Quite a good spec router for the money?
Dual band, 802.11 ac, 1167Mbps etc
Tech blurb
Experience smoother HD streaming and online gaming with this high-performance Original Xiaomi Mi WiFi Dual-band Wireless Router 3. It comes with the latest 802.11ac WiFi technology which is 3 times faster than wireless N speeds and delivers a combined wireless data transfer rate of up to 1167Mbps. With 867Mbps wireless speeds over the crystal clear 5GHz band and 300Mbps over the 2.4GHz band, the Xiaomi Mi WiFi Dual-band Wireless Router 3 is the superior choice for seamless HD streaming, online gaming and other bandwidth-intensive tasks. Furthermore, four powerful high-gain external antennas give wider coverage and better performance when lots of devices are connected, making it ideal even for large home!
Main Features:
● The latest 802.11ac WiFi Standard: Get 3xfaster access and more reliable streaming for your home computers and mobile devices.
● Simultaneous dual band networks, 2.4GHz (300Mbps) and 5GHz (867Mbps).
● Four external antennas for faster wireless performance at greater distances.
● Manage your network settings easily with the Xiaomi MiWiFi APP.
● MT7620A processor, 128MB SLC Nand Flash ROM, 128MB DDR2 RAM: Stable and reliable.
Top comments
jackbremer
15 Apr 163#11
Beautiful design
hellop4nda
15 Apr 163#8
Gearbest warning - if you are buying from them, get tracked shipping, and/or buy insurance - I bought stuff from them and till today it hasn't reached yet, it is way past 25 business days but they told me to wait another month for it. So if you can't wait please be careful. Their shipping estimate is nowhere near what they claim it to be.
mogsog
15 Apr 163#7
When will this 10/100 ethernet ports combined with ac wireless thing stop?
All comments (64)
KiNG
15 Apr 16#1
looks a good spec router for the money, any reviews of it ?
woldranger
15 Apr 16#2
Any suggestions of a relatively cheap (happy to go down the used route) router that I can connect an external hard drive to to add to my home network? I'd rather go for a better router than the Sr102 Sky one I've got at the mo than buying a NAS drive (I'm not going to use it much anyway)
thesmellyone to woldranger
15 Apr 16#6
hi, try a BT home hub 5.
tek-monkey
15 Apr 161#3
Any idea what the firmware is like? Looks great for the money but I have need of a few customisations that I suspect I'll need openWRT for.
008
15 Apr 16#4
HEAT!
Had a Mi R 2 with 1tb and this seems to be a brilliant update for Mi in the right direction to go with
all the other Mi gear they are bringing out this year ;-)
GotBass to 008
15 Apr 16#15
what else are they bringing out?
gillms1
15 Apr 16#5
I use one as an access point - have to say am very impressed. The only issue is that all my menus are in chinese! But as long as you have google chrome (and you configure from a device already connected to the internet) then the chrome translate works very well. I've purchased another one (as I've given my one to my sister to use in her flat) which the seller claims has been flashed with english firmware, but I've yet to set that up!
mogsog
15 Apr 163#7
When will this 10/100 ethernet ports combined with ac wireless thing stop?
hellop4nda to mogsog
15 Apr 16#9
Check out the price, you get what you pay for. Most people use wireless only nowadays so you can't fault hardware makers who decide to capitalise on that market.
davidorridge to mogsog
16 Apr 161#19
i agree, gig Ethernet has been around for ages, should be standard by now
hellop4nda
15 Apr 163#8
Gearbest warning - if you are buying from them, get tracked shipping, and/or buy insurance - I bought stuff from them and till today it hasn't reached yet, it is way past 25 business days but they told me to wait another month for it. So if you can't wait please be careful. Their shipping estimate is nowhere near what they claim it to be.
Gearbest1 to hellop4nda
16 Apr 161#17
Dear hellop4nda,
This is Gearbest Store Rep Alice
Apologize for the inconvenience regarding the delivery. Hasn't arrived until today ?
Could you please PM me your order number for checking ?
