Why Xiaomi users want to replace standard emojis with iPhones?
Appleβs emojis have long been a design benchmark: their style is minimalist, the colors are saturated and the animations are smooth. whereas standard smileys on Xiaomi (especially on MIUI 12-14) are often criticized for excessive detail, uneven contours and dull shades. For example, compare smiley faces: on iOS they look like live, and on Android β sometimes like cartoon characters.
But it's not just aesthetics. iPhone emojis are better optimized for instant messengers: WhatsApp, Telegram or iMessage display them the same on all devices, while Xiaomi emojis can be distorted when sent to iPhone. 2023 year-over 31 A new emoji, including a heart of fire and a black bird. MIUI These new products appear with a delay in 6-12 months.
Another thing that's good about this is unification, and if you're chatting in chat rooms where most people are using iPhones, your messages will look organic, like emojis. π Xiaomi and iPhone are visually so different that it can be confusing (π·πΊ) on MIUI It still appears in the outdated color scheme of 2018, while Apple has it in line with the current design.
Method 1: Installation through apps from Google Play
The easiest and safest method is to use specialized utilities, which do not require root rights and work on all Xiaomi smartphones (including Redmi Note 12, POCO X5 and Mi 11).
Top.-3 tested applications:
- π± iFont β Supports more 1000 fonts, including emojis from iOS 15-17. There is a preview function.
- π¨ Emoji Changer β allows you to selectively replace only smiley without affecting the main font of the system.
- βοΈ ZFont 3 β works without the Internet, has a built-in backup of original emojis.
Step-by-step instructions on the example of iFont:
- Download and install iFont from Google Play.
- Open the app and go to the Emoji β iOS section.
- Select the version (like iOS 16.4) and click Download.
- After downloading, tap Set β confirm the font replacement.
- Reboot your smartphone.
β οΈ Note: Some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi) 9A) After replacing the emoji via iFont, the animation in WhatsApp may disappear. To return it, clear the messenger cache in the app settings.
Method 2: Manual font copying (for advanced users)
If Google Play apps donβt fit (for example, due to region or Android version restrictions), you can manually transfer emojis, which requires access to the file system, but you donβt necessarily need root rights β just use ADB (Android Debug Bridge).
You'll need:
- π₯οΈ Computer with installed ADB Tools.
- π± Xiaomi smartphone with enabled debugging USB (Settings β The phone. β Version. MIUI β 7 times to tap the assembly number β return to β For developers β Debugging by USB).
- π Archive of the emoji fonts from iOS (can be downloaded here).
Instructions:
- Connect your smartphone to your PC and open the command line (Windows) or terminal (macOS/Linux).
- Check the connection command: Adb devices should appear the name of your device.
- Download the font archive and unpack it. You need NotoColorEmoji.ttf and AppleColorEmoji.ttf files.
- Copy them into the system folder: adb push NotoColorEmoji.ttf /sdcard/ adb push AppleColorEmoji.ttf /sdcard/
- Now transfer the files to the folder with fonts: adb shell su mount -o rw,remount /system cp /sdcard/NotoColorEmoji.ttf /system/fonts/ cp /sdcard/AppleColorEmoji.ttf /system/fonts/ chmod 644 /system/fonts/NotoColorEmoji.ttf chmod 644 /system/fonts/AppleColorEmoji.ttf reboot
Make a backup of original fonts|Download ADB Tools|Enable debugging on USB|Check out the Android version (should be 8.0)+)-->
β οΈ Attention: On Xiaomi with MIUI 13 and later, after manually changing the fonts, the display of emoji in the system notifications (for example, in the Quick Settings Panel) may break. To fix, you will have to reset the settings to factory or return the original files via the system notifications. ADB.
Method 3: Using Magisk Modules (root required)
If your Xiaomi smartphone is unlocked and Magisk is installed, you can use ready-made modules to replace emojis, which provides more control and stability than manually copying files.
Popular modules:
- π iOS Emoji Magisk Module β automatically downloads current emoji from the latest version of iOS.
- π Emoji Replacer β allows you to choose between different styles (iOS, Samsung, Google).
- π οΈ FontManager β universal font manager with support for emoji.
How to determine:
- Download a module (like the iOS Emoji Magisk Module) and save it to your phoneβs memory.
- Open Magisk Manager and go to the Modules section.
- Click Install from Storage β select the downloaded file.
- After installation, restart the device.
| Module | Support for iOS 17 | Magisk required | Compatibility with MIUI |
|---|---|---|---|
| iOS Emoji Magisk Module | β Yes. | β Yes. | β 12-14 |
| Emoji Replacer | β No, before iOS 16) | β Yes. | β All versions. |
| FontManager | β Yes (manual loading) | β Yes. | β οΈ Possible bugs on MIUI 14 |
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If after installing the module, emojis are displayed in squares, try clearing the cache of the Android System WebView app in the phone settings.
Method 4: Replacement via TWRP (for power users)
If you have custom recovery TWRP, you can flash a zip archive with emoji fonts, which is suitable for devices that do not work ADB or Magisk, the main advantage is that the changes are applied at the firmware level, so the emoji will be displayed even in system applications.
Step-by-step:
- Download the zip archive from an iOS emoji (for example, from here).
- Reboot the smartphone to recovery mode: turn off the device, then press the Power button + Volume up.
- In TWRP, select Install β specify the path to the downloaded archive.
- Swipe to confirm the firmware.
- After completion, press Reboot System.
β οΈ Note: On some Xiaomi models (e.g, POCO F4 GT) squirt TWRP This can cause a system to fail.Be sure to backup through the system before the procedure. TWRP β Backup by selecting the System partition.
What if the emojis have not changed after the firmware?
Method 5: Use of alternative keyboards
If you don't want to mess with system files, you can install a keyboard that supports iPhone emojis, and the downside is that the emojis will only show up correctly in the input field, and in chat rooms they will turn into standard Android emojis.
The best keyboards with support for iOS emoji:
- β¨οΈ Gboard β you can turn on the iOS theme in the settings (but Android will remain emojis).
- π iEmoji Keyboard β mimics the iPhone keyboard, including the design of the emoji.
- π¨ Kika Keyboard β allows you to choose the style of emoji, including iOS).
How to set up iEmoji Keyboard:
- Install the app from Google Play.
- Open the keyboard settings and select iOS Style.
- Activate the keyboard in system settings: Settings β System β Language and input β Virtual keyboard.
- In any messenger, call the keyboard and click on the emoji icon β they will appear in the style of iOS.
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Alternative keyboards are the only way to get iPhone emojis without changing system files, but they only work in the input field, not in the messages themselves.
Possible problems and solutions
Even after successful emoji replacement, Xiaomi users are plagued with bugs, and here are the most common ways to fix them:
| Problem. | Reason. | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Emojis are displayed in squares | Incompatibility of fonts with the Android version | Install another emoji package or update your Android |
| Animation emoji is missing | Conflict with system fonts | Clear the cache of the Android System WebView |
| Emojis are knocked off after MIUI update | The system overwrites fonts | Repeat the replacement of the emoji or roll back the update |
| In some applications, emojis have not changed | The app uses its fonts | Clean the application data or use the Magisk module |
If the emoji stopped working after replacement GIF-stickers on Telegram or VK, try:
- Open the application settings β Clear the cache.
- Reinstall the messenger.
- If it didnβt help, return the original fonts and use an alternative method (for example, a keyboard).