Why Your Xiaomi Vacuum Can Speak Chinese and How to Fix It
You bought a Xiaomi Mi Robot, Viomi V3 or Dreame D9 robot vacuum cleaner, but instead of the usual Russian voice, you hear strange Chinese phrases? This is standard for devices officially shipped to Russia through unofficial channels. The manufacturer installs firmware with a voice package for the main market - China, and localization for other countries is often absent out of the box.
The good news is that you can replace Chinese voiceover with Russian voiceover in a number of ways. In this article, we'll look at three working methods, from simply changing the region in the Mi Home app to manually firmware alternative voice packets. Importantly, not all models support Russian voiceover at the firmware level, but even then, there are workarounds.
Before you start, check the model of your vacuum cleaner — it is indicated on the sticker under the lid or in the mobile application. This depends on the choice of method. For example, for Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Pro, the method will work with changing the region, and for Dreame Bot L10 Pro you will need to install custom firmware.
Method 1: Change region to Mi Home (the easiest method)
If your vacuum cleaner supports multi-zone firmware (most models after 2020), then the Russian voiceover can be activated directly in the official application. This method does not require technical skills and takes no more than 5 minutes.
Here's what we need to do:
- 📱 Open the Mi Home app and go to your vacuum cleaner profile.
- 🌍 Slip on three dots in the upper right corner → Settings of the device → Region.
- 🇷🇺 Select Russia (or Russia) from the list of countries.
- 🔄 Reboot the vacuum cleaner by holding the power button for 10 seconds.
After restarting, the device must automatically download and install the Russian voice packet. If this does not happen, check:
- 📶 Internet connection stability (vacuum cleaner must be connected to Wi-Fi).
- 📦 Availability of firmware updates in the Software Update section.
- 🔊 Volume vacuum cleaner – sometimes voice cues are quieter than standard sounds.
⚠️ Note: Some models (e.g. Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum) 1S) They don't support changing the region in the app, so go to method 2 or 3.
Method 2: Install an alternative voice packet via Tokens
If the region change didn’t work, you can manually upload Russian voice files through informal tools, a method that requires you to obtain a device token, a unique identifier that gives you access to advanced settings.
The work will require:
- 💻 Computer with Windows or Mac (or smartphone with root rights).
- 📲 Mi Home app with tied vacuum cleaner.
- 🔗 MiHome Tokens Extractor (for token extraction).
- 🎤 Russian voice package (you can download on the forums) 4PDA Xiaomi Community).
Step-by-step:
- Download and install MiHome Tokens Extractor, Following instructions on GitHub.
- Log in the Mi Home app and wait for the token to appear in the utility.
- Copy the token and IP-vacuum cleaner address (you can find it in the router or through the Fing application).
- Use MIoT. CLI To send a command to install a voice packet: miio --ip 192.168.1.100 --token YOUR_TOKEN_HERE call miIO.voice_pack "install" '{"url":"http://example.com/russian_voice.pack"}'
- Reset the vacuum cleaner.
Download MiHome Tokens Extractor|Get a device token|Find it. IP-vacuum-dress|Download the Russian voice package|Check the stability of Wi-Fi-->
⚠️ Note: Using unofficial tokens can lead to the blocking of Xiaomi account with frequent requests.
Method 3: Firmware custom firmware with Russian voice
For older models (e.g. Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum 1) or devices without official Russian support, custom firmware is the only option, the most difficult method, but gives full control over the device, including:
- 🗣️ Russian voiceover of all system messages.
- 📡 Advanced Wi-Fi settings and mapping.
- 🔧 The ability to disable Chinese servers.
The most popular firmware for Xiaomi vacuum cleaners:
| Firmware | Supported models | Features | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valetudo | Mi Robot 1/1S, Viomi V1/V2 | Open source, full localization, work without the cloud Xiaomi | valetudo.cloud |
| DustBuilder | Mi Robot 2, Dreame D9 | Ready-made assemblies with Russian voice, support for Yandex Alice | 4PDA |
| OpenMiHome | Viomi SE, Dreame L10 | Integration with Home Assistant, Multi-Zone Cleaning | GitHub |
The firmware process usually involves:
- Disassembly of the vacuum cleaner for connection to UART-port (soldling iron required).
- Install CH340 or FTDI drivers to communicate with your computer.
- Download firmware via ESP Flash Tool or PlatformIO.
- Wi-Fi settings and local server binding (without Xiaomi Cloud).
What happens if you interrupt the firmware?
How to check that the Russian voiceover is established
After applying one of the methods, you need to make sure that the changes are effective.
Start the vacuum cleaner with the command "Start cleaning" | Listen to the greeting when you turn on | Check for error voice (for example, stuck, weak charge) | Make sure that the voice works when you connect to the charging-->
If the voice never came up,
- 🔄 Try resetting the vacuum cleaner settings (hold the power button for 15 seconds).
- 📡 Check if the router blocks the vacuum cleaner from Xiaomi servers (open ports 80, 443, 5222).
- 🎧 Make sure the vacuum cleaner speaker is working – bring your ear to the body during voiceover.
💡
If after firmware vacuum cleaner began to behave unstable (for example, does not build a map), try to roll back firmware to stock through Mi Home → Software Update → Restore factory settings.
Frequent problems and their solutions
Even after successful installation of Russian voiceovers, nuances can arise.
| Problem. | Possible cause | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Voice interrupted or distorted | Poor quality of voice packet or low bitrate | Download a packet with a bitrate of 128 kbps or higher (for example, from DustBuilder) |
| The vacuum cleaner speaks two languages at the same time | The conflict between stock and custom voice | Complete reset via miIO.reset (Team for Tokens) |
| Russian voice is available, but not all phrases are translated | Incomplete localization package | Add missing phrases via Valetudo or manually edit JSON-firmware |
| After the firmware update, the voice dropped | Official software overwrote custom files | Turn off auto updates in Mi Home or flash the firmware with blocked updates |
If your problem is not described in the table, check the vacuum logs through Valetudo or MIoT CLI. Often errors are associated with:
- 🔌 Unstable food during the process of feeding.
- 📡 Blocking. DNS (try to change DNS at 8.8.8.8).
- 🔒 Access rights conflict (for example, if a vacuum cleaner is linked to multiple accounts).
Alternative solutions: if nothing has worked
In rare cases, it is impossible to install Russian voiceover due to hardware limitations (for example, in some Viomi models, the voice chip supports only Chinese).
- 📱 Use voice prompts through an app (e.g. Yandex Alice or Google Assistant with integration via Home Assistant).
- 🔊 Connect an external speaker via Bluetooth (some firmware, such as DustBuilder, support this feature).
- 📹 Replace audible signals with visual notifications in the application (e.g. flashing indicator instead of voice messages).
- 🛠️ Contact the service center for flashing the voiceover chip (expensive, but guaranteed to work).
For models without support of the Russian language, we recommend paying attention to alternative brands that are initially supplied with localization:
- 🤖 Roborock (series) S7 and Q7 Have a full Russian voice).
- 🤖 Ecovacs Deebot (models) T10 and X1 Supporting Russian from the box").
- 🤖 Redmond (Russian brand with full localization).
💡
Before buying a new vacuum cleaner, check the support for Russian on the official website or in reviews on YouTube. Even within the same model (for example, Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Pro) there can be different revisions with different firmware.