Best regards,
skykid3
15 Apr 161#10
Ha so, me likey velly much!
jackbremer
15 Apr 163#11
Beautiful design
meanmoose
15 Apr 16#12
possible to load DD-WRT?
tek-monkey to meanmoose
15 Apr 16#13
Would be great if so but I'm not seeing anything.
emsi2519
15 Apr 16#14
homehubs cannot be configured to sky that i am aware
dcx_badass
15 Apr 16#16
It's a shame they limited this with 100mbps ports, if it was Gigabit I'd buy one in an instant.
I have the Xiaomi Mi Wifi Mini and it's a brilliant bit of kit, it has OpenWRT and Padavan support, Padavan is significantly better than OpenWRT, hopefully you'll get support from these firmwares on this hardware.
There are rumours that Xiaomi insert ads into webpages with the stock firmware, that was enough to make me wait for custom firmware before ordering.
thesmellyone
16 Apr 161#18
its possible but I've just attached mine onto act as an access point. gives me dual band coverage.
emsi2519
16 Apr 16#20
How is it poosible
Gollywood
24 Apr 161#21
Does this connect into the modem via ethernet cable?
nomstar
24 Apr 16#22
The WiFi signal on the hh5 is awful
chaffordred
24 Apr 16#23
Can anyone recommend good 'all-in one modem/router' replacement for a BT Home Hub 3 on fibre?
boowilkes
24 Apr 16#24
I've set up my old BT Home Hub as an access point at the other end of the house connecting via powerlines to a terrible Virgin 'super' hub. I ignore the Virgin wifi network completely and connect to the BT network which my phone sees at the end of the drive, 15m before the Virgin one and that's through 3 extra brick walls!
moneysavingkitten
24 Apr 16#25
I was wondering the same thing. Surely not ideal if it does.
nathan18k
24 Apr 16#26
Can I use this with BT? Would I need the Openreach box too? Or will this replace the Openreach box like the HomeHub 5?
cicobuff
24 Apr 16#27
This would be good as an access point for the price configured with google chrome translation. Personally would not use one as a main router.
thefunkygibbon
24 Apr 162#28
wow. just....wow
andybriggs03
24 Apr 16#29
does this take a sim card ?
SirSpanky
24 Apr 16#30
I'm no techie, but I never understood why people buy routers rather than use the one that just came with your broadband package. Any advantage?
AR2012
24 Apr 16#31
To sum it all up: Control, reliability, more functionality.
VincentGO
24 Apr 16#32
Got a mi router 2 with 6TB HDD and it is amazing. You can control the router on your phone app. The bad side of it is the Android app is in chinese.
bubblegum2910
24 Apr 16#33
Can someone tell me if this is ok for Plusnet Fibre Broadband, last router I tried, was for broadband, but not compatible with Fibre broadband.
frownbreaker
24 Apr 161#34
If you have an ISP provided unit like the HH or the Superhub2 the Asus RT-AC68P is a good option.
Avoid the Asus units with build in modem (ASDL/VDSL) as there are issues. However the regular access points are very good. Lots of feature and software updates / custom firmware. Great build quality and range.
nathan18k
24 Apr 16#35
Are there any cheaper alternatives available? Can I use this Xiaomi one?
frownbreaker
24 Apr 16#36
Yes a few
1) Range is much improved over the ISP provider units. Eg. Superhub 2 and 3 other access points replaces with a single Asus modem.
2) Improved connection stability. This is down to several factors the antenna design, RF design and the software and CPU used. The advanced units support beam forming and other tricks the basic ISP option cannot manage
3) Faster downloads. On the Superhub 2 I got 5-6mb faster downloads when the unit was switched to Modem mode (no wifi) this is because the CPU in the SH2 was now dedicated to being a modem + network router and all the Wifi work was done by the ASUS
4) Easier to change ISP. I moved off Virgin to plusnet (who sent me a very cheap wifi access point) and then to BT. All my network printer / media player and TV setting unchanges with each change. Indeed the change from PlusNet Fibre to BT Infinity2 was just a password change on the ASUS!
5) Reliability The ISP provided kit is cheap and in my experience does fail more than you might expect. The ASUS kit is very well made - High spec components, design and build.
6) Extra capabilities easy to add storage, printers, VPN, prioritises IPTV, manage traffic richer interface and Phone based apps to control the router. You can turn off the LEDs or the wireless just using physical switched on the unit ideal if you are going on holiday and don't want wireless left on etc...
