Instructions for setting up and connecting Wi-Fi on Xiaomi routers. Setting up a Xiaomi mini WiFi router. Detailed instructions Xiaomi mi wifi router 3 reviews

Most of these solutions have several things in common, the main ones being delivery only to the local (Chinese) market and the availability of documentation and software only in Chinese. However, nevertheless, these difficulties do not interfere with the interest in the products on the part of domestic enthusiasts.

In this article we will get acquainted with a new wireless router from a well-known Chinese manufacturer - Xiaomi. The Mi WiFi Router 3 model is already the third one that came to us for testing. In the fall of the year before last, a publication was published on Xiaomi Mi Wi-Fi, and last September - on Xiaomi Mi Wi-Fi Mini.

The new model is noticeably different in appearance from its predecessor (if we consider the Xiaomi Mi Wi-Fi Mini to be such), in particular, it has a larger body and four external antennas. At the same time, the technical characteristics are almost the same: MediaTek MT7620A processor (580 MHz), 128 MB of RAM, 128 MB of flash memory (Mi Wi-Fi Mini has 16 MB), two wireless radio units - at 2.4 GHz (802.11b /g/n, up to 300 Mbps) and 5 GHz (802.11a/n/ac, up to 867 Mbps), one WAN port and two LAN ports (all rated at 100 Mbps), USB 2.0 port for connecting external devices.

Based on the totality of parameters, the model can be classified as middle class. The most interesting feature from a practical point of view is support for operation in the 5 GHz band. At the same time, the cost of the device in foreign online stores is about $30 (approximately 2000 rubles at the time of writing this article). It will not be easy to find analogues with 802.11ac and 867 Mbit/s in our market at such a budget. On the other hand, you need to understand that if there are only 100 Mbps ports, the specified speed over a 5 GHz wireless connection is in a sense “virtual” and can affect real performance only in certain, quite rare, in our opinion, scenarios.

Delivery set and appearance

Unlike previously used strong boxes made of ordinary cardboard, Xiaomi Mi WiFi Router 3 is packaged differently - simpler and cheaper. The router was placed in a white cardboard tray, which, in turn, was installed in a thin dust jacket. As a result, the package that arrives in the mail does not look very attractive.

However, the equipment did not suffer any damage despite such treatment. The design of the box includes a photo of the router and a description of its main features and characteristics. But if you don't know Chinese, all this won't be useful to you.

The kit includes a power supply (12 V 1 A) and an installation leaflet. Note that to use the power supply you will have to look for an adapter for domestic sockets (often it can be ordered along with the router), and the documentation is also presented only in Chinese. As a plus, let's write down the white color of the power supply housing and its cable, which is consistent with the router itself. True, the cable length has also clearly been “optimized” and is slightly less than one meter, which can be inconvenient.

The overall dimensions of the router, excluding antennas and cables, are 195x130x24 mm. Fixed antennas have two degrees of freedom and a total length of about 170 mm. All external structural elements are made of matte white plastic. It was not possible to find information about the availability of other color options.

When you meet in person, you realize that the model is very thin (about 200 g) and light. It's a pity that they didn't provide wall mounting for it. Yes, and placement on the table may be difficult, since the legs here, unlike its predecessor, are plastic.

At the bottom you can also see a passive ventilation grille and an information sticker. The most useful thing on it is probably the QR code for downloading the application for mobile devices.

In the center of the front end of the device there is a two-color status LED. There are no other indicators here, except for the LEDs on the wired network ports. All connectors of the router are installed on the rear panel and include WAN and LAN ports, one USB 2.0 port, a power supply input, and a hidden reset button.

This model has four antennas and compact dimensions, but reducing the number of local network ports from the usual four to two allows you not to worry about the convenience of connection. We also note the presence of additional ventilation slots on the rear panel.

In general, the design turned out to be quite interesting and non-standard. The only criticism would be the lack of holes for mounting the router on the wall.

