How to translate Xiaomi phone from English to Russian: 5 working ways

Have you bought a Xiaomi, Redmi, POCO or Black Shark smartphone with global or Chinese firmware, but the settings are not Russian? or after the update, the system suddenly switched to English? This problem is familiar to many users of the brand — especially those who buy devices on foreign sites like AliExpress or Banggood.

In this article, we will look at all possible ways to change the language, from switching to the menu to manually adding Russian through hidden settings, and what to do if Russian is not available even after resetting to factory settings (a common problem for devices in the Chinese market), all instructions are relevant for MIUI 14/15 and new models from 2023-2026.

1. Standard method: changing the language through settings

If your Xiaomi supports Russian (and this is the majority of global firmware versions), you can switch in 30 seconds:

1. Open the Settings app (the gear icon on the desktop).
2. Scroll down and select Additional settings.
3. Use Languages & Input → Languages.
4. In the list, find Russian (or Russian) and click on it.
5. Confirm the choice by pressing Set as default.

If Russian is not on the list, but there are other languages (for example, Ukrainian or Belarusian), then you have Chinese firmware - go to the method. №3 or №4.If the list of languages is empty or contains only English/Chinese, the problem may be in regional settings (more on this in the next section).

2. Check regional settings (if Russian is not on the list)

Sometimes Russian is hidden because of a mis-chosen region, and this is true for devices purchased in Europe, India or China.

1. Go to Settings → Additional settings → Languages & input → Region.
2. Choose Russia (or Russia if already partially Russified).
3. Restart your phone and then Russian may appear in the list of languages.

If Russia is not on the list, try to choose Belarus, Kazakhstan or Ukraine, then restart the device and check for Russian again (MIUI EU, Xiaomi.eu) This trick works.

⚠️ Note: On Chinese firmware (China) ROM) If you change your region to Russia, you may block access to some Google services (such as Play Market or Gmail), in which case you will have to manually install Google Services Framework after Russification.

3. Manual addition of Russian through a hidden menu (for Chinese firmware)

If you have Xiaomi with Chinese firmware (China ROM), then Russian will not be the default language in the settings, but you can add it through the engineering menu:

1. Open the phone app (phone).
2. Enter the combination: ##5263### (or #5646### for older models).
3. You will be taken to the CIT (Engineering Mode) menu.
4. Select Language Switch (or Locale Setting)
5. Find it in the list. ru_RU (Russian) and activate it.
6. Reboot the phone.

If the combination doesn't work, try another code: ##6484### (MTK Engineer Mode menu for MediaTek chip devices). Some models (POCO F5, Redmi Note 12) may require a password input - standard: 1234 or 0000.

4. Installation of the Russifier via APK (without root rights)

If the previous methods didn't work, you can manually install the language pack.

1. Download. APK-russifier file for your model: 📱 For MIUI 14/15: russifier MIUI.SU 📱 For POCO/Redmi: topic 4PDA 📱 For Black Shark: XDA Developers

Settings → Apps → Manage apps → Chrome/Files. → Install unknown apps

Install the downloaded APK and restart the phone.

Once installed, Russian will appear in the settings. Please note that some Russifiers may be reset after the MIUI update, and you will have to re-install them.

5. Russification via ADB (for advanced users)

If none of these things work, you can force a language change through ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires a computer and a little technical skill.

1. Download and install Google’s Platform Tools.
2. Turn on USB Debugging on your phone: Settings → About phone → MIUI version (shack 7 times until you say “You’re a developer”). Then: Settings → Additional settings → Developer options → USB debugging.
3. Connect your phone to your PC and open Command Prompt (or Terminal on Mac/Linux) in the folder with the platform-tools.
4. Enter the command: adb shell am start -n com.android.settings/.Settings$LanguageSettingsActivity This will open a hidden menu of languages.
5. If you don’t have a Russian, do it: adb shell settings put system system_locales ru_RU,en_US Then restart the phone.

If the language hasn’t changed after the reboot, try an alternative command:

adb shell setprop persist.sys.locale ru-RU

Important:

HyperOS

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Before using ADB, check if the bootloader is unlocked on your Xiaomi. If not, the commands may not work. Unlock can be done through the official Xiaomi website (Mi Account is required).

6. Reflashing to global or custom MIUI

If all previous methods fail, the most reliable but risky way is to reflash the phone to a global version of MIUI or custom firmware (e.g. Xiaomi.eu), which is guaranteed to add Russian, but requires:

• 🔓 Unlocked bootloader (Bootloader Unlock).
• 💻 Computer with Mi Flash Tool installed.
• 📄 The right firmware for your model (download only from the official website or Xiaomi.eu).
• 🔋 Battery charge of at least 60%.

Step-by-step instructions for firmware:

1. Unlock the bootloader via the Mi Unlock Tool (can take up to 72 hours due to Xiaomi restrictions).
2. Download Fastboot firmware ROM for your model (for example, tissot_global_images... for Mi A1).
3. Connect your phone to your PC in Fastboot mode (press Power + Vol− when the phone is off).
4. Launch the Mi Flash Tool, select the downloaded firmware and press Flash.
5. Wait for the finish (10-15 minutes) and restart the phone.

⚠️ Warning: Wrong firmware can turn your phone into a brick. Always check that the firmware is compatible with your model by device code (e.g., tissot for Mi). A1, raphael for Redmi K20 Pro. The code can be found in Settings. → About phone → Model.

Frequent problems and their solutions

Even after successful Russification, unpleasant surprises can occur, and here are the most common ways to correct them:

Problem 1: Russian is available, but part of the menu is in English

This is due to incomplete localization of some system applications.

• Update your firmware to the latest version via Settings → About phone → System update.
• Delete the cache of system applications: Settings → Apps → Manage apps → [app] → Clear cache.
• Set a localization patch (e.g., MoreLocale 2).

Problem 2: Google Play has been lost after Russification

This is a typical situation for Chinese firmware, where Google services are removed.

• Download and install Open GApps (select the pico option for minimum weight).
• Or install Google Installer from APKPure.
• Restart your phone and log in to your Google account.

Problem 3: The phone after Russification began to slow down

Sometimes language packs or custom firmware conflict with the system.

• Reset the cache via Recovery (press Power + Vol+ when the phone is off, select Wipe cache).
• Reverse to the previous firmware version if the brakes appeared after the upgrade.
• Check your phone for viruses (for example, through Malwarebytes).

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If the phone stopped turning on after Russification, it was probably not installed for your model, in which case only flashing through Fastboot or contacting the service center will help.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions