Semi-Functional LineageOS 14.1 Released for the Xiaomi Mi A1 Despite Lack of Kernel Sources

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Here at XDA, we love custom ROMs, the whole reason why some of us are such huge fans of Android is because of the openness of the platform and the feats of ingenuity many developers on our forums have accomplished. The openness of the platform is thanks to core parts of Android being open source (AOSP) and its underlying Linux kernel being licensed under the GPL, which we at XDA support in its entirety. We have brought attention to the fact that many companies in the past have violated the GPL, with the most recent offender being Xiaomi. What makes this even stranger is that the kernel sources they are failing to release are for a device under the Android One program, the Xiaomi Mi A1.

However, having mentioned the ingenuity of the developers on our forums, Recognized Contributor deadman96385 and Inactive Recognized Developer cute_prince have worked to bring a semi-functional LineageOS 14.1 to the Xiaomi Mi A1, without any proper kernel sources whatsoever. How did they do this? The developers ported the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (mido) kernel which partly works due to hardware similarities between the devices, which allows for a bootable ROM, albeit not very functional at the moment.

The list of what isn’t working is fairly large, but the actual ability to create a bootable ROM without proper kernel sources is a great feat. You can view what does and doesn’t work at the link down below, and appreciate the huge amount of work that went into the ROM to get LineageOS 14.1 even booting on the Xiaomi Mi A1 without any kernel sources or ground to work from.

It’s a shame that Xiaomi’s first Android One device, which is an excellent device mind you, is suffering from a lack of custom development because Xiaomi is taking their sweet time to release kernel sources. We hope that Xiaomi rectifies this matter quickly, because there are a lot of Mi A1 users on our forums who wish to see more custom ROMs for their beloved device.