS, APNs (internet settings), etc. This Android backup guide would help you.
    NOTE: Don’t forget to at least make a backup of your APN settings, which you can restore later if your data connection does not work after installing the ROM. Use the backup guide to find out how.
  2. Unlock the bootloader on your Galaxy Nexus by following the guide → here. This will erase all your data, including the data on the SD card, so back everything up first (see step 1).
  3. [Important!] Install TWRP recovery on your Nexus by following the guide → here. Make sure to flash the GSM version of recovery. You need recovery to be able to install the ROM and can also use ClockworkMod recovery instead of TWRP.
  4. Download the latest version of the ROM from the development page. Download the “maguro” version of MIUI under the 4.1.x heading (as highlighted in screenshot below).
  5. Copy the file downloaded in step 4 to the phone (don’t extract the file).
  6. Turn off the phone and boot into TWRP/CWM recovery. To do this, press and hold the Volume Up + Volume Down + Power buttons together till the screen turns on. Then, scroll to the Recovery mode option using the volume buttons, then select it using the Power button to restart in recovery.
  7. Now, tap on Backup, then slide the blue circle button at the bottom to the right to start backing up your current ROM, so that you can restore it later if something does not work out with the new ROM. After backup is complete, go back to the main menu by clicking the home button at the bottom left of the screen.
  8. Select Wipe, then select Factory Reset and then confirm the data wipe. This will not wipe your internal SD card’s contents, so do not worry. Then, go back to the main menu by clicking the home button after wipe is complete.
  9. Select Install, then browse and select the ROM file you downloaded in step 4 above. Confirm installation to flash it.
  10. After installation is complete, select the Reboot system button to reboot the phone and boot up into MIUI ROM. First boot will take up to 5-7 minutes.
    NOTE: Returning to Previous ROM. In case you want to go back to your previous ROM, boot into recovery, select Restore, then restore your previous ROM by selecting it from the list.

MIUI ROM, based on Jelly Bean Android 4.1 is now installed on your Galaxy Nexus. Visit the development page for more info and to get the latest updates on the ROM. Share your thoughts on the ROM in the comments.

Be sure to take a look at some other custom Jelly Bean ROMs for the Galaxy Nexus → here.