Almost all modern devices are equipped with Wi-Fi support in the 5 GHz band. Higher speed, less interference. It’s time for our readers to switch to this standard, because thanks to Xiaomi, this can be done for ridiculous money. As a bonus, you can create your own home media server without spending any money in just two clicks.

We are used to things being either cheap or high quality. Gadgets from Xiaomi often break stereotypes, offering modern features, high build quality and low cost at the same time.

The company’s line of home routers was no exception. Today it includes the budget Youth, the practical Router 3 and several NAS options (a server for downloading, storing and distributing content over a home network), the younger model of which is gradually no longer on sale.

The best option for home, because you simply won’t find other dual-band routers for $29.

Appearance

Xiaomi designers sometimes manage to create truly masterpieces. Router 3 is one of them. Matte white, sleek and stylish.

The router does not have mounting holes or brackets, which makes it impossible to place the router on the wall. Numerous holes for ventilation will not help either - it will not be possible to install standard fasteners in them. But this is not a drawback, because Xiaomi Router 3 fits into any interior or even none at all.

By the way, there are no radiators either - the cooling is passive. No significant heating is observed.

The solutions used led to weight reduction, absolute silence during operation and the ability to install the router in any interior. It is difficult to find a room in which there is no place for Xiaomi Router 3.

All connectors are located on the rear panel: 2 LAN ports (up to 100 Mbps) for connecting a network cable, WAN for wired connection of devices to the router, a USB 2.0 port, a power connector and a hidden reset button.

To notify the user about operating modes, there is a standard light at the LAN input and a bright indicator on the front panel of the device.

Characteristics

The router is based on a single-core MediaTek MT7620A processor with a frequency of 580 MHz. The amount of RAM is 128 MB. The same amount is allocated for storing firmware and settings.

The router belongs to the AC1200 class and provides speeds of up to 1,200 Mbit/s. This is achieved by dividing the channel into two separate Wi-Fi networks: at a frequency of 2.4 (with speeds up to 300 Mbit/s) and 5 GHz (with speeds up to 867 Mbit/s). Each frequency range uses its own pair of independent external antennas. Implemented MIMO 2×2 protocol. With its help, increased transmission speeds and faster data exchange between devices connected to the network are achieved.

All network ports are rated at 100 Mbps. But you can use Wi-Fi at 5 GHz with Xiaomi Router 3 at full speed only within a wireless network.

Software

Xiaomi's popularity is largely due to a single ecosystem, in which the company's engineers are including an increasing number of devices that connect to a single application for managing the MiHome smart home. Xiaomi Router 3 is no exception.

If there are no other company devices in the house, you can use the separate MiWiFi Router application to configure and manage all Xiaomi routers.

The only drawback is the lack of Russification. All settings are available in English only. The Russified version can be installed by downloading the apk file from one of the thematic resources. But this is not the worst thing: the web version of the interface uses Chinese. In this case, either a translator or flashing will help.

The MiWiFi Router application interface contains four tabs.

In the first tab you can find a list of all devices that have ever been connected to the router. You can also find out information about traffic, current consumption, see IP and MAC addresses, disable Internet access, block the device or configure channel bandwidth for it. This is also where other network devices of the company are configured.

The second tab is required to access connected drives.

The third tab provides access to the capabilities of the built-in download client. Torrent files are supported. The last tab contains all other settings.

You can change the login and password for connecting to Wi-Fi and the router, update the firmware, turn off the light indication, or set up a guest network. The Wi-Fi schedule and scheduled reboot are also configured here.

The application also has more advanced features. Thus, the “Wi-Fi Optimization” item launches an analysis of the environment and selects the optimal settings. There is a built-in task manager (Task Manager), which allows you to configure the parameters of downloads and distributions.

In the “Manage Bandwidth” item, you can configure the network bandwidth for the router and each of the connected devices. It is possible to set up your own cloud for photos from all connected mobile devices.

There is also a built-in Samba client that allows you to turn the router into a home media server.

You can access the device management web interface by opening miwifi.com in your browser or going to 192.168.31.1. Here you can configure VPN, DHCP, port-forwarding, operating modes (router, repeater, bridge). Using third-party firmware can expand the functionality of the device.

