Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face the need to determine exactly which sensor is installed in their device, which is especially true when buying a used gadget when you need to make sure the originality of components, or when choosing third-party applications for photography that require specific drivers. Despite marketing names like “108 MP AI Triple Camera”, the actual hardware stuffing can vary even within the same phone model depending on the revision.
There are several proven methods to look under the hood of a system and get comprehensive technical information. Sensor identification may be required not only for enthusiasts but also for ordinary users who want to understand why photo quality is different on different devices in the same series.
It’s worth noting that smartphone makers rarely list full sensor codes in the standard settings menu, but Android, which runs the MIUI or HyperOS shell, stores this data in open logs and configuration files, and accessing this information does not require superuser rights in most cases, making the procedure safe for your device.
Use of camera system report
The easiest and safest way to do this is to have a built-in report generation feature that works on Xiaomi models and allows you to get a text file with the detailed specification of all modules, and you don't need to be a technician to use this tool.
To start the procedure, you need to open the standard Camera app. On the viewfinder's home screen, find the settings menu (usually three bars in the corner), scroll down to the bottom and find "Info" or "About the Camera." On some firmware versions, you need to quickly click 10 times on the MIUI version or the camera logo to activate the hidden menu.
⚠️ Note: Global versions of firmware (Global) ROM) If you haven't found the option to create a report, try changing the region in your phone settings to "India" or "China", sometimes this will unlock additional diagnostic features.
After clicking the "Create a report" or similar button, the system will generate a text file and store it in internal memory. DCIM/CameraReport or MIUI/debug_log. Opening this document with any text editor, you will see a list of all the connected modules with their real codes, such as: s5k3p9 or ov13b10.
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If the report is not generated in the standard way, try dialing the code ##6484## to log into the engineering menu, there is also a Camera Version section.
Analysis through Identification Applications
If the built-in tools don’t work, specialized utilities from the Google Play Store come to the rescue, and these apps read information directly from the device drivers, providing more detailed data than the standard menu. The most popular and reliable tool is Device Info. HW.
Once you install the app, launch it and go to the Camera tab, which will show you a list of all the sensors available: the main, wide-angle, macro, telephoto and front-facing camera. Unlike marketing names, here you will see a technical identifier, such as ov64b for the 64-megapixel OmniVision sensor.
- 📱 Device Info HW — It shows not only the sensor model, but also the supported resolutions, FPS and the presence of optical stabilization.
- 🔍 CPU-Z — Although the program is focused on the processor, in the "Device" tab you can sometimes find general information about the revision of the board, which indirectly indicates the camera.
- 📷 AIDA64 — Provides a detailed report on all components, including the exact names of the camera drivers in the Display and Camera sections».
It’s important to understand that third-party apps can only show the data the operating system provides. If a manufacturer has blocked access to the sensor ID at the firmware level (which happens on some newer models), even these utilities can show a generic name like “Generic Camera.”
Checking through ADB and computer
For users who are not afraid of the command line, the method using Android Debug Bridge (ADB) is the most informative. It allows you to query the system's complete driver logs, where the real names of the connected modules are always written, and this method is universal and works even on devices with a locked bootloader.
First, activate the developer mode on your smartphone. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly press 7 times on the MIUI version. Then, in the advanced settings, turn on “Debugging USB.” Connect the phone to your computer with a cable and open the console (CMD or Terminal) in the folder with ADB.
Enter the following command to get a list of all cameras:
adb shell dumpsys media.cameraIn the command output, look for lines that begin with Camera Module Name or contain sensor codes (usually 8-10 characters, such as imx586). It is also useful to execute the command adb shell cat /proc/device-tree/chosen/bootloader, kboot-info, if available, it often contains a line with a full list of equipment.
What if the ADB can’t see the phone?
Decoding sensor codes
Once the technical name is given, many users are puzzled about what it means. Sensor codes are usually made up of a manufacturer's prefix and a model, and understanding these designations helps you quickly assess the potential of a camera without much searching the Internet.
The main prefixes you can find are: IMX (Sony), S5K or S5K3 (Samsung), OV (OmniVision), GC (GalaxyCore). The numbers after the prefix indicate the generation and characteristics of the matrix. For example, the Sony IMX586 and IMX766 are different sensors, although both can be labeled as 48 MP or 50 MP in the specifications.
| Prefix | Manufacturer | Example of model | Typical authorization |
|---|---|---|---|
| IMX | Sony | IMX766 | 50 MP |
| S5K | Samsung | S5KHM2 | 108 MP |
| OV | OmniVision | OV64B | 64 MP |
| GC | GalaxyCore | GC02M1 | 2 MP (macro) |
Knowing the exact model, you can find benchmarks (like DxOMark or specialized forums) and understand what to expect from a photo shoot. Often, a budget phone has a good main Sony sensor, but saves on ultra-wide-angle, installing a cheap “plug” in 2 or 5 MP.
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The sensor’s precise code allows you to find real-life examples of photos taken on this matrix, which gives a more objective view of quality than marketing renders.
The problem of the lottery matrix in Xiaomi
The phenomenon of having different cameras installed in the same phone models (like the Redmi Note 10 Pro) is known as the “matrix lottery,” and Xiaomi, like many other major manufacturers, purchases components from different suppliers depending on availability and price at the time of the batch production.
This means that two people who buy the same phone from different stores can get devices with Samsung and OmniVision sensors, respectively, and the difference in processing algorithms and the physical size of the pixel can be noticeable when you compare images in detail, especially in poor lighting.
⚠️ Note: The presence of another sensor is not a marriage or a reason for returning the goods, if the phone fully meets the characteristics stated in the box (resolution, number of cameras.
Checking the camera model is especially important when buying a device from hand. Unscrupulous sellers can replace the original modules with cheap ones in service centers, and visually distinguish them without software analysis is almost impossible. If you see a report sensor that should not be in this model (according to the specifications), this is a reason to think about repairing the device in the past.