How to change voice in a robot vacuum cleaner Xiaomi: official and informal methods

Xiaomi’s robot vacuum cleaners have long been an integral part of smart homes, but their standard voice alerts in Chinese or monotonous English annoy many users. Fortunately, you can change your voice in Mi Robot Vacuum, Dreame or Viomi in several ways, from official settings in the Mi Home app to manually editing system files. In this article, we will analyze all the current methods, including nuances for different models and firmware.

It's important to understand that the voice change capabilities depend on the firmware version and the regional binding of the device, such as vacuum cleaners for the Chinese market (CN) It supports more language packs than global versions (Global), and models with a Mediatek chip (e.g. Dreame) D9) Require a different approach than devices on Realtek (Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Lite.

1.Official method: changing the language in Mi Home

The easiest method is to use the built-in settings of the Mi Home app, which is suitable for most models released after 2019, but has limitations on the languages available.

To change the voice:

• 📱 Open the Mi Home app and select your vacuum cleaner.
• ⚙️ Go to Settings. → Voice prompts (or Language Settings in English version).
• 🌐 Select the desired language from the list (usually available Chinese, English, Spanish, German).
• 🔄 Reboot the vacuum cleaner by holding the power button for 3 seconds.

⚠️ Note: On some models (e.g. Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop P), the language change resets the user's cleaning zone settings. Before changing your voice, export room maps through Settings → Map. → Exports to avoid their loss.

If the list does not include Russian, it does not mean that it can not be added. This will require alternative methods described below. It is also worth considering that after updating the firmware through Mi Home, the voice can be reset to factory settings - this bug occurs in software versions. 3.5.8_0040 and 3.5.9_0050.

2. Unofficial firmware: Valetudo and alternative firmware

For advanced users willing to sacrifice the warranty, there is the possibility of installing custom firmware, the most popular is Valetudo, which not only adds Russian-language voice packets, but also removes cloud binding to Xiaomi servers.

What will be required:

• 🖥️ A computer with Windows/Linux or MacOS.
• 🔌 USB-cable for connecting to a vacuum cleaner (usually Micro-USB or Type-C).
• 🛠️ Putty (for Windows) or Terminal (for Windows) Mac/Linux).
• 📁 Valetudo firmware for your model (you can download it on the official website).

Installation process:

1. Connect the vacuum cleaner to your computer and find it. IP-router address (usually starting with 192.168.).
2. Open Putty and enter IP-Address in the Host Name field, port 22.
3. Log in with root login and password (empty or 1234 by default).
4. Run the command to install Valetudo: wget -O - https://install.valetudo.cloud | sh
5. After restarting the vacuum cleaner, download the Russian-language voice package through the Valetudo web interface (http://[IP-vacuum-dress]).

⚠️ Warning: Valetudo's installation voids Xiaomi's warranty and could lead to unstable sensor performance.On models with laser lidars (LDS) After the firmware is sometimes required calibration:

send_command '{"command": "calibrate_lidar"}'

Make a backup of the current firmware through dd if=/dev/mtdblock0 of=mtdblock0.bin|

Disconnect the vacuum cleaner from Wi-Fi in Mi Home|

Check the compatibility of the model on the Valetudo website|

Prepare. USB-OTG disaster-recovery cable

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3. Manual editing of system files (for experienced)

If you don't want to install custom firmware, but you're willing to dig through the system files, you can replace voice samples manually. This method works on most Xiaomi and Dreame models, but requires access to the same system. SSH.

Where voice files are stored:

Instructions for replacement:

1. Connect to the vacuum cleaner SSH (Like the Valetudo section).
2. Download original files to your computer for backup: scp -r root@[IP-address]:/mnt/default/rockrobo/voice/./voice_backup/
3. Prepare your voice files: 🎤 Write down the phrases in voice (for example, “Start cleaning”, “Charge completed”) in the format MP3/WAV. 🔊 Normalize volume to -16 LUFS (You can go to Audacity). 📝 Rename files according to the original structure (e.g, start_cleaning.mp3).

scp -r./custom_voice/ root@[IP- address]:/mnt/default/rockrobo/voice/

reboot

⚠️ Warning: Incorrect audio file formats can cause loss of sound altogether. WAV instead MP3 Mi Robot Vacuum 1S, The vacuum cleaner will only emit system squeaks. Before replacing, check the format of the original files!

4. Use of third-party applications (without root)

If you don't want to interfere with the firmware, but you want Russian-language alerts, you can use intermediary apps, which intercept commands from the vacuum cleaner and voice them in their voice over a smartphone.