Testing

Testing was carried out in a standard two-room apartment. The router was installed at the entrance. In addition, a Xiaomi Mi WiFi Amplifier signal amplifier was purchased.

The quality of the coating turned out to be beyond praise. To demonstrate the work, a small measurement was carried out. The figure shows the apartment plan, the screenshots show the signal level at points 1, 2, 3, 4 in accordance with the serial number. A network with a plus signature is a signal amplified using Xiaomi Mi WiFi Amplifier.

The router perfectly distributes the Internet not only to 55 square meters of the apartment. The coverage area extends to both the parking lot and the landing. Even the neighbors have enough.

The screenshots above show the signal levels of networks in the 2.4 GHz band.

In this case, the signal levels of networks in the 5 GHz range are shown.

On a Wi-Fi network, the speed is slightly slower, but even the current tariff allows you to transmit the entire possible connection speed. With a wired connection, the router “squeezes out” the required 100 Mbit/s.

Unfortunately, due to the 100-Mbit LAN, the router's capabilities in the 5 GHz band are limited - it is simply not able to offer higher Internet speeds. However, you can build a home network by connecting devices together.

In addition, Xiaomi has limited the capabilities of the USB port. You can connect storage devices to it, but not printers or 3G modems. There is also no built-in print server in the official client.

But it is possible to set up automatic creation of backup copies of photos from your smartphone, as well as use the built-in download client.

Additional features: Mi WiFi Amplifier

If necessary, you can expand the coverage area using a proprietary signal amplifier Mi WiFi Amplifier.

Externally, the device resembles a regular 3G modem in white matte plastic. The lower part is equipped with a hinge for more convenient installation. Mi WiFi Amplifier is an even more laconic gadget than Router 3: it only has a status diode and a recessed reset key.

To connect, just install the Amplifier in the USB connector of the router and wait until the blue LED signal lights up. The signal amplifier is then installed in any powered USB port.

The coverage area almost doubles. It is impossible to show this in full force due to the small area of ​​the apartment, but the signal level graphs demonstrate everything quite convincingly.

The device is capable of broadcasting a signal only at a frequency of 2.4 GHz and, according to official data, works exclusively with Xiaomi routers. With a certain amount of luck and the correct version of the Mi WiFi Amplifier application, it is possible to connect to routers of other brands using the proprietary Mi Home application.

Why choose Xiaomi Router 3?

• Supports dual-band Wi-Fi 2.4/5 GHz.
• MIMO support.
• Possibility of connecting an external storage device.
• Convenient setup using an application for iOS and Android.
• Possibility of creating a home network.
• The cheapest router in its class. Price - 29 dollars.
• Convenient (and cheap - only $8) expansion of coverage area using Mi WiFi Amplifier.

Did you know that the Chinese company Xiaomi produces not only smartphones, but also many other equipment? For example, a very good and high-quality product, judging by customer reviews, is the Xiaomi Mi Wifi router from this manufacturer. By the way, the correct title reads as "Xiaomi", although some pronounce it as "Xiaomi" or even "Xiaomi". Today we have prepared for you the most detailed instructions in which we will tell you how to configure the Xiaomi Mi Wi Fi Mini router.

The first problem that all users without exception encounter is the device control panel in Chinese without the ability to even select English. What to do in this case? There is only one answer: the router needs to be reflashed. This is a long and labor-intensive process; we will look at it in a separate article. However, if you follow our instructions, you can configure the Xiaomi Mini router and forget about this control panel altogether. The main thing is that the Internet is stable!

In addition, the settings of the Xiaomi Mini router can be done not only from a computer, but also from a tablet or phone, and the English-language Mi Router program will help us with this. We will also consider this method in this article.

Mi Router. Settings

Before you begin any configuration of the router, you must connect it. Connect it to a 220 V network and plug the Internet cable into the Internet port. Then go to the settings menu and connect the router to the PC (you can either via Wi-Fi or via a cord, but the latter is not included). After the connection has been established, you will see a new, non-password-protected network in the list of wireless networks, which is called something like this: Xiaomi_12345678 (the numbers can be any). You need to connect to it.

