Xiaomi Redmi Note 5/Redmi 5 Plus receive unofficial LineageOS 15.1 and Project Treble support

We may earn a commission for purchases made using our links.

Even though Xiaomi has shown to be slow when it comes to releasing the source code for their more popular devices, they have a dedicated following within the developer community. This is partly thanks to the community they have fostered on their own forums. It’s also because their products perform impressively and they are competitive when it comes to build quality for the prices they offer. Thanks to the developer community here at XDA, the Redmi Note 5/Redmi 5 Plus have both received an unofficial build of LineageOS 15.1 that also adds support for Treble so you can flash a different Treble compatible custom ROM if you wanted.

We were at the launch event for the Redmi Note 5 and Note 5 Pro in India and went hands on with both devices showcased to the public in New Delhi. The devices launched in India will be shipping with Xiaomi’s MIUI 9.2 OEM ROM based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat. This meant they would not be launching with Project Treble support but we learned that an Android 8.1 Oreo update for the Redmi Note 5 Pro could include support for it. This became even more interesting when we learned Xiaomi was launching the Redmi Note 5 in China with Android 8.1 Oreo installed out of the box.

It’s been interesting to see which smartphone OEMs add support for Treble for devices that were initially launched with Nougat. Some have said it’s too risky to pull off while others don’t seem to have run across any issues with the transition. We’ve even had community developers add Project Treble support for devices before the OEM had a chance. Today, we wanted to highlight the work from XDA Senior Member who has just released an unofficial build of LineageOS 15.1 for Vince (which is the codename for the Redmi Note 5 Plus).

As this current build is considered unstable and in a beta state, you are to expect that some features are not currently working. As of right now, that includes the camera, fingerprint sensor, and sound. However, RIL, WiFi, Bluetooth, video playback, sensors, LED, GPS and VoLTE are tested and working. An interesting addition to this unofficial build of LineageOS 15.1 is that it also adds support for Project Treble to the device. So once you flash the custom ROM onto the Redmi Note 5 Plus, you can then flash any Project Treble compatible Generic System Image (GSI).