Popular applications:

• 📲 Robot Vacuum Voice (Android) – supports Xiaomi, Dreame, Ecovacs.
• 🍎 MiHome Voice Assistant (iOS) – works through Shortcuts and voices notifications from Mi Home.
• 🤖 Home Assistant + Text-to-Speech – for users who have a vacuum cleaner integrated into the smart home system.

How to set up Robot Vacuum Voice:

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. Enable notification access for Mi Home in Android settings (Settings) → Annexes → Mi Home → Notifications).
3. In Robot Vacuum Voice, select a vacuum cleaner model and download the Russian-language package.
4. Activate the Listen to Mi Home mode.

⚠️ Warning: Intermediary apps only work when the smartphone is on the same Wi-Fi network as the vacuum cleaner, and they can delay alerts for 2-5 seconds due to data processing.

💡

If you use Home Assistant, add to config media_player for vacuum cleaner and set up automatic voiceover of events through Google TTS Or Yandex SpeechKit. An example of the code for configuration.yaml can be found on the official website.

5. Features for different models

Not all Xiaomi vacuum cleaners are equally supportive of voice change, and here are the key differences:

Mi Robot Vacuum 1/1S (2016–2018 garland.):

• 🔧 Requires manual file editing or Valetudo firmware.
• 🚫 Do not support language change through Mi Home.
• 📁 Voice files are stored in /mnt/default/rockrobo/voice/.

Dreame D9 / D10:

• 🌍 English and Spanish are available in global firmware.
• 🔊 For Russian voice, you need to replace the files in /mnt/UDISK/voice/.
• ⚡ After updating the firmware, the voice is reset.

Viomi V2 / V3:

• 🎤 Supports custom voice downloads via Viomi App (Chinese version only).
• 📡 Global models require Valetudo firmware.
• 🔄 Voice packets are updated along with firmware cards.

Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Pro / P:

• 🌐 5 languages are available in Mi Home, including Russian (but only in firmware versions 3.6.0)+).
• 🛠️ For manual voice replacement, access to the /mnt/private/voice/.
• 🚨 If the files are replaced incorrectly, the calibration of the laser rangefinder can be reset.

💡

Before buying a vacuum cleaner, check its regional version (CN, Global, EU) — It's the availability of language packs (CN) It is easier to reflash, but may not support Russian localization in the official application.

Frequent problems and their solutions

When you change your voice, you're faced with common mistakes, and here's how to fix them:

Problem 1: After replacing the files, the vacuum cleaner does not make sounds.

• 🔍 Check the format of the audio files (must match the original).
• 📂 Make sure that the file names are written in lowercase letters (for example, error.mp3, not Error.mp3).
• 🔄 Reload the vacuum cleaner with a 10 second button hold.

Problem 2: There is no language change option in Mi Home.

• 📱 Update the application to the latest version.
• 🌐 Check the region of your Mi Account (should match the vacuum cleaner region).
• 🔧 If the Chinese version of the vacuum cleaner (CN), Try changing the region in Mi Home to China (requires) VPN).

Problem 3: After Valetudo firmware, the vacuum cleaner does not connect to Wi-Fi.

• 📡 Check what is in the configuration file valetudo.conf.json The correct ssid and psk.
• 🔌 Connect the vacuum cleaner over the cable and execute the command: nmcli dev wifi connect "Your_SSID" password "Your password"
• 🔄 Reset your network settings via Valetudo’s web interface.

⚠️ Warning: If after manipulation with the voice, the vacuum cleaner begins to behave unstable (for example, arbitrarily stops or does not return to the base), perform a reset to the factory settings. + Home within 15 seconds. Lidar models will require recalibration after reset, so place the vacuum cleaner on a flat surface and wait until the process is complete (blue light will come on).

7. Alternatives: Disabling voice or replacing with melodies

If you don’t like the voice, but don’t want to change it, you can:

• 🔇 Disable voice alerts completely in Settings → Sound. → Voice prompts → Off..
• 🎵 Replace voice with melodies – for this purpose, the folder with voice files is downloaded MP3-speechless tracks (such as signals or musical passages).
• 🤖 Use an external speaker – some users connect a Bluetooth speaker to the vacuum cleaner and voice commands through Google Assistant.

To replace it with melodies:

1. Download short audio files (duration of 1-3 seconds).
2. Rename them according to the original structure (e.g, charging_start.mp3 charger).
3. Replace files in the system folder (as described in Section 3).

⚠️ Attention: On models with LDS-Lidar (e.g. Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop) 2 Pro) too loud melodies can cause sensor malfunctions. Optimal volume of sound files — -20 dB.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions