Part of Xiaomi guides, 2022 guides.

Most GSI guides stop when the phone boots. That is the easy part on the 11T Pro. What makes Spark OS worth writing about is the ten minutes after that first boot, where you go through a set of toggles. Skip them and the ROM feels unfinished. Do them and it feels like a real daily driver.

So this page is in two halves: the flash, then the setup.

Device here is the Xiaomi 11T Pro. ROM is Spark OS on Android 13, flashed as a GSI.

What you need

• Platform tools on the PC, so adb and fastboot are available.
• The Spark OS Android 13 GSI for your phone.
• The vbmeta file, because you will flash it with verity and verification disabled.
• A custom recovery, since the last flash step is a data wipe from recovery.
• A full backup. This wipes data, no exceptions.
• An unlocked bootloader, which wipes the phone the first time you do it.

Step 1 — boot to fastboot and confirm the PC sees the phone

Power the phone off. Hold Volume Down and Power until the bootloader screen appears. Plug in the cable and run:

fastboot devices

You need a serial number back with the word fastboot next to it. Nothing there means a driver problem, and no amount of retrying the flash will fix that. Sort it out now, not in the middle of writing the system partition.

Step 2 — switch to fastbootd

fastboot reboot fastboot

The system partition can only be written from fastbootd, not the plain bootloader. If the next commands fail, this is almost always why.

Step 3 — flash vbmeta with both flags

fastboot --disable-verity --disable-verification flash vbmeta

Both flags matter. Verification is the check that stops a modified system image from booting. Leave it enabled and your GSI is rejected at boot. Do this before you touch the system partition.

Step 4 — erase and flash the system image

fastboot erase system

fastboot flash system

The image is big, so give it a couple of minutes and let it print progress. Do not unplug the cable and do not close the window. A flash that looks stuck is usually a slow USB port rather than a real failure.

Step 5 — reboot to recovery and wipe data

fastboot reboot recovery

In recovery, wipe data. This is not housekeeping. Old userdata is encrypted with keys from the previous system, so a new system partition on old userdata is a guaranteed bootloop. Wipe, then boot.

Step 6 — work through the settings after first boot

This is the part most guides skip. Once the phone is up, go through the setup and then handle these:

• Network and call behaviour toggles. These decide whether calls behave properly. If calls are flaky, come back here first.
• Screen brightness slider and force alternative options. The brightness handling on a GSI often needs a nudge.
• Skin and mode picks. Which look and which mode the ROM runs in.
• Camera2 API. Turning this on is what lets third-party camera apps work properly.
• A2DP, for Bluetooth audio behaviour.
• The always-on display toggle. Off by default in some setups, and it is easy to think the ROM does not have it.
• Qualcomm feature options, including an alternative camera profile if you want one.

Take your time here. Ticking these in a hurry and then wondering why Bluetooth audio sounds wrong is a wasted evening.

One good surprise

On this flash, the device showed up certified, with no extra patching needed. Google Photos gave limited backup, which is normal, but certification being there out of the box is a nice break from the usual.

Theme customisation is also present, including black and transparent looks, if that is your thing.

Where people get stuck

• Skipping the vbmeta flags. Without both --disable-verity and --disable-verification, the GSI will not boot.
• Flashing system from the plain bootloader. It has to be fastbootd, or the erase and flash do nothing useful.
• Skipping the data wipe. New system plus old userdata equals a bootloop, every time.
• Ignoring the post-boot settings. Then blaming the ROM for calls, Bluetooth audio or camera apps not working.

Something honest about GSIs

Your vendor and kernel decide half of what this ROM can do. The image side is clean, but if the camera or a sensor is off, that is your vendor talking. A recent vendor and kernel gives far fewer surprises, and no GSI on earth changes that.

If the driver and platform tools part is what puts you off, the free Rom Flasher tool on GitHub handles the ADB and fastboot driver install in a couple of clicks. It is free, and the link is in the downloads section.

One last thing. Finish the settings pass before you restore apps. You want to know the ROM is behaving on an empty phone first.

Full description from the video

Spark OS Android 13 on the Xiaomi 11T Pro — the GSI flash, then the settings you have to touch after that first boot.

Spark OS on Android 13 ran here as a GSI, and the flash itself is short: platform tools, fastboot, vbmeta, the image, wipe data. What makes this clip useful is the second half. After the phone boots there's a handful of toggles that decide whether things like calls, the always-on display and the camera API behave properly. Skip them and the ROM feels half-finished. Do them and it feels like a real daily.

🧰 What You Need

• Platform Tools on the PC
• The Spark OS image for Android 13
• vbmeta, with verity and verification disabled
• A full backup, since data gets wiped

📝 Flash, Then Setup

1. Boot the phone to fastboot and confirm the PC sees it.
2. Switch to fastbootd, then flash vbmeta, erase system and flash the Spark image.
3. Reboot to recovery and wipe data.
4. Boot to the system and work through the settings below.

⚙️ After First Boot

• Turn on the toggles shown for network and call behaviour
• Screen brightness slider, force alternative options, skin and mode picks
• Camera2 API, A2DP and the always-on display toggle
• Qualcomm feature options, including an alternative camera profile if you want one
• The device showed up certified, and Google Photos gave limited backup, with no extra patching
• Theme customisation, including black and transparent looks

❓ Common Questions

• Is a GSI stable enough to live with? Mine booted and ran, but your vendor and kernel decide the rest.
• Why does the device show as certified? It came that way here, no extra modules needed.
• Do I use a recovery at all? Follow the fastboot steps, then do the data wipe from recovery.

Common questions

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