How to find out the processor model on Xiaomi phone: the complete guide

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face the need to accurately define their device’s hardware platform. Knowing a specific processor model number is critical when searching for drivers, installing custom firmware, or simply understanding the real performance of a gadget. Marketing names like “Snapdragon 778G” or “Dimensity 1200” may not be obvious in the standard “About Phone” menu, where only the generic name of the series is displayed.

There are many ways to get this information, from simply examining the box to diving deep into system files through ADB. An accurate chipset identifier (such as sm8250 for Snapdragon 865) is often necessary to correctly select versions of Recovery or kernel patches. In this article, we will examine both the standard methods available to every user and advanced tools for those who want to know everything about their device.

Don't rely on just the data from the advertising booklets, because in different regions, the same model of the smartphone can come with different hardware revisions. For example, the global version of the Redmi Note may differ from the Chinese version not only software, but also "iron" stuffing. Let's look at proven identification methods.

Using standard Android settings

The easiest and safest way to find out basic information about the processor is through the operating system settings menu. However, the MIUI or HyperOS shell interface often hides technical details behind beautiful names. To get to the bottom of it, you need to go to Settings → About Phone → All the options. Here you will see the name of the processor model, but often without specifying its real code name.

For more information, you can use the hidden debugging menu. If you click 7-10 times in the MIUI version section, you will open a menu of advanced settings. There you can sometimes find a line with the platform name, but this does not work on all versions of firmware. In some cases, the system only displays a marketing name, such as "Qualcomm Snapdragon", without specifying a specific number.

⚠️ Warning: Do not try to change the values in the engineering menu (##6484##) unless you are sure of your actions. Resetting sensor calibration or changing screen settings may cause the device to malfunction.

If the standard menu doesn’t give a complete answer, you should look at the “Facts” section of the Xiaomi Security app, where the data is better structured, but still may not be technical codes. For most ordinary users, the information in this section will be enough to understand what kind of chipset they have.

Application of specialized applications

When embedded tools are scarce, third-party utilities come to the rescue, which reads data directly from the kernel system files, and the CPU-Z application is considered the leader in this field. Once installed and launched, it immediately displays the SOC tabs, where you can see the exact name, process, number of cores and their frequency, and this is the most reliable way to learn the real model without superuser rights.

Another powerful tool is AIDA64, which provides comprehensive information not only about the processor, but also about sensors, battery and network. In the CPU section (CPU), you'll see a detailed description of each core, their current frequency in real time, and the instructions supported. For enthusiasts checking trottling or trottling, this is an indispensable tool.

Also worth mentioning is the Device Info HW app. It's especially useful for those interested in the camera and screen, but the processor information is very detailed, including the GPU manufacturer and the driver version. Often here you can see discrepancies between the declared specifications and the real ones.

Use of engineering menus and codes

For more advanced users, you can call the engineering menu through a set of special codes in the Phone app. Entering the combination ##4636## opens the testing menu, where you can find data about the modem and sometimes about the platform in the Phone Information section. However, newer versions of Android often restrict access to this data.

Another popular code is ##6484##, which opens the CIT menu, where you can check the performance of all components. Although the direct line "CPU Model" may not be there, indirect data on the kernel version and hardware will help identify the platform if you have technical documentation.

It's worth remembering that on global firmware, many codes can be blocked by the manufacturer for security reasons, and if the code doesn't work, the system will simply not respond or give a syntax error, and in such cases, it's better to use software analysis methods.

Analysis through ADB and Fastboot

If you don't have superuser rights, but you have a computer, the ADB method is one of the most informative. If you plug your phone in USB debugging mode, you can run a command that will output all the system properties, and you use the adb shell getprop command, which will give you a huge list of parameters.

So you can filter the output to avoid looking for a needle in a haystack, and the adb shell getprop | grep ro.product.board will show the code name of the board that is directly related to the processor model, for example, the lahaina value will point to the Snapdragon 888 and the lito to the Snapdragon 765G. This is a professional identification method.

adb shell cat /proc/cpuinfo

Executing the cat /proc/cpuinfo command via ADB will give detailed information about the CPU cores, including their IDs and specifications. This is the raw data that the Linux kernel itself reads when it boots. For experts, this is the most reliable source of information that cannot be tampered with software at the user interface level.

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To work with ADB, you need to install Minimal ADB and Fastboot on your PC and enable “USB Debugging” in the Developer Menu on your phone.

Search by device code name

Often the easiest way to find information is to know the codename of the device. Each Xiaomi smartphone has a unique name, like davinci for the Redmi K20 Pro or miui for different models. If you know the codename, you can go to specialized resources like XiaomiFirm or GSMArena and instantly find out which chipset is installed.

You can find out the code name through the same applications like CPU-Z (the Device tab) or through ADB with the adb shell getprop ro.product.device command, which is often contained in the firmware file name, which is the key to understanding which hardware platform is inside.

Below is a table of matching popular code names and processors for Xiaomi devices:

Visual identification and documentation

If the phone doesn't turn on, but you need to know the CPU model, you only have a physical exam or documentation, and there's always a specification sticker on the phone box that says the type of CPU, and you can find that information on the warranty card or check if it says the full name of the model.

Visually identifying the chipset without turning on the phone is almost impossible, as the marking on the chip itself is often hidden by a heat sink or shielding metal casing. Removing the casing requires skills and can disrupt the tightness of the case, so this method is not recommended for ordinary users.

But with the exact model of the phone (like the M2004J19C), you can easily find the specs on the Internet, and aggregator sites like Kimovil or DXOMark have huge databases where you can break through all the hardware using the model, which is the fastest way to turn off the device.

⚠️ Note: When buying a used phone, be sure to check the processor model through CPU-Z. Unscrupulous sellers can refashion cheap models (for example, on MediaTek) under the guise of expensive ones (on Snapdragon), changing the data in the system, but not in the hardware.

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The fastest and most reliable way for the average user is to install the CPU-Z application. It takes up a minimum of space and gives a 100% accurate answer about the chip model, bypassing the marketing tricks of the interface.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)