Hardware configuration

To clarify the hardware configuration, we did not disassemble the device, but used the information provided on the Internet and access to the router console. However, as we have already said, there are almost no differences from Mi Wi-Fi Mini. The router is based on the MediaTek platform, popular in the mass segment. The central processor of the MT7620A model operates at a standard frequency of 580 MHz. The amount of RAM is 128 MB, the firmware is written to a flash memory module with the same volume - 128 MB. Note that this is a fairly large value for the budget segment, but it has little effect on the main consumer characteristics.

The processor has a built-in 2.4 GHz radio unit that supports 802.11b/g/n standards with a maximum connection speed of 300 Mbit/s. To implement operation in the second 5 GHz band and 802.11a/n/ac standards, an additional MT7612 chip is used. The processor also has a network switch with five ports, of which three are used here - one WAN and two LAN. All of them support speeds of 10/100 Mbps. The last element used in the main chip is a USB 2.0 controller; one port of this interface can be found on the back panel of the router.

When looking at photographs of the printed circuit board, you can see a heatsink on the processor, connectors for antenna cables, and pads for implementing a console port. This model does not provide any additional screens.

With the exception of increasing the amount of flash memory and installing four separate antennas for two bands, the device has no differences from the Mi Wi-Fi Mini. If we compare the characteristics with other models in this price segment, then the presence of 802.11ac and USB can be written down as a plus, and the reduced number of wired LAN ports can be considered as a minus.

Settings and features

As we said above, using the device in its original form is significantly hampered by the presence of only Chinese in the web interface and documentation. If you have an Internet connection, the device’s web interface can be translated directly in the browser, so the greatest difficulties may arise only at the initial setup stage.

The router supports firmware updates via the Internet; in this testing we used version 2.10.16, which belongs to the stable branch. On the manufacturer's support site, you can also download a special version for developers, which also corresponds to a separate version of the application for Android. In addition, there are proprietary programs for Windows and OS X, but there is no point in using them due to the lack of translation. They probably only have one plus - the ability to run download jobs using the BitTorrent protocol.

Let's see what the official firmware can offer us. The following English screenshots were taken using the built-in translator in Google Chrome. Please note that due to the need for translation, we may have missed or misunderstood some of the advanced features of the model.

The top line contains four items - status, external storage, basic settings, additional settings. The first page displays the current state of the device, including the use of the Internet channel, processor and memory, a list of connected clients and statistics on them.

On the second we see information about the connected external drive and descriptions of options for accessing files on it. Please note that it cannot be accessed from a browser. There is no option in the web interface to change service settings for the drive.

Basic settings include selecting wireless network settings, connecting to the Internet, setting up access lists and changing the administrator password (by default, it is the same as the password for the wireless network), selecting addresses for the LAN segment and system functions.

Wi-Fi settings are quite traditional. Here you can select the name of the networks, protection, channel number (for 5 GHz there are 36-64 and 149-165), and also enable the guest network (only for 2.4 GHz). Note that, if desired, you can disable access points in each range. And in additional parameters you can program access lists for clients. Transmission power adjustment is also provided (three options).

The stock firmware only supports IPoE and PPPoE connections. There are options for selecting the speed of the WAN port and changing its MAC address.

To configure local network clients, the traditional scheme with a DHCP server is used. It is possible to change the address of the router itself and the range of addresses for clients. We also didn’t forget about setting up fixed MAC-IP assignments for local network devices.

On the last page of this section there are items for checking for firmware updates, downloading it from a file, managing configuration and selecting a time zone. We didn’t find the device’s event log here, but one of the items was translated as “downloading the log,” but where exactly it is downloaded and how to look at it remained unclear.

The first page of the next group contains settings for the bandwidth management service (QoS). It can operate in several modes - automatic, priority and specific speed values. In this case, the rules can be specified for each client individually.

To implement remote access to services on a local network, the router has a DDNS client for four services, support for DMZ and UPnP, and the ability to create your own port translation table.

The last function that can be configured via the web interface is connecting the router to servers via VPN. The built-in client supports PPTP and L2TP protocols. You can try to use this feature to work with the main provider, but the lack of control means does not allow us to call it convenient for this scenario.

