Help! I can’t read Chinese!

[Android Central Question]

I just purchased a P20 Pro, and every single thing is in Chinese, including the options for languages. Can someone help me change the P20’s language to English?

 

[pkcable]

Google Translate says English is....

英语 (simplified)

英語 (Traditional)

 

[Scienceguy Labs]

Where did you buy it? It appears that you have the Chinese variant. You should see an option for English in the list of languages even though the phone is in Chinese. Word of caution though. Every Huawei/Honor phone that I've ever used that was originally for the Chinese market just never played well 100% of the time with Google Play Services. Were Google apps already installed on the phone?

 

[pkcable]

Not sure how it works with Huawei, BUT for Xiaomi you can get a "global ROM" for use in imported devices. Often the vendor will load it on for you.

 

[Scienceguy Labs]

Not sure how it works with Huawei, BUT for Xiaomi you can get a "global ROM" for use in imported devices. Often the vendor will load it on for you.

I don't know. I'm a novice when it comes to flashing ROMs, so I never tried doing that. Most of the time, the sellers I bought from would just install Google Services onto the phone without changing the ROM to a global version. Who knows if one was available at the time? It was always frustrating because there were usually just one or two minor issues that combined to ruin the whole experience. I guess I should have learned how to flash ROMs. Ha ha

 

[pkcable]

I don't know. I'm a novice when it comes to flashing ROMs, so I never tried doing that. Most of the time, the sellers I bought from would just install Google Services onto the phone without changing the ROM to a global version. Who knows if one was available at the time? It was always frustrating because there were usually just one or two minor issues that combined to ruin the whole experience. I guess I should have learned how to flash ROMs. Ha ha

It CAN get a little complicated. You usually need to use the ADB (Android Device Bridge) which is run on your PC or Mac and allows you to connect directly to your phone. It's also possible to really bork your device if you install the wrong ROM. You'll need to get a ROM made for your device. You will also need to make sure your bootloader is unlocked. I THINK Huawei is unlock friendly, BUT you probably need to request it. They may also be able to provide the correct ROM.

It's also possible they have a software tool (think BlackBerry Desktop Manager, or Samsung many programs, Smart Switch, Odin, Keis, etc) that will make the process easier. Either way it's NOT for the faint of heart!

 

[Scienceguy Labs]

It CAN get a little complicated. You usually need to use the ADB (Android Device Bridge) which is run on your PC or Mac and allows you to connect directly to your phone. It's also possible to really bork your device if you install the wrong ROM. You'll need to get a ROM made for your device. You will also need to make sure your bootloader is unlocked. I THINK Huawei is unlock friendly, BUT you probably need to request it. They may also be able to provide the correct ROM.

It's also possible they have a software tool (think BlackBerry Desktop Manager, or Samsung many programs, Smart Switch, Odin, Keis, etc) that will make the process easier. Either way it's NOT for the faint of heart!

Yeah, I think I'll stay away from all that. I love tinkering with things, but messing up a $500-$900 device just isn't for me. Huawei does have a desktop app that allows you to do some of the things you said, but I'll just buy global variant devices. Ha ha

 

[JZ VR]

Go into settings click on 系统 (System), the Chinese for "language" is 语言, the option to change languages is under System, it should look something like 语言和输入法 (Language and Input). Click on it you'll see 语言 set to 中文 (Chinese), choose 添加语言 from there you can change it to English.

1.系统 (System)
2.语言和输入法 (Language and Input)
3.语言 (Language)
4.添加语言 (Add Language)
English

 

[pkcable]

Go into settings click on 系统 (System), the Chinese for "language" is 语言, the option to change languages is under System, it should look something like 语言和输入法 (Language and Input). Click on it you'll see 语言 set to 中文 (Chinese), choose 添加语言 from there you can change it to English.

1.系统 (System)
2.语言和输入法 (Language and Input)
3.语言 (Language)
4.添加语言 (Add Language)
English

EXCELLENT! I marked this as best answer.