A few months ago I ordered a third version of the router from Xiaomi. And just now it’s time to make a full review of Xiaomi Mi Router 3. I must say right away that I really liked the device. Easy installation and configuration, decent functionality, its goodies and bells and whistles. And most importantly - it is inexpensive.

Equipment

From the photographs it seems that the device is quite miniature. However, the box in which he came to me surprised me. When unpacking, it turned out that the antennas of the router are non-removable, and therefore the box has grown to a very impressive size.

Inside there is a short instruction for the initial setup (in Chinese), the router itself and the power supply for it. The length of the wire of the latter is about a meter, and this, admittedly, is not enough. I want to say right away that the device was created by the Chinese and for the Chinese, respectively, take care of an adapter from a flat plug for ours in advance. Or ask the seller to put the correct adapter in the package.

Appearance

The main feature of this device is four antennas, which are designed to improve signal quality and bring the Internet to the most remote areas of the apartment. I will say right away that I compared it in terms of range with my 2012 Apple AirPort Express and, I must admit, I did not feel the difference. In the most remote room of the apartment (on the way there are three walls of average thickness and about 5 meters of distance), the signal is at a level below average. The "apple" device finished off in the same place with exactly the same signal strength.

Antennas can be tilted in almost all directions, thereby correcting the signal propagation. Again, I didn't notice a difference.

The body of the device is entirely plastic, matte and white. The latter is rather a plus, because the color itself is neutral, but most importantly, dust is not visible on the surface.

There is an LED on the front that lights up in blue if the router is operating normally. LED indication, if necessary, can be turned off through the application or web interface. But we will return to this later.

On the back side are the connection ports:

• full USB port for flash drives and hard drives
• two LAN ports
• one Ethernet connector for connecting the Internet to our hero (blue frame)

The connectors have their own LEDs to indicate their operation (a normal phenomenon), and in addition, there is a tiny hole right there for a forced reset. Let me tell you, it never came in handy for me.

On the bottom there is a perforation for air circulation and a sticker with various information about the product. Here, too, everything is in Chinese, so we will not focus on this.

It is impossible to fix the gadget on the wall. No special holes were provided for this. Exactly like the rubberized legs.

In other words, the gadget may slide on some surfaces.

Before studying the operation of the router, it will be useful to familiarize yourself with what it actually can do. To do this, look at the "specs" below:

• MediaTek MT7620A processor up to 580 GHz
• RAM 128 MB DDR2
• 128 MB flash memory (SLC Nand type)
• Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.11 n (up to 300 Mbps)
• Wi-Fi 5 GHz IEEE 802.11 ac (up to 867 Mbps)
• maximum speed up to 1167 Mbps (simultaneous, parallel operation of two bands)
• protocols: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 802.3/3u
• signal transmission power up to 6 dBi at 5 GHz frequency
• passive cooling
• ports: 2x LAN (up to 100 Mbps), USB 2.0, Ethernet or WAN, power connector 12V, 1A
• encryption: WPA-PSK / WPA2-PSK
• OS support: Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, Android
• Languages: Chinese (mostly) and English
• dimensions: 195 x 177.3 (antenna height) x 131 x 23.5 (device height) mm
• weight 220 grams

Additionally, I note that it will not work to connect the printer via USB.

This functionality is not provided. Only flash drives and hard drives will do.

Setting

Connecting to the Internet and setting up takes place almost completely automatically. However, something still needs to be done.

To get started, you should download the Mi Router or MiWiFi Router app from the Google Play Store. There is a client for iOS. Moreover, there are applications for both Windows and Mac OS X.

I installed the latest one, but it's all in Chinese, so it's impossible to use it.

There is another alternative way to control the parameters of our hero - through the web interface. To do this, in the address bar of the browser (I used Chrome) you need to drive miwifi.com or 192.168.31.1.

Everything on the main screen will be in Chinese, but it doesn't matter. It is enough to use the built-in translator and everything will immediately become clear.