As we can see, despite a fairly fast platform and a large amount of flash memory, the standard web interface of the built-in software does not offer a wide range of capabilities. In particular, here we do not see the implementation of working with IPTV, setting up routing tables, firewall management, parental controls and other functions. Probably, the company decided not to develop a web interface, but to focus on software updates for mobile devices, as a more popular management option.

The proprietary Mi Router program is available for Android and iOS. To use it, you will need an account in the Xiaomi cloud service, which allows you to connect all your network devices from this manufacturer and provide additional capabilities for them. These programs have an English interface, but the translation is clearly not complete. On the Internet you can also find a version of the utility for Android translated into Russian by enthusiasts. In addition, we note that the solution has a modular structure with support for plugins, which also rarely boast the presence of English.

Control from a mobile device is also interesting because it uses the company’s cloud services and can work not only from the network of the router itself, but also remotely via the Internet.

On the first page of the mobile application we see all clients connected to the router. In the context menu for each of them, you can configure the following options: access to the Internet (including on a schedule), the ability to access files on the router from the client, notifications when the client appears on the network, blocking the Wi-Fi connection and limiting the speed.

The second page allows you to manage files on storage devices connected to the router. For example, you can look at photographs from them. Here you can add shared resources, providing access to specific folders.

The third page of the mobile utility is used to control the file download service. However, for practical use in p2p networks (in particular with the BitTorrent protocol), it is not useful, since it is focused on working with Chinese services.

The last page is perhaps the most interesting. A dozen and a half plugins for working with the router are collected here. They allow you to change device settings, update firmware, control protection services, check resource usage, optimize settings for maximum performance, backup photos to the router’s USB drive, and much more.

In general, the capabilities of the standard built-in software of the router in question can hardly be called well suited for a domestic user. In fact, this model can be used in configurations with an Internet connection via IPoE and PPPoE without the need for additional services, in particular IPTV. The presence of an exclusively Chinese version of the web interface also causes difficulties. On the other hand, when using a branded mobile application, the situation becomes a little better, since it at least has English, and thanks to plugins, new useful functions appear. In addition, the possibility of remote control of the router is of some interest.

Performance

In terms of its technical characteristics, in particular the presence of 100 Mbit/s wired ports, the model belongs to the middle segment. Implementing work with gigabit connections would clearly significantly increase the cost of the product. We have already met with the MediaTek MT7620A platform several times and in most cases we could say that its performance is quite sufficient to service connections up to 100 Mbit/s inclusive. But, as we have repeatedly said, the firmware also has a significant impact on the results here.

To test the device, we used our standard stand with emulation of the provider’s access server. The first graph shows the results of routing speed testing with all connection options. Note that for PPTP and L2TP the VPN client built into the firmware was used.

There are no comments on the indicators for IPoE and PPPoE. In these modes, the router is able to show almost maximum speeds exceeding 90 Mbit/s when operating in one direction. Full duplex modes have even better overall performance. The presence of a hardware accelerator in the chip played an important role here.

But there is nothing to brag about in PPTP and L2TP. However, these types of connections are not very common outside our market and the lack of optimization for them does not seem surprising for a product supplied exclusively to the Chinese market. However, for inexpensive channels with low speed, these modes can be useful.

Note that all options with a connection via VPN also support working with the provider’s local network segment. The speed of simultaneous downloading of data from this network and from the Internet corresponds to the overall speed in these modes.

For basic testing of wireless access points, we used a client with an Asus PCE-AC86 adapter installed. In the 2.4 GHz band, he was only able to connect to the router at a speed of 144 Mbps, which is likely due to regional restrictions. Unfortunately, we did not find any channel width settings in the device. Let us recall that the formally installed configuration supports a connection speed of 300 Mbit/s in this range. There were no surprises at 5 GHz with 802.11ac. The connection speed in this mode was 867 Mbit/s.

The first graph shows the test results when the client is placed at a distance of about four meters of line of sight from the router. The test was carried out as usual in one/two streams and in eight streams between a wireless client and a computer connected to the router’s LAN port.

