How Do I Change the Language on My Android Phone From Chinese to English?

Android is the operating system behind many smartphones, tablets and watches from leading manufacturers worldwide. Google employees maintain its core experience; most manufacturers “skin” Android in order to customize it specifically to each device they make.

If you’ve just bought a device with Chinese as its default language, it may seem challenging to change the user interface language – however this process is actually fairly simple.

1. Go to Settings

Purchasing an Android phone likely came set with Chinese as the default language setting; this shouldn’t be a problem; if you want to switch it over for ease of use, however, changing to English should be fairly straightforward and can often be found by accessing settings and altering language preferences.

Android was designed for global usage, so it provides support for many languages. You can change the default language of your device to any of these: U.S. or British English, multiple varieties of Chinese characters, French, or Spanish are among many more available choices; you can even change individual apps’ languages to suit your individual needs!

To change the language of an app, head into Settings and scroll down to “Languages.” Here you can select your preferred language before tapping “OK” to apply them – remembering to restart your phone after so as to activate them!

To change the language on an entire Android phone, the process can be more involved. Navigating into system settings and clicking “Languages & Input”, you can add a new language then move it up the list until it becomes your default setting.

Notably, Android 13 allows you to individually change the language of individual apps on your phone. The latest version of this OS began rolling out last week – initially for Pixel phones – with an option allowing you to set apps using their own languages instead of system default. You can learn how to do this here. Keep in mind that essential information like time and location will still use system default language so this feature could still come in handy if you use apps in different languages!

2. Select Language & Input

If your new Android phone came set with Chinese as the default language, it can be frustrating trying to change this setting. Luckily, Android supports multiple languages and making a switch is quite straightforward; just follow a few steps and it should all be done!

First, open the Settings. Depending on the device type, this may involve either swiping down from the top or tapping a notification menu in either of two ways: for devices running Android 4.0 and earlier it’s in the upper right corner; later devices usually feature it at the bottom). Next locate and tap on an icon that looks like a cogwheel or gear; this allows access to select Language & Input or similar options which vary based on device.

Once here, you will see a list of display languages. If your preferred one is missing from this list, tapping the + icon at the bottom-right of the screen allows you to add it. After it has been added, use its right arrow to adjust its position in the list, this will determine which language will be used when displaying text on your device (including menus and notifications).

Your keyboard can also be set to one of the languages you have installed, enabling you to type directly in it whenever using apps that support text input. Use the globe or key icon on your keyboard for easy switching among available languages while typing.

Before Android 13, language preferences had to be set within individual apps themselves; but with Android 13, this functionality has been integrated into the Settings menu for easier management across all apps and switching languages when using Google services like Maps or Chrome. This makes their phone more user-friendly for anyone using multiple languages simultaneously.

3. Select English

People purchasing new android phones or tablets may find that the default language setting is set to Chinese. While this could make using their device difficult, switching it back to English should be straightforward: simply accessing the Settings App on their device, scrolling down, tapping on “Language Icon” which usually represents multilingual letters, then choosing your preferred one from the list provided – making your life much simpler!

Once your system language has been altered to English, this will have an immediate impact across all Google products that the user uses – such as Play Store, YouTube and Search – necessitating changes to account settings accordingly.

Your phone also offers you the option of selecting multiple languages for voicemail messages, useful if a friend or family member speaks the desired tongue as a native speaker. Manufacturer-dependent options may allow for this selection – for instance some phones allow Spanish as the default voicemail language while others only permit French.

To change the display language of a specific app, head into its settings and look for “Language” or “Input Language.” Once this option has been changed, text in the app should change from Chinese to the language you choose – this may take several days depending on how often you have been using the app before its effects can become apparent – if this occurs it would be wise to restart your phone in order to ensure they take effect instantly.

4. Restart

No matter if it’s your first Android phone or just one you have had for some time and wish to change back, switching back from Chinese to English should be simple thanks to Android’s multilingual support – simply change text on menus and notifications, or switch your default language settings as needed!

Find your Android language settings within its Settings app. Open it up, and search for an icon resembling two crossed lines that form an “X”. This quick settings/notifications button (found at the bottom right corner on older versions of Android) allows you to quickly switch languages or keyboard settings, as well as set your preferred one as system text language.

Once finished, be sure to reboot your device so the changes take effect. When doing so, look out for an Android robot logo appearing on screen followed by a short wait while your system reboots and reloads settings.

If your Android is currently in recovery mode, restarting it could leave it stuck here without response from power or volume buttons. Toptal makes finding top freelance developers easy: simply answer some quick questions about your project and they will connect with carefully vetted, pre-screened experts within 48 hours!