To go to the settings, the first thing you will need to do is create a mi account. There are a lot of instructions on how to do this on the Internet, so I will not give a specific link.

After logging into your account, you will need to add a router (link to your account) and only then will the initial setup become available. It looks complicated, in fact, everything is simple. Especially if you already have an account from Xiaomi.

In general, I did not set up anything special. The router independently determined the network settings and connected to the Internet

The interface will ask for a username and password where appropriate, and if something goes wrong, there is a built-in error correction system that works great.

In general, despite the fact that the gadget is entirely Chinese, it is on friendly terms with our providers with a bang. Everything starts with a half turn, and this is the most important thing.

Control

I preferred to dig into the settings through the proprietary MiWiFi Router application for Android. At the moment, the latest version is 2.2.30, and the current software of the device itself is 2.14.6.

The most important thing is the presence of English in the menu. 90% of the interface has been translated, and places where hieroglyphs are present, as a rule, are associated with purely “local” services and are of no interest to us.

The welcome screen displays devices that are currently connected or were previously connected to the router. There can be up to 126 of them in total. This is really a lot and enough even for a large family and the smartest apartment.

Interestingly, the router can create a separate, guest network at a frequency of 2.4 GHz, and provide access to it either in normal mode (by password, and so on), or through the WeChat or Dianping application. These services are, of course, not very popular with us, but the functionality itself is quite interesting.

For each device, you can see all the statistics, moreover, in the form of a graph.

Various useful tools were also found in the parameters. For example, you can audit the operation of the router and find out how you can speed up its operation and signal transmission speed. Of course, the tool is not the smartest, but third-party Chinese services can be disabled through it.

In addition, it also has a built-in firewall, a black list of connected devices, anti-hacking, and so on. Also, from the menu, you can artificially limit the signal transmission speed via Wi-Fi, if, for example, different devices use the same Internet channel, including by wire.

For some reason, they put a cleaner and an anti-virus for the smartphone itself here. It turns out that Kaspersky is not needed. On the other hand, I would not trust such outside clients.

Of course, such standard options for any such gadget are supported as:

• installation of two networks (2.4 and 5 GHz)
• data transfer protection (WPA / WPA2)
• setting up a VPN connection
• built-in file manager
• backup all settings to a file
• remote control via smartphone app

Regarding the latter. You can set up a kind of home server by connecting a flash drive or hard drive to Mi Router 3, and have access to it via the Internet or a Wi-Fi network from different devices. The chip is useful, but it’s just that everything is configured through the desktop client, which is ... in Chinese. At least for Mac OS X.

However, simple operations with files can also be performed through the application on a smartphone. It's not a problem.

Outcome

I bought Xiaomi Mi Router 3 to replace my AirPort Express. The latter did not suit me too much with its range, I wanted something more interesting. And since Xiaomi products are quite close to me (especially for the price!), The choice was unequivocal. It turned out that Mi Router 3 beats the Wi-Fi signal about the same. No, everything works well and within the average apartment and even higher (up to 150 m2) the signal will be good. If not, then you should blame the receiver device.

I'm talking about something else. You won't be able to buy anything like this for your money (about $30). You can take something like a USB access point, but nothing serious. And our router has a pliable character, a convenient application for managing it, high-quality implementation and very extensive functionality.

The official price in China is 149 yuan or $22. It is clear that this is true only for owners of a real Chinese address and a card issued by a bank from China. We have neither one nor the other, so you should look towards resellers. I ordered my device from here. It cost me $ 32, now they give it a little cheaper. I think this is a good suggestion for those who want to change their old access point and switch to the modern 802.11 ac standard.

I specifically bought a Xiaomi mini WiFi router to prepare some detailed instructions for setting up this interesting router. By the way, judging by the reviews and comments in online stores, the Xiaomi router is very popular. And this is not even strange, for a small sum we get a beautiful, powerful and high-quality router. In addition, the router is dual-band, of course with support for the 802.11ac standard, and even with a USB port. Yes, this is a Chinese router, but Xiaomi is a good company, and very popular.