As we can see, both configurations show the expected numbers. At 2.4 GHz, the maximum data transfer speed per stream is 60-65 Mbit/s; when the number of streams increases to eight, it increases to 70-90 Mbit/s. These values ​​correspond to a connection speed of 144 Mbps.

When moving to the 5 GHz band, we clearly encounter limitations from the wired ports of the router. The maximum results achieved are just over 90 Mbit/s for one-way transfer. And in duplex mode, the device is capable of even more - the overall speed reaches 150-160 Mbit/s.

Additionally, we conducted a test with a pair of clients with the same wireless adapters. Both of them were also located at a distance of four meters from the router. In the first case, the devices were connected to a network in the 5 GHz band, and in the second, to a 2.4 GHz network and to a 5 GHz network.

When both devices operate with the 802.11ac protocol, you can get more than 200 Mbps in multi-threaded mode. So it remains to once again complain about the limitations of wired ports. If the second client is transferred to 2.4 GHz, then it will already be a “bottleneck” in this scenario.

To evaluate the coverage area, we conducted the following test with the Zopo ZP920+ smartphone, which has a built-in dual-band wireless adapter with one antenna and support for 802.11ac (maximum connection speeds are 150 and 433 Mbps, respectively, in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands). In addition to the first point (four meters of line of sight), the device was placed at four meters behind one wall and at eight meters behind two walls. Unfortunately, the presence of a large number of neighboring networks in the 2.4 GHz band did not allow an adequate assessment of the speed at the second and third points, and these results are not shown in the graph.

But 802.11ac showed itself here in all its glory - most of the results are at the level of 90 Mbit/s. Although we certainly remember that a smartphone is capable of more if the router has gigabit ports.

This section concludes with tests of the performance of a USB drive in tasks of reading and writing files over a network. An SSD with an appropriate adapter was used as a disk, and the tool was the Intel NASPT package with standard templates HDVideo_1Play, HDVideo_1Record and HDVideo_1Play_1Record. The client connected both via a wired network and via 802.11ac.

The maximum read speed is about 12 MB/s. It's strange that we couldn't get more over the wireless connection. As for recording, the model in question is capable of showing speeds of about 9 MB/s.

In general, we see that the MediaTek platform has successfully coped with the main tasks of routing (in IPoE and PPPoE), servicing wireless clients and working with the drive. Higher performance could have been achieved with a different hardware configuration (in particular, with gigabit network ports), which would not have allowed the device to fall into its price segment.

Xiaomi Mi WiFi+ Repeater

Another interesting feature of the router in question is collaboration with the Mi WiFi+ device. It is sometimes incorrectly called a “Wi-Fi signal booster” because it is essentially a repeater. This model connects to the main router via Wi-Fi and at the same time organizes its own wireless network, which allows you to increase the coverage area. We have already encountered similar equipment several times on the pages of our website. Compared to them, Xiaomi Mi WiFi+ is interesting for its compact size and low cost (about $7 at the time of writing).

The model comes in a regular plastic bag with a zipper. There is no complete set as such. Instructions from two illustrations are printed directly on the packaging.

The repeater body is made of white matte plastic and has overall dimensions of 121x28x8 mm (excluding the thickening of the hinge). In appearance, the device most closely resembles a large flash drive or modem for cellular networks.

A standard USB 2.0 plug is installed at one end. It can be closed with a cap during transportation. The hinge design provides one degree of freedom - the main part of the housing can be tilted relative to the connector by a little more than 90 degrees in each direction.

On one side of the case we see the inscription “WiFi+”, and on the opposite side there is an embossed mi logo, as well as a two-color indicator and a hidden reset button. There is nothing else interesting on the body.

The USB port here is used for two purposes - synchronizing settings with the Xiaomi router and powering the repeater. The specifications indicate the need to provide a current of 0.5 A, which most power supplies can handle. In reality, the maximum consumption level noted during testing was 220 mA. So, if necessary, you can organize mobile use with a portable battery.

