How to make voiceover on the robot vacuum cleaner Xiaomi: Voice packages

Smart tech owners often face situations where the device works perfectly, but its “voice” is annoying or unclear. Xiaomi’s robot vacuum cleaners, including the Roborock, Mijia and Dreame brand models, can use English or Chinese language packs by default. This creates a barrier to communication with the equipment, especially when you need to understand the cleaning status or the cause of the error. Fortunately, the software architecture of these devices makes it relatively easy to change the voice accompaniment.

The voice replacement process depends on your janitor's specific model and firmware version. In some cases, it's easy to switch the region in the application, in others you'll need to manually download files through third-party utilities. A voice pack is a set of audio files that the robot's operating system decrypts when playing system messages. Understanding this mechanism will help avoid installation errors.

In this article, we will discuss all the available methods, from simple menu settings to advanced methods using ADB. You will learn how to activate Russian voice acting on models where it is not officially declared, and how to fix the situation if the robot “silent” after the update.

Official methods of changing the language in the Mi Home app

The easiest and safest way to change voice is to use the regular functionality of the Mi Home app. Developers often add support for new languages through cloud updates, linking them to a selected region. If your robot vacuum cleaner supports multilingualism, you can find the desired setting in the device settings.

To start, make sure the app is updated to the latest version. Go to the device profile, select settings (usually three dots in the corner), and find Voice or Language. This can display a list of available languages. If the desired language is not in the list, try changing the server region in the settings of the application itself.

⚠️ Warning: Changing the server region in the Mi Home app may hide some devices tied to the previous region.Make sure your Xiaomi (Mi Account) account is added as an administrator to other regions if necessary.

Often, changing a region from China to Russia or Europe automatically loads the corresponding language package, because regional binding dictates the set of available features, and once the region is changed, the robot may need to be rebooted and re-connected to the Wi-Fi network.

If there is no choice of language on the menu, but the region is changed, it is possible that the model does not have official Russian support at the firmware level, in which case we move to more complex but effective methods.

Preparation for manual installation of voice packets

Manual installation requires pre-training. You will need a computer (Windows, macOS or Linux), a stable Wi-Fi connection and access to the robot file system. The main tool for interacting with the device is the ADB protocol (Android Debug Bridge), since the operating system of Xiaomi robots is based on Linux with Android elements.

The first step is to obtain IP-You can do this through the router or in the Mi Home app itself (often the address is displayed in the device settings or when you connect to the robot access point.

The files are usually.pkg extensions or are archives with a specific folder structure, and can be sourced from official developer forums or specialized repositories on GitHub dedicated to modifying Xiaomi’s smart appliances.

Using Valetudo to Change Your Voice

One of the most popular ways to install alternative voices is using Valetudo’s open source software, which allows you to control Xiaomi robots locally, without the cloud, and provides a user-friendly interface for downloading voice packets. Valetudo supports a huge number of models, from old to new flagships.

The process starts with putting Valetudo on the device, which may require a reflash of the robot or a patch, which is a risky operation, but if the robot already has a modified firmware or you're willing to take a risk, it gives you full control of the device. There's a Sounds or Voice section in Valetudo where you can upload the voiceover file.

⚠️ Note: Installing Valetudo custom firmware voids the manufacturer's warranty, and the process may be irreversible without the use of special hardware to flash the memory chip.

If you don't want to flash the robot completely, some versions of Valetudo allow you to temporarily enter the system or use "light" patches. After installing the interface, go to the audio settings. There you will see the download button. Select a file with Russian voiceover (often called ru.pkg or have the corresponding prefix).

Once the file is uploaded, the system will automatically check the integrity of the data and apply the changes. The robot can restart. Check the voiceover by running a test cleaning or pressing the back button to the base.

Install voiceover via ADB and command line

For advanced users who don't want to install a full Valetudo, there is a method of direct file swaps through ADB. This method requires accuracy. You will need an ADB Tools package on your computer. The connection is over Wi-Fi, since the physical port on robots is usually missing or hidden.

First, you need to activate ADB debugging on the robot itself, and some models do this by quickly pressing the home and power buttons simultaneously for 5-10 seconds, while others require a special token application to generate the device token, which is then used to generate an activation command.

After activation, open the command line on your computer and enter the command to connect:

adb connect 192.168.1.XX:5555

Where 192.168.1.XX — IP-If the connection is successful, you'll see a message that says "connected." Then you'll have to find a way to the system sounds. /data/robotic/voice/ or similar, depending on the model.

The next step is to upload the voiceover file to the device.

adb push ru_voice.pkg /data/robotic/voice/current.pkg

It is important to rename your file exactly as the original voice file is called in the system so that the robot recognizes it as system. Often you also need to change the file access rights with the chmod command, but newer firmware versions may not need to.

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Before replacing system files, make sure to back up the original voice packet. Copy it from robot to computer with the adb pull command to be able to roll back in the event of a crash.

Once you have replaced the file, reboot the robot with the adb reboot command or button on the case, and if done correctly, when you turn on, the robot will speak the language of choice.

Model compatibility and language package table

Not all models support the same installation methods. Older Android 4.4 or 5.0 devices may have voice file size limitations. Newer models with Qualcomm or Rockchip processors often use voice packet encryption, making it impossible to directly replace files without decryption keys.

Below is a table of compatibility of popular models and methods that work for them. Note that firmware is constantly updated, and the relevance of methods may change.

As you can see from the table, for most modern models, the easiest way to use official methods or wait for updates from the manufacturer is to leave manual methods in case the standard paths are closed.

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The choice of installation method depends on the robot model and firmware version, and it is safer for new devices to use cloud methods or official region updates.

Solution: The robot is silent or speaks in phrases

A common problem after installation is that the robot is silent or plays cropped phrases. This may be due to incompatibility of the bitrate of the audio file or the encoding format. Xiaomi systems often expect files in OGG or specific MP3 with a specific bitrate (for example, 32 kbps or 64 kbps).

If the robot makes strange sounds instead of words, check the integrity of the file. It may have corrupted when downloaded through ADB. It is also worth checking the free space in the device's memory. An overflowing /data partition can prevent the sound engine from working properly.

⚠️ Warning: If the voiceover is installed, the robot has stopped cleaning or gone into a reboot cycle, don't panic. Most of the time, a full Hard Reset reset via a combination of buttons on the body will help, but it will remove the maps of the premises. Another reason may be the conflict of versions. If you upgraded the robot’s firmware “over the air”, your installed voice package may stop working because the system file structure has changed, in which case the installation procedure will have to be repeated again with files adapted to the new version of the software. Can you install voiceover from another Xiaomi model? Theoretically, if the CPU architecture and the kernel version match, but in practice, this often leads to errors, since the command identifiers in different models may differ. The robot will try to reproduce a phrase that is not in the file and will either fail or fail to make a mistake. Will the voiceover reset after the firmware update? 90% In some cases, yes, the official firmware update replaces the system partition by returning the original files. You'll have to reinstall the voice pack after each major system update. Where do you find the device token to modify? The token can be obtained through root rights on Android. /data/data/com.xiaomi.smarthome/files/extra/devices.db), Through browser plugins (Mi Home Token Extractor) when logging in to the web version, or through special utilities on the PC that require login and password from the Xiaomi account. Is it safe to use third-party voice packets? Open Source files are usually safe if you trust the builder, but modifying system files always carries the risk of software failure.