How to change the style of emoji on Xiaomi: from standard to iOS and Google

Why Xiaomi Emojis Look Different – and How to Fix Them

Have you ever noticed that your Xiaomi emojis are different than those seen by your iPhone or Google Pixel friends? It's no coincidence: the manufacturer uses its own MIUI Emoji emoji set, which is integrated into the system font. While Apple and Google update their emojis annually, Xiaomi often lags behind - some characters may look outdated or out of step with current Unicode standards.

Fortunately, there are several ways to change the style of the Xiaomi emoji, from simple customization to deep customization via ADB or third-party firmware. In this article, we will discuss all working methods, including their pros and cons, and provide recommendations for different versions of MIUI and HyperOS. Importantly, some methods require unlocking the bootloader or root rights - we will warn you about this in advance.

If you want your emoji to look like iOS 17, Android 14, or even Twitter/X, read on. We'll also tell you how to get it back if you don't like it.

Method 1: Change the style of emojis through keyboard settings (no root)

The easiest way to do this is to change the keyboard to one that supports alternative emoji sets, which won't change the system emojis in all applications, but it will affect how they appear when you type, and is suitable for users who don't want to risk the stability of the system.

Here are the keyboards that allow you to choose the style of emoji:

• 📱 Gboard (Google) – supports Android and iOS-style emojis (via themes).
• 🍎 SwiftKey (Microsoft) – Offers Twitter, Google and Apple kits.
• ⚡ Fleksy – allows you to install custom emoji packs (including animated ones).
• 🎨 Chroom (from developers) MIUI) — Optimized for Xiaomi, but with limited styles.

To change style:

1. Install the selected keyboard from Google Play.
2. Go to Settings → System and Device → Language and Input → Current Keyboard.
3. Select a new keyboard and activate it.
4. In the keyboard settings, find the "Emoji" or "Themes" section and select your favorite style.

⚠️ Note: This method only works to display emojis when typed. In instant messengers (such as WhatsApp or Telegram), emojis will be displayed in a system style. MIUI, If the app does not use its own graphics resources.

Remove the current keyboard cache in Settings → Applications|

Download 2-3 keyboards for comparison |

Check the feedback on the stability of work |

Disable auto-update keyboard in Google Play (to avoid resetting settings)-->

Method 2: Install custom font with emoji (requires MIUI 12+)

Since MIUI 12, Xiaomi has added support for custom fonts, including those containing alternative emojis, which changes the display of emojis throughout the system, but has limitations: not all fonts work correctly, and some characters can be displayed crooked.

Where to get the fonts from the emoji:

• 🔍 dafont.com – look for fonts marked “Emoji” (e.g. Noto Color Emoji, Twemoji).

Installation instructions:

1. Download the font in.ttf or.otf format.
2. Place the file in the Download or MIUI/Theme folder.
3. Go to Settings → Screen → Font.
4. Click "Local font" and select the downloaded file.
5. Confirm the installation and restart the device.

⚠️ Note: Some fonts may break the text display in system applications (such as Settings or Phone). → Additionally. → Backup: If the screen becomes unreadable after changing the font, return the standard font via Safe Mode (press the power button). → "Reboot to Safe Mode").

Method 3: Using Magisk and the Emoji Replacer module (requires root)

For users with an unlocked bootloader and Magisk installed, there is a more reliable way – the Emoji Replacer module. It replaces the system emoji at the kernel level, which ensures that they are displayed in all applications, including WhatsApp, Instagram and system notifications.

Advantages of the method:

• 🔄 Complete replacement of emoji throughout the system (including web pages in the browser).
• 📦 Support for packages from Google, Apple, Samsung and others.
• 🔒 The ability to roll back to standard emojis in one click.

Instructions:

1. Install Magisk (if not already installed).
2. Download the Emoji Replacer module with XDA Developers.
3. Transfer the module file (.zip) to the phone’s memory.
4. Open Magisk, go to the Modules section and click "Install from storage".
5. Select the downloaded file and confirm the installation.
6. Reset the device.

Once you reboot, the emojis will change automatically, so you can change the style.

1. Open Magisk → Modules → Click on the gear next to the Emoji Replacer.
2. Select the desired emoji package (for example, google_2023 or apple_ios17).
3. Save the settings and restart the phone.

1. Clear the app cache through Settings → Apps → App management → Clear the cache.
2. Install an additional Font Replacer module for compatibility.
3. Check the Magisk version (should be at least 26.0).

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Method 4: Manual editing system files via ADB (for advanced)

This method is suitable for those who do not want to install Magisk, but are ready to work with ADB. It involves replacing the system files with emoji manually. Attention: improper actions can lead to a device "brick" - use only if you understand the risks!

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with installed ADB and Fastboot.
• 📱 Initiated Debugging Mode USB on the phone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times to activate the developer mode, then additionally → For developers → Debugging by USB).
• 📁.ttf emoji files (can be extracted from Google Pixel or iPhone firmware).

Step-by-step:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and execute the command: Adb devices Make sure the device is identified.
2. Download the archive from an emoji (like Noto Color Emoji) and unpack it.
3. Transfer the font file to the folder /system/fonts/: adb push NotoColorEmoji.ttf /sdcard/ adb shell su mount -o rw,remount /system cp /sdcard/NotoColorEmoji.ttf /system/fonts/ chmod 644 /system/fonts/NotoColorEmoji.ttf reboot
4. After the reboot, check the display of the emoji in any messenger.

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi Note) 10 pro POCO F3) folder /system protected from recording even through ADB. In this case, you will need to temporarily disable dm-verity via the command: adb shell su disable-verity But this can disrupt the work. OTA-update!

Method 5: Install custom firmware (extreme case)

If you want an iOS or Samsung-style emoji, but previous methods didn't work, the radical option is to reflash your phone to custom firmware, like LineageOS or Pixel Experience using Google emojis, and AOSP-based firmware often allows you to choose style through customization.

Pros of the method:

• 🔧 Full control of the system, including emojis.
• 🆕 Regular updates and support for new Unicode characters.
• 🎨 The ability to choose firmware with the desired design (for example, Havoc-OS with Twitter emoji).

Cons:

• ⚠️ Loss of warranty (if the bootloader was unlocked).
• 🔄 Risk of "brike" with incorrect firmware.
• 📱 Some features of Xiaomi, for example, IR Blaster or Game Turbo may not work.

Recommended firmware for Xiaomi:

💡

Before you run your firmware, be sure to check compatibility with your Xiaomi model on the XDA Developers or 4PDA forum. Some firmware (like Snapdragon) is not suitable for devices on Mediatek and vice versa.

How to bring back standard emojis to Xiaomi

If you are not satisfied with the experiments with emoji, you can return everything back in several ways depending on the chosen method:

• 🔙 After changing the keyboard: Return the standard keyboard MIUI In Settings → Language and input.
• 📱 After installing custom font: Go to Settings → Screen. → Font and select "Standard".
• 🛠️ After Magisk Module: Open Magisk, find the Emoji Replacer module and remove it (reboot will be required).
• 💻 After manual editing through ADB: Delete the added font files with the command: adb shell su mount -o rw,remount /system rm /system/fonts/YourEmojiFont.ttf reboot
• 🔄 After the custom firmware: Return to the official MIUI via Fastboot or MI Flash Tool.

If after returning to the standard settings, the emoji are displayed incorrectly (for example, in the form of empty squares), reset the cache:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find Android System WebView, Google Play Services and Messages.
3. For each, click "Clear cache" and "Stop".
4. Reset the device.

FAQ: Frequent questions about changing emojis to Xiaomi