The manufacturer claims a simple option for setting up this model - you just need to install it in the USB port of a working Xiaomi router - and in a couple of minutes you can turn off the repeater and install it in the desired location in your apartment or house. You can also use the Mi Home mobile home automation control program to put the device into operation. In this case, it will be possible to connect to any router, not just those made by Xiaomi. The same program is used to update the repeater firmware. In our case, testing was carried out with version 1.4.14.

It added the ability to change the name and security key of the network created by the repeater (usually the name is obtained by adding the suffix “_plus” to the router’s network name, and the password is the same), as well as the option to hide the broadcast of its SSID.

In the router report, the repeater connected to it is displayed as a regular wireless client, only the device picture changes. Note that the repeater did not receive any of its own web interface.

As for the hardware, this device is based on the MediaTek MT7688KN SoC, which the manufacturer positions as an affordable multifunctional solution for a wide class of wireless products, including the IoT segment. Inside this chip there is a radio unit that supports 802.11b/g/n in the 2.4 GHz band with connection speeds of up to 150 Mbps (one antenna is supported) and 8 MB of RAM. Of the large external chips, only 4 MB flash memory is present. Given the configuration of the product, it is unlikely that alternative firmware with enhanced capabilities will appear for it.

Let us recall that single-band repeaters, due to their operating technology, noticeably reduce the speed of clients, but can be useful precisely from the point of view of expanding wireless network coverage, especially for mobile devices.

We tested the effectiveness of WiFi+ with the same Zopo ZP920+ smartphone that participated in evaluating the capabilities of the router. Let us remind you that of our three points in the apartment, we were able to test operation in the 2.4 GHz range only in the first one - four meters of line of sight from the router. And the point here is not only in the signal level of the main router, but also in the presence of dozens of neighboring networks.

The repeater was installed in a smartphone charger and connected to an outlet near the second point (4 m from the router through one wall). The smartphone was connected to the repeater’s wireless network and placed at the same three points. It is clear that in the first case it would be more efficient to work with the router directly, but we checked this configuration as well.

Using WiFi+ allowed us to get a relatively stable connection even in those points where the router alone could not cope. As we can see from the results, a repeater is really capable of improving the coverage area of ​​a wireless network and can be useful even in such difficult situations as working in a city apartment with a large number of neighboring networks.

Using alternative firmware

As we said above, you can install a special version of firmware for developers on the router in the standard way. It is interesting, first of all, because it allows you to access the console of the embedded operating system via ssh. This in turn allows the image to be rewritten in flash memory. As for the actual choice of alternative firmware, there may be several options and of course we won’t be able to check everything in one article.

For further testing, we chose the popular project. These firmwares for users of Asus routers based on MediaTek chips are distinguished by high quality, wide capabilities, speed and reliability. If we talk specifically about Xiaomi Mi Wi-Fi Router 3, then there are several features for using this project. In particular, distribution of ready-made firmware files is prohibited. This means that you must compile it yourself for your device from source code. And the further installation process itself cannot be called “one-button”.

However, if you are already involved in a story with this router, you are no stranger to difficulties. In addition, it is worth noting that at first glance there is a lot of information on the Internet on this issue, but very often its quality does not stand up to criticism. We managed to overcome all the difficulties, so below we will talk about our impressions when working with this firmware (version 3.4.3.9_099_1619d13 was used).

Considering the flexibility, versatility and openness of this project, there is no point in describing its capabilities in detail in this material. Let us note only the key features as applied to the router in question and the domestic user: Russian and English interfaces, work with PPTP/L2TP, support for IPTV technologies, advanced capabilities for working with USB devices (including an FTP server, NFS protocol, transmission file download client and operation with cellular modems), implementation of a VPN server and client (PPTP, L2TP, OpenVPN), tools for monitoring network, processor and RAM load, organization of guest Wi-Fi networks, Wi-Fi scheduling, access to the console via telnet and SSH, custom scripts for key events, support for package management systems. The firmware performed well on the router in question; there were no problems with it.