If the Internet works immediately, then it is better to configure it using the Yandex browser or Chrome, since they have a built-in page translator. Of course, the translation will be a little “crooked,” but in any case it’s better than the incomprehensible Chinese language.

Open one of these browsers. We need the address miwifi.com, where on the main page we click on the big key, thereby accepting the license agreement. In the next window, set the network name and set a password that will protect the router settings (do not confuse it with the Wi-Fi access password). Of course, you can make them the same by simply checking the appropriate box, but we do not recommend doing this. After this, you will see a message about creating two different frequency wi-fi networks with names, and the router will reboot. Next we see a new network with the name we set earlier, to which we need to connect using our password.

If the settings window has not yet been closed, click on the button: there will be an offer to download a special Mi Router application to your smartphone for the convenience of managing Xiaomi Mi Router Mini. It can be installed directly from the App Store or Play Market.

Important! If the Internet is already working, then further configuration of the Xiaomi Mi router is not needed. If it doesn’t work, go further according to the instructions.

Further setup of the Xiaomi Mi Wifi Mini router

Done, your router is set up! If you encounter problems during the process, we recommend that you try again using an Internet browser on your computer. Good luck! If you have any questions or additions, write in the comments.

For initial setup, it is most convenient to use the MiWiFi mobile application; you can download it by reading the QR code from the original packaging.

On Xiaomi smartphones with the proprietary MIUI shell, to call the scanner, just swipe from top to bottom to call the information panel. In the right corner of the search field there is an icon for calling the scanner.

In principle, the application can be found manually on Google Play, it is called MiWiFi Router.

When you first launch the application, you will be prompted to create a new Mi account, or log into an existing one. On Xiaomi smartphones, you can log into your existing account with just one click, the system will automatically detect all login parameters.

You need to connect to the router's wireless network in advance. On Mi smartphones, “native” routers are marked in the list of networks with a proprietary logo. After connecting to a wireless network, the application searches for devices on the network.

The setup process is extremely simple and resembles setting up a Zyxel Keenetic router using the appropriate mobile application. A special step-by-step wizard is used in which only the most important parameters are configured.

After changing the wireless network settings, the application will automatically switch the smartphone to the new network. Everything is as automated as possible and does not require user participation. Just right for beginners and inexperienced users.

By the time this publication was completed, the application had been updated with minor interface changes. The menu is divided into 4 categories: Mi Router, Storage, Plug-ins, Settings.

In the Mi Router section, you can switch between several routers (if there are several of them), as well as view statistics on traffic and connected devices.

The Storage section is aimed at using an external hard drive. On Xiaomi routers, you can deploy a small cloud, which can be configured to upload files from your smartphone when it is connected to your home network. The function is aimed at owners of Xiaomi smartphones. However, there is a desktop client for PC and Mac, which will allow you to use the functionality of the device as a regular network drive.

The plugins section contains router settings regarding its direct functions. But such settings as password, time zone, etc. moved to a separate settings section.

You get used to the application very quickly, after which you unmistakably find yourself in the required section. For experienced users, the list of available options will be clearly insufficient, for example, there are no IPTV settings, no support for 3G modems, and in general, all options and settings are greatly simplified and optimized for inexperienced users.

Xiaomi routers are greatly simplified in terms of settings and make them an ideal option for inexperienced users who require a simple and reliable solution.

A little more settings are available through the web interface, which is accessible via the domain name miwifi.com, or IP 192.168.31.1 (sometimes 192.168.28.1).

By the way, if you use Kaspersky Anti-Virus, for unknown reasons, sometimes it blocks access to IP 192.168.31.1 and 192.168.28.1 via the HTTP protocol, which makes access to the web interface impossible. It helps to disable the antivirus and change the home subnet in the router settings to the more familiar 192.168.0.0/24, 192.168.1.0/24, 192.168.2.0/24. There shouldn't be any problems in the future.

If you are setting up your router for the first time without using the mobile app, you will also be greeted with a setup wizard when you first launch it.

