[Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Guides, News, & Discussion] Ivanlai:
Hey guys!

This is just a simple post for you guys who want to make the jump to Nougat on the Snapdragon version of the Redmi Note 3, but face issues like bootloop or soft brick .

I tried many times to flash to Nougat and failed, so I thought I would document my experience for anyone who needs it.

The main problem I faced was an outdated bootloader.

Here, I have detailed the steps I took to flash Nougat successfully on my phone.

This does assume that you do have some experience and knowledge about the world of custom ROMs.

- disclaimer -

I am not responsible for any damage you may cause as a result of following this guide.

I am not affliated with any of the authors that wrote the guides that I will link in this guide.

The links are there purely for reference, and if you wrote one of the posts that I have linked in this guide, please message me to have your name at the bottom of this post.

- disclaimer end -

Here are a few things to note.

1) The version of MIUI you were on when you unlocked your bootloader.

2) Whether or not you have uploaded your bootloader

3) Whether you unlocked your bootloader officially

4) Whether you have permission to unlock the bootloader from XiaoMi.

5) Download and install the latest version of MiFlash

6) Download and install ADB and Fastboot on your PC

7) Boot into download mode to check if your PC recognises your phone. If not, reinstall the appropriate drivers.

A few websites you might want to refer to :

A MIUI forum page which teaches you how to flash/unbrick your Redmi Note 3.

http://en.miui.com/thread-235865-1-1.html

A MIUI forum page that teaches you how to repair your IMEI if it gets corrupted

http://en.miui.com/thread-245598-1-1.html

A guide to the XiaoMi deep flash cable as a kind of last resort(This is essentially Xiaomi's version of Samsung's USB jig; to force your device into download mode)

http://xdaforums.com/redmi-note-3/how-to/guide-how-to-flash-hard-bricked-redmi-t3490055

First, you may want to do a few things.

1) Check and double check your device codename (Kenzo for Redmi note 3 Pro, Kate for Redmi Note 3 SE)

2) Download the latest Global Developer ROM (There are .zip and .tar versions, for this guide we will be using the latter. I get my ROMs from here : http://en.miui.com/a-234.html )

After downloading it, decompress it until you see the file extension .tgz, then unzip it once more. At the end you should have one folder which contains some files and a folder called images.

3) Research and download the ROM and custom kernel of your choice

4) Check up and research anything you are unfamiliar with ( This is a great place to start : http://xdaforums.com/redmi-note-3/how-to/guide-redmi-note-3-available-twrps-t3406708 )

So, to flash the ROM, you can follow these steps. Do note that these steps worked for me at the time of writing and may not necessarily work for you.

1) Backup your stuff (Pictures, chats, contacts, etc.)

2) Go to developer options and check enable OEM unlock and ADB.

3) Reboot into bootloader.(adb reboot bootloader / vol- + pwr from power off state)

4) Use MiFlash to flash the global developer ROM you downloaded.

5) Use the MiUnlock tool to unlock your device.

6) Reboot to MIUI. (If you don't, you might face problems with TWRP demanding for password)

7) Boot to download mode again.

8) Install TWRP recovery.

9) You can now make a nandroid backup. Also make a backup of your EFS partition and keep it somewhere safe.

This assumes that you flashed the latest global developer ROM.

10) You can now flash the ROM and GApps.

11) If you want to install a custom kernel, finish setting up the phone before flashing one.

12) You can install Viper4Arise now if you want.