The 2018 phablet that refused to die. Snapdragon 636, 6.9-inch screen, 5500 mAh battery. Discontinued by Xiaomi in 2020, but the community keeps it alive in 2026 with Android 16 ROMs.
Partition corruption or partial firmware install causing boot failure
AOSP camera HAL lacks Xiaomi MIUI camera tuning
ADSP firmware signing mismatch between CN hardware variant and ROM-shipped Global blobs
Xiaomi factory bootloader lock requiring Mi account verification and 7-day waiting period
USB-C port physical wear or solder joint failure
Lithium-ion battery chemistry degradation from charge cycles
The Xiaomi Mi Max 3 (codename nitrogen) was released in July 2018 as the third and final entry in Xiaomi’s Max line — a series defined by oversized screens and massive batteries. While Xiaomi officially abandoned the device in 2020, an active modding community keeps it relevant in 2026.
Eight years after release, the Mi Max 3 retains an active user base for three reasons. First, its 6.9-inch screen is larger than almost any modern phone (the iPhone 17 Pro Max tops out at 6.9 inches as well, but at 3× the price). Second, the 5500 mAh battery still outperforms most flagship phones today. Third, the Snapdragon 636 — while not fast — handles WhatsApp, web browsing, navigation, and media playback without issue.
There are two main hardware variants of the Mi Max 3:
To check your variant, dial *#*#6484#*#* and look at the “hwc” field. If it says CN, you have the China variant and will need our audio fix when running custom ROMs.
Active development is led by Sanek-creed, who maintains crDroid, Matrixx, and EvolutionX builds for nitrogen. BPRGroup maintains unofficial LineageOS. The Telegram channel t.me/nitrogencloud has 450+ active members. SourceForge ROM downloads exceed 11,000 per year — making this one of the most-modded discontinued phones still in active community use.