Below you can see all the available options that can be configured using the web interface.

The list of available options is much wider than in the mobile application.

There are a couple of notes on the settings and use of the interface. Firstly, the QoS option should not be enabled if necessary. The fact is that by default, all traffic passes using HW_NAT (hardware NAT), without creating a load on the central processor. To be more precise, when processing 94 Mbit/s? CPU usage will be only 2-4%. When QoS is activated, the use of HW_NAT will become impossible and all traffic will go through the processor. The more devices there are on the network and the faster the connection speed, the higher the processor load will be, up to 100%.

WiFi performance and quality

Both routers have an excellent processor that provides good performance.

Please note that MiWiFi devices are designed primarily for the domestic market of China, which is why support for L2TP and PPTP is implemented here in a basic form.

When using native firmware, in conjunction with L2TP/PPTP, you can only count on 50-60 Mbit. For those who like to work with files, we inform you that on alternative firmware both routers can easily provide up to 100 Mbit when working with VPN and much more.

Regarding the most common types of connection via DHCP/Static IP/PPPoE/IPoE, there are no complaints at all about routers with stock firmware; you are guaranteed up to 95 Mbit.

Regarding Wi-Fi, to be honest, both routers were a very pleasant surprise. When setting the maximum power level to “Block” (on some versions of the firmware “Wall penetration”), both routers “pierce” solid load-bearing walls without any problems.

Quite expectedly, Mi WiFi Mini is slightly inferior to Mi WiFi Router 3 in signal level, which is clearly visible in the broadcast scans.

The older model provides a higher signal level in both the 2.4 and 5 GHz range. Sometimes this difference can reach 10 dBm, but most often the difference does not exceed 2-4 dBm.

Many users have a question: why do we need 5 GHz support in a router that is equipped with 100 Mbit ports?

In “spherical vacuum” conditions, 802.11n in the 2.4 GHz range using MIMO 2x2 and 40 MHz channels pumps 94-95 Mbit without problems. In actual operating conditions, especially in apartment buildings, the 2.4 band is loaded to such an extent that even 50 Mbit will be an excellent result.

The 5 GHz band provides more non-overlapping channels and higher speeds.

Let's look at a real example. I have a laptop that supports the 5 GHz band, but does not support 802.11ac (802.11n only). We placed the laptop at a distance of 8 meters from the MiWiFi Router 3, between the devices there is 1 load-bearing solid brick wall (~55 cm) and 2 half-brick walls.

In 802.11n + MIMO 2x2 + 5 GHz mode, we received an average of 90 Mbps over the air. This is an excellent result.

Now let's see what will happen in real conditions for 2.4 GHz.

Less than 20 Mbit, just, no comments here. As you can see, there are benefits from 5 GHz even on older devices.

Let's see if a proprietary extender can correct the situation. Just for fun, we tried placing the Mi WiFi Amplifier in the middle. As a result, the speed became more stable and rose to 21-22 Mbit.

To be honest, I didn’t expect any special results from WiFi Amplifier. The problem is that, wanting to make the device cheap, the company greatly overdid it. The extender only supports legacy 802.11b/g/n standards, SISO (MIMO 1x1) configuration and internal antenna. As a result, ideally 150 Mbit of channel speed is available, which must be divided between clients and the uplink. In noisy air conditions we get the same 20-40 Mbit.

Mi WiFi Amplifier is capable of increasing the coverage radius, but you shouldn’t expect great speed from it. The expander is more suitable for “smart home” and “Internet of things”, when the network does not have high speed demands.

Finally

After two weeks of using both routers (daisy-chain connections), I did not have any problems in terms of network speed and stability.

There are still some comments, but they relate to the features of the software. There is no usual Russian language, there is Chinese and English. When you try to update from the official website, you may receive a device entirely in Chinese. To switch to English, you need to set the “Europe” region in the Wi-Fi settings, after which English will become available. There are also special English firmwares, which is what we recommend using, or alternative ones if you have the necessary knowledge to install them.

If you're looking for a router that's inexpensive yet powerful and easy to set up, both models are a great buy, especially if you own a Xiaomi smartphone.