The Xiaomi router itself is very beautiful, stylish and unusual. I will review this router in a separate article. And in this article I want to describe in detail the process of first setting up the Xiaomi mini WiFi router. I'll show you how to connect a router, set up a Wi-Fi network, and the Internet. In the near future I will prepare instructions for setting up file sharing on a USB drive, router firmware, etc.

Control panel in Chinese. What to do, how to change the language?

As for the Xiaomi mini WiFi setup, this is most likely the only thing that can disappoint you in this router. The fact is that the router settings are in Chinese. There is no way to choose Russian, or even English. If you want the control panel to be in Russian, then you will have to flash the router with third-party firmware (PandoraBox, Padavan). The firmware process itself is complex. Perhaps I will write about it in a separate article.

English can be added. You need to change the region to Europe in the Wi-Fi settings and update the firmware. I will also write about this in a separate article. Well, I advise you not to bother, and just set up the Xiaomi mini router according to my instructions. Will something change if the settings are in English? This is a router, you set it up and forget about this control panel. And everything is exactly in what language it is. The main thing is that the Internet works well and stably.

Another point, the router can be configured from a smartphone or tablet through the Mi Router application. The application is in English, everything is clear there. We will also consider this option at the end of this article.

This instruction should be suitable not only for the Xiaomi mini model, but also for WiFi MiRouter 3, and Mi WiFi Nano.

Xiaomi Mi Router Mini: Wi-Fi and Internet setup

First, connect the power to the router, and connect the cable from the provider or modem to the "Internet" port.

Next, we need to go to the settings of the Xiaomi router. First, we will consider the first setting from a computer (laptop). You can connect the computer to the router as if by cable (but no cable included) as well as Wi-Fi. Immediately after turning on, a wireless network with the name "Xiaomi_some numbers" will appear. It is not password protected. Let's connect to it.

If you immediately got the Internet through the router, then it makes sense to configure it through the Chrome browser, or Yandex Browser. They can translate pages on the fly. And the control panel will be more understandable. Translation there is not perfect, but still better than Chinese characters.

1 Open any browser, and go to the address miwifi.com (it is listed below the router). Or 192.168.31.1 . You can see the detailed article in which I showed. On the first page, just click on the big Chinese button 🙂 This is something like a license agreement.

2 Next, you need to set the name of the Wi-Fi network and password for it. The password must be at least 8 characters long. Since the router is dual-band, the password will be the same for networks at two frequencies. It can be changed later in the control panel. We continue the setup.

3 In the next window, we need to set a password that will protect the router settings. This password will need to be specified when entering the router settings. Enter your password and click the button to continue. If you want the router password to be the same as the Wi-Fi password, you can simply check the box. But I don't recommend doing that.

4 We see a message that the router will create two Wi-Fi networks at different frequencies, their names will be indicated there. The router will reboot.

After the reboot, a Wi-Fi network will appear with the name that we set during the setup process. Connect to this network using the set password.

5 In the settings window, if you have not closed it yet, you can click on the button and you will see a message asking you to install a proprietary application on your smartphone to control the Xiaomi router. You can install this app from the App Store or Google Play‎ if you need it. It is called Mi Router. Below I will show how to configure the router from the phone through this application.

Important point! If the Internet through the router is already working on your devices, then the configuration of the Xiaomi router is completed. If you want, you can go to its settings, I will show below how to do it.

If internet through router not working then it needs to be configured.

Entering the Xiaomi router settings and setting up a connection to the provider

1 Again in the browser, go to the address miwifi.com. A password request will appear. Enter the password you set during the first setup. This is not a password from Wi-Fi, namely from a router.

2 To set up the Internet (connections to provider) go to the settings to a separate page, as shown below. Select your connection type from the list. Most likely, you need to select PPPoE. It's just that if you had a connection type DHCP (Dynamic IP), then the Internet through the router would work without configuration. You can check the type of connection with your provider.

