How to change emoticons on Xiaomi: from standard themes to root rights

Xiaomi smartphones are often the subject of controversy: some people do not like their design in MIUI or HyperOS, someone wants to unify the style with other devices (for example, iPhone or Samsung), and some just tired of standard emojis. Fortunately, there are several ways to change them – from simple (through themes) to complex (using ADB or root rights).

In this article, we will discuss all the current methods, including the nuances for different versions of firmware (from MIUI 12 to HyperOS 1.0), you will learn how to change emoji without root, using third-party keyboards, through system settings and even how to return standard emojis if the experiment failed.

1. The easiest way: change the theme in MIUI/HyperOS

If you don’t like the design of emojis but don’t want to make your life difficult, start with this method. Xiaomi allows you to change emojis through standard themes – however, the choice is limited, and not all themes contain alternative emojis.

Here's how it works:

• 📱 Open the Themes app (icon with brush on desktop).
• 🔍 In the search box, enter the query “emoji” or “emoji” (English – “emoji»).
• 🎨 Browse the available themes with alternative emojis.Popular options: iOS Emoji, Samsung One UI, Twitter Emoji.
• 📥 Click Apply to set the theme. emojis will change automatically.

⚠️ Note: Not all the themes from Xiaomi store correctly change the emoji. Sometimes after applying the themes, the emojis remain standard, and only the keyboard design changes.

2. Use of third-party keyboards (Gboard, SwiftKey, etc.)

If the system emojis don’t work, but you don’t want to interfere with the firmware, install a keyboard from a third-party developer, such as Gboard (from Google) or SwiftKey (from Microsoft) lets you choose the emoji style regardless of the system.

Instructions for Gboard:

1. Download Gboard from Google Play.
2. Open the app and go to Settings → Preferences → Emoji Style.
3. Choose from Android (Google), iOS (Apple), Twitter or Emoji One.
4. Activate Gboard as the default keyboard in your phone settings (Settings → System → Language and Enter).

✅ Advantages of the method:

• 🔄 Does not require root rights or complex manipulations.
• 🎨 Wide selection of emoji styles.
• 🔒 Safe for the system.

❌ Deficiencies:

• 📱 Emoticons will only change in the keyboard, and in system notifications and some applications will remain standard.
• 🔄 Some messengers (such as Telegram) may ignore the style of the keyboard and show their emojis.

💡

If the emoticons in messengers have not changed after changing the keyboard, try clearing the app cache (such as WhatsApp or Viber) in the phone settings.

3. Modifying emojis via ADB (no root rights)

This method is suitable for experienced users who are not afraid to work with ADB (Android Debug Bridge), it allows you to replace system emoji without obtaining root rights, but requires a connection to a computer and follow the instructions accurately.

🔧 What's the matter:

• 💻 Computer with drivers installed ADB and Fastboot.
• 📱 Included debugging by USB on a smartphone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → Press 7 times, then Settings → Additionally. → For developers → Debugging by USB).
• 📁 Alternative emoji file (you can download from Xiaomi themes or specialized forums, such as, XDA Developers).

📝 Step-by-step instruction:

1. Connect the phone to your computer and confirm debugging via USB.
2. Open the command prompt (or Terminal on Mac/Linux) and type: Adb devices Make sure the device is defined.
3. Download the archive from emoji (for example, emoji_font.ttf) And put it in the adb folder.
4. Follow the commands (replace). emoji_font.ttf The name of your file is adb shell su mount. -o rw,remount /system cp /sdcard/emoji_font.ttf /system/fonts/ chmod 644 /system/fonts/emoji_font.ttf reboot

⚠️ Attention: Misuse of the right ADB This method can cause data loss or a cyclical reboot of the device. If you are not sure about your actions, skip this method.

4. Replace emoji with root rights (Magisk)

If you're willing to take drastic measures, getting root rights will open up access to deep customization of emojis, and you'll need Magisk, a popular root access management tool on Android.

🛠 Steps to Replace Emojis Through Magisk:

1. Install Magisk (instructions are available on XDA Developers).
2. Download the emoji replacement module (such as iOS Emoji for MIUI or Google Emoji Replacer) from the Magisk repository.
3. Install the module via Magisk Manager and restart the phone.

📊 Comparison of popular modules for Magisk:

⚠️ Note: Installing modules through Magisk may result in loss of warranty and instability of some applications (e.g. banking!

Download the latest version of Magisk from the official website

Backup your data (via Mi Cloud or TWRP)

Check the compatibility of the module with your version of MIUI/HyperOS

Disable the antivirus (can block the installation)

Charge your phone at least 50%

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5. Manual editing of system files (for advanced)

This method is only suitable for users with experience with Android, and it involves direct access to the font files where the emoji are stored. An error can cause the phone to fail, so act at your own risk.

🔍 Where emojis are kept in MIUI/HyperOS:

• /system/fonts/NotoColorEmoji.ttf is the main emoji file.
• /system/fonts/EmojiCompat.ttf is an additional compatibility file.
• /vendor/overlay/ – Emoji override files for certain topics may be located here.

📝 How to Replace Files:

1. Get root access (via Magisk or TWRP).
2. With a root-access file manager (such as Root Explorer), find the original emoji files.
3. Make a backup copy of them (copy them elsewhere).
4. Replace files with downloaded ones (e.g. NotoColorEmoji.ttf from Google or Apple).
5. Change the access rights to 644 (rw-r----).
6. Reboot the phone.

💡 Tip: If the emojis are shown as squares after the replacement, you used an incompatible file. Try another set of emojis or return the original files.

💡

Manual editing of system files is the most flexible method, but also the riskiest. If you are not sure about your actions, use modules for Magisk or ADB.

6 How to return standard emojis if something went wrong

If the emojis start to show up incorrectly after the experiments, or the phone starts to work unstable, then you can go back to the original state.

🔄 If you change themes:

• Open the Topic app.
• Select the standard theme (Default or MIUI).
• Reboot the phone.

🔧 If you've used ADB:

• Connect your phone to your computer and do: adb shell su mount -o rw,remount /system rm /system/fonts/emoji_font.ttf reboot

🛠 If you install modules through Magisk:

• Open Magisk Manager.
• Find the installed module and remove it.
• Reboot the phone.

🚨 If the phone doesn't turn on:

• Download to Fastboot Mode (Food + Volume Down).
• Flick the phone through the Mi Flash Tool (instructions are available on the official website of Xiaomi).

FAQ: Frequent questions about changing emojis to Xiaomi