One of the minuses should also be noted is the limited list of available settings on official firmware.

Online course on network technologies

I recommend Dmitry Skoromnov's course "". The course is not tied to the equipment of any manufacturer. It provides fundamental knowledge that every system administrator should have. Unfortunately, many administrators, even with 5 years of experience, often do not have even half of this knowledge. The course covers many different topics in simple language. For example: OSI model, encapsulation, collision and broadcast domains, loopback, QoS, VPN, NAT, DNS, Wi-Fi and many other topics.

I will separately note the topic of IP addressing. It describes in simple language how to make conversions from the decimal number system to the binary system and vice versa, calculations by IP address and mask: network addresses, broadcast addresses, number of network hosts, subnetting and other topics related to IP addressing.

The course has two versions: paid and free.

Xiaomi offers a very high-quality router with an interesting design. It comes in a cardboard box, opening which you will find the router itself, the power supply and operating instructions in Chinese. As for the patch cord, there is none. This is not a problem, because in almost every store that sells routers, it can be purchased separately. Xiaomi Mi Wi-Fi mini is compact in size. It is thin and quite light. The quality of the build and the case is not satisfactory. I was pleased with the color scheme, because the router can be:

• black;
• white;
• orange;
• light green;
• blue;
• pink.

Many users demand original design

There are no labels or indicators on the front panel. There is only the MI logo. A diode indicator of the device status is placed on the bottom end. It can glow in either blue or orange. The backlight is quite dim, so it will not be noticeable in the dark. The Reset button, USB port, 3 RJ 45 ports, and the power connector were located on the top end. As for the power button, XIAOMI MI Wi-Fi MINI does not have it. The router is designed to be installed exclusively on a horizontal surface. To do this, 4 rubberized legs were placed on the bottom panel. Wall installation is not provided, so there are no elements on the case for mounting in a vertical position.

Technical characteristics and connection

The XIAOMI MI Wi-Fi MINI router can operate at frequencies of 4 GHz and 5 GHz, and the MT7620A 580 MHz processor is enough to perform all operations. The router also has 16 MB of flash memory and 128 MB of RAM. It has 2 antennas and uses 3 RJ 45 ports. You can connect various drives to it using the built-in USB socket.

After the device is turned on and booted, it will deploy 2 wireless networks at once - Xiaomi_XX and Xiaomi_XX_5G. They operate at 2.5 GHz and 5 GHz respectively. It's a pity, but the device will be configured in Chinese by default, so you need to use various tricks. If it does not automatically connect to your Internet provider's network, then all settings must be made manually. We suggest using the services of Google Translate, which will help translate the router menu into Russian. This is quite easy to do. First you need to install a special program that runs Userscripts in browsers:

• Firefox - Greasemonkey;
• Chrome and Opera 15 - Tampermonkey.

After this, you need to download the Mi Wi-Fi mini RUS script from the World Wide Web. To start setting up your router, enter http://192.168.31.1/ in the address bar of any browser. Next, you will see the router menu, which will be almost completely Russified.

Depending on how it is connected, the MI router may prompt you to set a password and network name, or provide a window in which you need to select its operating mode, namely repeater or router. By the way, in the indicated window you will be asked to install the application on your smartphone or tablet computer. With it you can control the device remotely. Unfortunately, at this stage, a version in Chinese is available without the possibility of Russification. After the settings have been saved and the router has rebooted, you can proceed to setting it up.

Device setup

If the Internet is connected, you can update the XIAOMI MI Wi-Fi MINI software. It will take about 10 minutes, but you can save it for later. If the device is configured, the update will not affect the changes made.

The interface will open on the statistics window. It will show the operating time of the device and the speed of the network connection. If you click on the graphic elements (channels and devices), additional information and options will open where you can reboot the router or limit access to the global network for a particular device. If the XIAOMI MI Wi-Fi MINI router has standard firmware installed, then you will find basic settings in it, which are grouped into sections.