3 After selecting PPPoE, you will need to set the necessary parameters for the connection. These settings are provided by your ISP. Also, they are most likely indicated in the documents that you were given when you connected to the Internet.

4 If the provider uses binding by MAC address, then you can change it on the same page, below. Just write down the required MAC. Or ask the provider to register the MAC address of your router, which is indicated in this field, or on the body of the device itself.

It is necessary that the router connects to the Internet and starts distributing it to your devices.

Setting up a 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz wireless network. Changing your Wi-Fi password

If you want to change the name of the Wi-Fi network, password, channel, or, for example, disable the network at some frequency of 5 GHz, or 2.4 GHz, then go to the settings and go to the page as shown below.

If you scroll down the page below, you will see the 5G Wi-Fi settings there, as far as I understand the guest network settings and the region change.

As you can see, nothing complicated. Even despite the fact that the settings are in Chinese.

The first setup of the Xiaomi router from a phone or tablet (Mi Router)

You can also configure the router from a mobile device. First you need to install the proprietary program Mi Router on your phone. We put it from Google Play, or the App Store. If you do not want to install the application, then you can also configure it through the browser of your mobile device, as I showed above.

Connect your smartphone to Xiaomi router. The Wi-Fi network will have a default name and will not be password protected. Also, do not forget to connect the Internet to the router.

On my iPhone, immediately after connecting, a window appeared with the settings of the router. And on Android, in the Mi Router program, you need to select the item "Set up a new router". Specify the location where the router is installed, and click the "Next" button.

The router will check the Internet connection, and if your provider uses a DHCP connection, you will see a message that the Internet is connected. Like in my screenshot below. And if you have a PPPoE connection technology, then you will need to set some parameters (login, password).

The last step is to set a password for the Wi-Fi network, and change the name of the network. Specify these data and click the "Finish" button.

Please note that the password set on the Wi-Fi network will also be used to access the router settings when entering the control panel at miwifi.com.

That's it, the router setup is complete. If something did not work out, then go to the settings through the browser, and change the necessary parameters.

Even without the firmware of the router in English or Russian, it can be configured without any problems, and everything will work. Yes, it is very difficult to understand the settings that are in Chinese. Even in English it would be easier. There is an English version of the original firmware, in a separate article I will show you how to install it.

I really liked the router, both externally and with stable work. Write your reviews about this model, share tips, and ask questions. Always happy to help with advice!

A feature of Xiaomi Wi-Fi routers that makes it difficult to set up the Internet and Wi-Fi networks are problems with interface translation. Even in the English version of the firmware, some inscriptions remain in Chinese. It is recommended to use an online translator such as Google Translate to set these items through the browser.

Differences in setting up Xiaomi routers

All Xiaomi models are configured through the same interface. As it can be used:

• Administrative panel in the browser;
• Client for Android;
• Application for iOS;
• Utility for Windows;
• Program for Mac.

All steps for specifying parameters are the same, but depending on the availability of additional functions, different settings are available for different devices. Routers "Mi WiFi 3" and "Mi WiFi Mini" support two-band wireless networks: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. They also have a USB port that allows you to connect external devices (hard drives, flash drives).

The Nano model is similar in design to the Mini router. The differences between the routers are visible on the rear panel. Instead of a Xiaomi power supply connector, a Micro-USB input is used. This allows you to connect "Mi WiFi Nano" even through a mobile phone charger. In addition, there is no USB port for connecting external drives.

Note! Xiaomi also has professional routers with built-in memory up to 6 TB. They are distinguished by higher technical characteristics and the presence of active cooling.

Connecting and logging into the web interface

Insert the ISP cable into the blue input on the back of the router. If you have home computers or laptops with an Ethernet connector, connect them with a cable to the gray ports. Unlike most routers from other brands, Xiaomi budget devices do not come with a network cable. It must be purchased separately or use a Wi-Fi connection.

