How to change voiceover on the vacuum cleaner Xiaomi

Owners of modern robot vacuum cleaners often face the situation when the device by default speaks Chinese or uses a mechanical female voice that many people think is unnatural. Standard firmware designed for the domestic market of China often does not contain the usual male or female voices available in global versions of the technology, which creates some discomfort during the daily operation of the smart device.

Fortunately, the architecture of the Xiaomi Vacuum operating system allows you to change language packs without the need to flash the entire device or complex hacking. The process of changing your voice consists of downloading a special audio file and activating it through an engineering menu or application.

In this article, we will discuss in detail all available methods of replacing voice support. You will learn how to switch the robot to English, how to activate the voice of Google Assistant or Alice, if supported by the model, and what nuances exist when working with different versions of software. It is important to understand that the procedure may vary slightly depending on the year of release of your gadget.

Features of voice packets in the Xiaomi ecosystem

Xiaomi’s smart tech ecosystem and Roborock’s sub-brand were originally designed to be global, but supply logistics often lead to CN (China)-labeled devices that have a limited voice pool. Global versions usually have multilingual support that includes Russian and English.

Voice packets are a set of audio files of a specific format and size that are written to a special part of the device's memory. The robot vacuum cleaner's audio system is not static; it is able to download new data from the Internet or local network, and this is the capability that the voice replacement method is based on.

⚠️ Warning: Before any manipulations, make sure that your device has a battery charge of at least 40%. Interrupting the recording process of a voice packet due to discharge can cause the robot to stop making any sounds.

Not all models support arbitrary voice change: Older versions, such as the first Xiaomi Vacuum 1 (SDS01XM), have hard-wired voices that are difficult and risky to change with software. More modern models, including the Roborock S5 Max, S6, S7 and the new Xiaomi Vacuum Mop line, have a flexible sound management system.

Preparation for the installation of a new voice

Before you start downloading files, you need to do a number of preparatory steps to ensure the success of the operation and minimize the risk of software damage, first of all, you need a stable connection to the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network, since most robots do not support 5 GHz.

The second important step is to determine the exact model of your device and the current firmware version, which is necessary to select a compatible voice packet, and the wrong version may fail or cause an error in the Mi Home application.

You'll also need a smartphone with Mi Home or Roborock installed. In some cases, you may need access to your phone's file system to rename downloaded files. Make sure you have a file manager with permissions to access your system folders or download folder.

Change of voice through region change in Mi Home

The easiest and safest way to get an alternative voiceover is to change the region in the app. Often users from the CIS use the region "Russia", where only basic voices are available. Switching to the region "China" or "Singapore" can open access to additional language packages.

To do this, go to the Mi Home profile, select Settings, and find Region. After changing region, the app will ask you to reboot. Note that when you change region, the list of devices may clear and you will have to add them again, linking them to a new server.

• 🌏 Open the Mi Home app and go to profile.
• 📍 Click on the region settings and select "China).
• 🔄 Wait for the update of the list of devices and find your vacuum cleaner.
• 🔊 Go to the robot settings and check the available languages in the "Voice Package" section".

If you have a language choice on the menu after you change region, just activate the language you want, but this method doesn't work for all models. It often happens that even in the Chinese region, only one standard voice is available, and you need to use manual installation.

Manual installation of voice packet (method with files)

If changing the region doesn’t work, you’ll have to upload your voice manually, which requires downloading a special file with the.pkg or.bin extension from trusted sources, such as 4PDA forums or the official GitHub repository of the valetudo community.

There are two main ways to deliver a file to a device: via a local area network (LAN) Or through cloud storage, the most common method is the use of a special method. URL-The address is a file that the robot downloads itself, and the voice file must be placed on a server that is accessible from the outside, or it must be used locally. HTTP-computer-side.

For advanced users, the ADB debugging method is available if the robot model allows it, but for most users, the best way to do this is to use the built-in voice-over-link feature, and you'll need to copy the direct link to the voice file and paste it into a dedicated debugging field or use third-party scripts.

⚠️ Warning: Only download voice packets from trusted resources. Files from unknown sources may contain malicious code that can disrupt the network modules of the vacuum cleaner.

Once the file is downloaded and the link is received, you need to go to the robot's engineering menu, and on some models this is done by quickly pressing certain buttons on the case, on others through the hidden menus of the application, and in the field to update the voice, a link is inserted, and the device starts to load.

Use of alternative firmware and Valetudo

For owners of Roborock S5, S6 and some Xiaomi models, there is the option of installing alternative Valetudo firmware.This open source software completely replaces the cloud-based reliance on Xiaomi servers and gives full access to the device’s file system, including sound management.

Valetudo installation is a complex process that requires command line skills and an understanding of network protocols, and it allows you to download any audio packets converted to the desired format, and even write your own phrases, and it offers unlimited customization opportunities.

If you're going to do this, you'll need to access the device via telnet or ssh. Once you get root permissions, you'll be able to replace the system voice files directly, which is the most effective, but it's highly skilled.

Table of compatibility of models and methods

Not all methods are suitable for all devices. Below is a table that will help you navigate the available options for popular vacuum cleaners. Note that support for functions may change with updates to official software.

As you can see from the table, the most flexible devices in the setup are devices branded Roborock. Budget models of the Essential or Lite series often have stripped-down software that does not allow you to make deep changes to the system.

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If you don't find your model in the table, try looking for technical documentation for "model number + voice pack" on specialized forums. Often, enthusiasts have already found a solution for rare devices.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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Changing voiceover is a safe and effective setup that greatly improves the interaction with the device, making it more understandable and enjoyable to use.