At the very beginning, you will be asked to select the operating mode of the device - router or router. Having chosen the first option, you need to specify the network name and password to access it. After completing this action, the router will offer to download the application for remote control. After you see a message indicating that the initialization was successful, it will disappear after a few seconds, opening the next page. If you want to update the firmware, you first need to download it. After that, by clicking on “Update manually”, you need to specify the path to the file.

To set up a wireless network, go to the “Wi-Fi Settings” menu item. The device allows you to separately configure the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz channels, setting each with its own SSID, as well as other parameters. If your provider provides all the necessary settings via DHCP, then no changes need to be made. The only thing that may be useful is cloning the MAC address, because for some providers it is this that is tied to the connection. By going to the “Security Center”, you can change the standard login password in the router menu. Here you can set methods for accessing the web interface:

• via wireless network;
• using a patch cord.

The next menu item is “LAN Settings”. You can specify the router address and DHCP zone. If you need to forward ports, you can do this in the “Advanced settings” - “DDNS” section. All you need to do is click “Add service” and in the window that opens, select the provider of the presented service from the list. Next, enter the username, password, specify the host name and enter the IP address interval. Standard firmware provides 4 service providers. If necessary, you can configure PPTP and L2TP in the menu of the same name. Here you need to specify the connection name, method, server, login and password. All these parameters must be provided by your provider.

Possibilities

XIAOMI MI Wi-Fi MINI can work not only as a router, but also as a repeater. If you are an advanced user, then you will certainly be pleased with the PandoraBox firmware, which has an English interface and excellent flexibility. Thanks to the presence of USB, you can connect various . Thanks to this, the drives can be accessed remotely, including via Wi-Fi. The antennas are powerful enough, so even 2 concrete walls are not a hindrance to them.

The Padavan firmware is very popular among XIAOMI MI Wi-Fi MINI owners. Its second name is firmware for ASUS, because it was originally designed for installation on the router of this company. It is advisable to note that installation is a labor-intensive process, and incorrect actions can lead to failure of the router. If you still decide that you really need the Padavan firmware, then treat the installation process as responsibly as possible. All stages, as well as complete instructions, can be found on many resources on the global network. After completing all the manipulations, the MI Wi-Fi router will be transformed, and its setup will be simpler and more understandable.

Video: Setting up and reviewing the Xiaomi MI Mini router

The router from Xiaomi is quite popular among users due to its good technical characteristics and affordable price. We will tell you how to make settings on this device in this article.

These beautiful and functional devices, which have two bands for WiFi networks and powerful antennas, can be configured not only using the web interface, but also from a specially developed mobile application.

Setting up a Xiaomi router (Mini, WiFi Mi Router3, Mi WiFi Nano)

First, we connect the device using the power cable and the cable from the provider into the appropriate connectors, as in the picture below.

Method No. 1 - on a PC (laptop)

• We connect a laptop or home computer to the router via WiFi or cable. Next, go to the IP address 168.31.1 or to the manufacturer's host miwifi.com. On the first page in the "Quick Settings Wizard" click the login button. For convenience, we recommend using online page translation.

• Next, we set a login and password to protect our network.

• A window will appear notifying you that two WiFi networks have been created at 2.4 and 5G frequencies, and then the device will reboot.

Important: As a rule, the router is configured automatically if your connection type is Dynamic IP (DHCP). If not, then read on. We also recommend that if you encounter difficulties or errors in the settings, contact the Xiaomi service center specialists.

• After rebooting the equipment, select the one with the desired name from the list of found WiFi networks and connect using the specified password.
• Then we go back to the site miwifi.com and using the same password go to settings.
• All setup data must be clarified with the provider, so we recommend contacting technical support and performing all further operations together with them. Also, these parameters must be specified in the agreement for the supply of Internet services.
• If your connection type is PPPoE, select the icon as in the figure below and set the required values.

• The Mac address is written on the same page in the window below.

Method number 2 - using the application

This option is an alternative to the first and is easier to manage.

• First, download the MIWIFI ROUTER0 mobile application on the market.
• We connect the smartphone to the router, find the Xiaomi WiFi network, indicate the geolocation, click NEXT and set the username and password.

• If your connection is not via DHCP, then most likely you will have to add fine-tuning, also according to information from your provider.