When buying with delivery from China (for example, in the Aliexpress store), you should also consider that the power supply plug is type “A”. An additional adapter is required to plug into a Russian outlet. Connect the adapter to the router and plug it into the network. There are no power buttons on Xiaomi routers, devices start working immediately after connection.

Despite the presence of client applications for smartphones and computers with different operating systems, the admin panel remains the universal way to configure. It can be accessed using any software and hardware platform. It is enough to launch the browser and enter the standard IP of the Xiaomi router in the address bar: 192.168.31.1.

When connecting for the first time, select the checkbox confirming acceptance of the terms of the license agreement, and click the button above it. The system will prompt you to enter a new Wi-Fi network name (SSID) and its password. Enter this information and proceed to the next step. Then enter a new password to enter the router settings. When the device reboots, connect to the network you created and enter the administrator password.

The start screen contains basic information about the router and its statistics. At the bottom of the page are graphs of network usage (wired and wireless), the workload of hardware components. If the router is dual-band Wi-Fi, data is displayed for each connection created.

Important advice! If you are having difficulty connecting, use the built-in connection diagnostic utility. Restarting the router may also help.

Internet and Wi-Fi setup

To specify the provider's data, click the third item in the top menu: "Common settings". Open the "Internet settings" tab and select which settings you want to change. Various connection protocols will be available in the drop-down list. If you do not know the type of connection you are using and account information, check with your ISP support.

Wireless network settings on Xiaomi routers are indicated on the next tab in the same menu: “Wi-Fi settings”. Dual-band routers allow you to set separate SSIDs and security settings for 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks. In the "Encryption" column, select the encryption protocol, in the text field below it, enter the Wi-Fi access key.

You can set the guest network at the bottom of the page. To run it, change the value of the first item from "Shut down" to "Open". Enter the SSID of the guest Wi-Fi, select the type of protection from the drop-down list. If encrypted access is specified, you will also be prompted to enter a password for the guest network. The settings will take effect after the router is rebooted.

appearance of the router Xiaomi Mi WiFi 3

Xiaomi has long taught its fans that its new products are always a combination of innovative solutions in the field of information technology and high quality workmanship, which captivates with technical capabilities and a low price. Among the range of Xiaomi products, it is worth highlighting routers, due to their excellent technical and operational characteristics. And here the xiaomi mi wifi 3 model stands apart. Its class is ac1200, and the cost is within 30 US dollars.

It should be said right away: the characteristics of the xiaomi mi wifi router 3 do not differ from the characteristics that the Mi WiFi Mini model has, but there are noticeable differences in appearance. The new router has large dimensions, and the number of external antennas has changed from two to four.

Pleased with the cost of the new device - 30 US dollars. This is an acceptable price for a router with such a balanced set of technical characteristics. The advantages include the ability to operate the radio unit at a frequency of 5000 Hz. A speed indicator of 867 Mb / s will be available extremely rarely. The reason for this is the existing restrictions on the LAN and WAN ports, which cut the values ​​\u200b\u200bto the mark of 100 Mb / s. But it's still nice when a device that has such an opportunity is at hand, even if it is in the category of situational ones.

Capabilities of Xiaomi Mi WiFi Router 3

If there were ports with a capacity of 1 GB, the demand for a wifi router would increase many times over, despite the sharp rise in cost. If we talk about the current parameters, the router provides stable and uninterrupted operation, the occurrence of emergencies or excesses has not been noticed. By flashing the device using the latest firmware version, you can only improve the performance of the router.

Speed ​​testing

After a series of tests, it was found that the use of IPoE and PPPoE modes allows achieving a stable data transfer rate of 90 Mb / s. This is the cancellation rate for one-way bursting. The use of full duplex modes shows that xiaomi router is capable of showing impressive results. The reason for this is a hardware accelerator that has been integrated into the device's chip.