However, as usual, we warn you that the operations carried out to install the firmware can lead to the device becoming inoperable, requiring the intervention of specialists to restore the flash memory. In these cases, you bear responsibility yourself. In this case, it is probably not worth taking into account the impact on warranty obligations. As for the formal disadvantages of this option, probably the most significant will be the loss of functionality of the remote control service and proprietary utilities for mobile devices. How important this is is for you to decide for yourself.

But when we tried to return to the original firmware, we were faced with the fact that the options for carrying out this operation described on the network did not work, so we had to “use a tambourine” and spend a lot of time trying to figure out the issue. On the other hand, most users of alternative firmware will probably not need to return.

Performance testing with alternative firmware was carried out under the same conditions as for the standard version. So we will not repeat them here, but will limit ourselves to graphs and short comments.

If your provider works with PPTP or L2TP, then this version of the software can almost equal the speed of operation in these modes with the simplest IPoE configuration.

In scenarios of simultaneous downloading of data from the provider’s local network and from the Internet, the results can also be considered ideal.

The operation of the wireless access point in the 5 GHz band does not cause any complaints and differs little from the standard firmware. And for 2.4 GHz, an alternative version of the software allows for a connection speed of 300 Mbit/s, which has a noticeable effect on some scenarios.

A similar comment can be made for the scenario of data exchange between a pair of wireless clients.

There are no comments regarding the maintenance of the mobile device.

This version of the firmware allows you to work with an expanded set of file systems on drives, and in terms of speed, in most cases it is no worse than the original version. It is especially worth paying attention to the task of simultaneously reading and writing data over a wireless connection. The only “failure” here is recording to NTFS over Wi-Fi.

Alternative firmware has a built-in VPN server, which for this platform is perhaps the most difficult task in terms of consumption of computing resources. The last graph shows results for PPTP with and without encryption, as well as OpenVPN. The numbers were obtained by averaging over three scenarios: reception in eight streams, transmission in eight streams, simultaneous reception and transmission in four streams.

If you do not use encryption, you can count on 70-110 Mbit/s, depending on the type of router connection to the Internet. Enabling MPEE128 for PPTP causes the speed to drop to 30-40 Mbit/s, while working with OpenVPN is possible at speeds of about 14 Mbit/s. Working with an L2TP server differs little in performance from the PPTP option. For this platform, these results can be considered good.

As we can see, using alternative firmware for the Xiaomi Mi WiFi Router 3 router has certain advantages both in terms of functions that are in demand in our market and in terms of performance. But this option cannot be called accessible to a wide range of users.

Conclusion

To be honest, it remains not very clear why the manufacturer released this device if Xiaomi Mi Mini Wi-Fi is available in its catalog. The devices differ little in their hardware characteristics, and the increased amount of flash memory currently does not have any advantages. It is difficult to compare in appearance and design; in our opinion, both models are interesting in their own way.

The combination of cost and capabilities of the Xiaomi Mi WiFi Router 3 looks quite attractive at first glance, but there are additional factors to consider. In particular, the lack of a model for open sale on our market, the likely lack of warranty and support from the manufacturer, the Chinese language of the web interface, software and documentation, and a limited set of functions in demand on the local market.

In terms of its technical parameters, the model can be considered a “enhanced” 802.11ac router for the mass segment, which is perhaps the most attractive aspect of the device. Although it must be admitted that 100 Mbit/s ports for a wired network do not make it possible to fully exploit the potential of working with this wireless networking standard.

The main application scenario is connecting to a provider via IPoE or PPPoE at speeds up to 100 Mbit/s inclusive and servicing wireless clients in the 5 GHz range. Many branded services cannot be used due to lack of translation, but the mobile application with cloud connection support seemed very convenient. The second option is to work as an access point with dual-band support in addition to the main home router. In any case, it will be a little disappointing that some of the formally paid functions will not be used.

Purchasing a router with the purpose of subsequently installing alternative firmware on it is also quite possible, given its relatively low cost. However, it is difficult to call this path accessible and simple.

The Xiaomi WiFi+ repeater described in this material turned out to be a fairly convenient and simple device, capable in some cases of solving the problem of increasing the stable coverage area of ​​a wireless network in the 2.4 GHz range.