The transition to L2TP or PPTP makes you content with more modest speed indicators. The only thing that really pleases is that these modes are not so common, and therefore the manufacturer decided to deprive them of basic optimization as well.

Work through VPN

The operation of the xiaomi mi wifi router 3 router via VPN makes it possible to download data from both the World Wide Web and the local network. At the same time, the download speed remains consistently high, its performance does not fall, and in some cases it grows steadily.

The presence of a USB port allows you to connect modern models of printers.

Operation of radio units

The results of testing the radio blocks of the router turned out to be curious. When operating at a frequency of 2.4 GHz, the speed fluctuated between 60-62 Mb / s; the indicator is only valid in single stream mode. In the case of using eight streams instead of one, the speed indicators increase to the level of 70 Mb / s, sometimes confidently reaching 90 Mb / s.

With a frequency of use of 5 GHz, the highest data rate bar for a single stream is 90 Mb / s. Increasing the number of threads to 8 causes an increase in speed up to 160 Mb / s.

The conducted testing shows that the high-frequency radio unit cuts down the speed capabilities of the device due to the existing limitations.

Connection sequence

USB, WAN and LAN ports Xiaomi Mi WiFi 3

If you have never faced the task of connecting a router to the network, then setting up a xiaomi mi router will not be an easy task. You spend a single hour to get acquainted with the working interface and connection algorithm. The task is complicated by the fact that the developers did not bother to translate the instructions into other languages, there is only one language - Chinese. Connecting a xiaomi router to the worldwide network will give one plus - at any time it will be possible to update the firmware to the current version.

Installation algorithm

Consider an algorithm that will tell us how to connect a device to a xiaomi wifi wireless network.

1. To configure the router, you need to visit miwifi.com. Its role in customization is to become the interface of the device;
2. After all the necessary data from xiaomi mi wifi router 3 is entered, automatic connection and configuration will begin;
3. At the end of the operation, the router will reboot automatically;
4. The next step is to re-login to the admin panel. First you need to go to the third tab and fill in all the required information. This step will allow the router to automatically connect to the wi-fi network in the future;
5. Additional tabs allow you to add IP addresses to whitelists or blacklists, create an archive copy, and activate or deactivate VPN services. Here we also configure the firmware update options.

Separately, it is worth mentioning the tab on which additional settings are located. Here you can find QoS-smart speed.

It is strictly forbidden to change any parameters here if you are setting up xiaomi router 3 for the first time. Incorrect settings will cause a sharp decrease in speed.

A little about alternative firmware

It is better to use the xiaomi mi wifi router 3 router with standard firmware, which is characterized by stability in operation. But if desired, advanced users may switch to an alternative version. The professional version of the firmware allows you to use the functions for the embedded OS.

Benefits of xiaomi mi router 3 alternative firmware:

• Advanced functionality;
• Improved performance;
• Speed ​​limits.

It is impossible to find such a ready-made firmware on the Internet. To recreate its prototype for further use in the router, you need to use the open source code. Yes, this will require certain knowledge, skills and a lot of time. But as a result, you will get an excellent result that you will be satisfied with.

IT experts note that connecting a xiaomi mi router using non-standard firmware can lead to zero results, and in the worst case, completely suspend the device. If this happens, you will have to contact service centers, where support specialists will recover data from flash memory. In addition, configuration errors may cause you to not be able to work remotely or use some options on mobile phones or tablets. These factors are secondary, but they will negatively affect the overall work with xiaomi mi route.

If you have no idea how to set up a router, it is better to contact specialists in order to avoid excesses in the operation of the device.

Conclusion

The xiaomi mi wifi 3 router, like all products from Xiaomi, is of high quality, which is a pleasant addition to the excellent technical characteristics and stability in operation. It is perfect for solving home and corporate tasks, and competent settings will allow you to forget about connection problems for a long time.

If you are looking for a great router at a relatively low price, xiaomi mi wifi 3 will satisfy all your desires.