Tenda kit is really well made I've kit I purchase 9 years ago still working today running 24x7 bombproof and really feature rich. Good design and contruction at this price point. The ASUS kit is great but the price reflects the amazing build. Tenda is very good at the budget end. Both excellent options IMHO.
NOTE the ASUS and TENDA units may have bad reviews / comments check the dates there are normally when the units are new and the firmware is buggy. This is normal for WiFi units launched using a new "standard" as the bugs and compatibility take around a year to settle. This is not a feature of any particular brand or unit but a feature of the industry.
frownbreaker
24 Apr 16#39
When the price differential for the different chipset goes, probably about 6-9 years. We just hit this for OLED screens which are now CHEAPER than the same size LCDs. When this transition happens you will see the change. With Access points its a bit more complex as there are chipsets to handle the entire workload and these tend to come in bands entry level (10/100 and cheaper Wifi, GB and the fance Wifi) that so given the fact that needs substantially more CPU power for the Wifi this gap may not close as the Wifi standard keep getting updated. Only when there is no change (like in ethernet for home) does component commoditisation take place to the level needed to support what you asked.
frownbreaker
24 Apr 16#40
If you are doing wired disk to disk copy it can be a pain but you are correct for most home uses it can be ok. That said with multiple wireless devices streaming HD at the SAME time the load on the switch can limit things. If you have >2 HD steams and other stuff on the network the gb units are almost essential. Depends what is going on in the home. Also now with smart TVs iPlayer etc even the wired network running 10/100 can be an issue for folk with Fibre / Cable
bill888
24 Apr 161#41
The Xiaomi does not have a built-in ADSL/VDSL modem, so to be able to use it with fibre, it would have to be wired to an Openreach modem. The Xiaomi probably supports PPPoE protocol, so no reason why it would not work with Plusnet or BT fibre services.
nathan18k
24 Apr 16#42
Anyone using this particular model, should I replace my current BT Hub 3 with this one? I have BT Infinity.
daro_london
24 Apr 16#43
no english firmware and aplications:
Customer Questions & Answers:
By Bertrand Apr-17/2016 11:04:25
Question:
hello. Is the firmware product only in chinese, or there is is an english version ? thanks for your informations
Reply:
Hello Bertrand,
The item is only in chinese.
redduck
24 Apr 16#44
I can't work out if this is shipped from China or not. I selected the EU warehouse from the homepage and this item appears when I search for it.. does that mean this is shipped from the EU? I don't want to get seeing with import and VAT as I'm erring on whether to buy it or not
smillard
24 Apr 16#45
I have a iconnect for sale it has 4 usb ports n ethernet connection u plug usb stick or hard drive in and can use it to share over your network
trate4
24 Apr 16#46
Whenever they mess me around i just put in a paypal dispute and get my refund that way, much less hassle than dealing with their support.
daedos
24 Apr 16#47
Agree. Specs don't match expected performance. Coverage was no better than the 'rubbish' Sky router.
meinnnit
24 Apr 16#48
Have I stumbled into the 1970s?
Ed_in_London
24 Apr 16#49
You can still use it as a designer toast rack :wink:
jezbinho
24 Apr 16#50
I would highly recommend steering clear of gearbest. I ordered 9 things last November. 6 months later I only ever received 1 item. Repeated chasing and endless conversations and I haven't seen the money back or any items. You have been warned.
hellop4nda
24 Apr 16#51
I used Paypal! Thanks for the tip, looks like I'm going to finally get a shot at getting my money back! Thank you very much :smiley:
HotDealAlert
24 Apr 16#52
I use Sky optics at home, would this be suitable to use as replacement? I heard Sky has some compatibility issue with most other routers. True?
Roph
24 Apr 161#53
100M ethernet? Is this 1998?
bill888
25 Apr 16#54
It probably cannot replace sky hub as very few 3rd party routers support 'MER' as used by Sky. Best you can do with the Xiaomi, is configure it as a 'wireless access point', and then wire it to existing Sky hub.
fwiw, you may wish to consider the new Sky Q hub dual band AC router which is now available to existing Sky broadband customers for a one-off price?
AdamT93
25 Apr 16#55
I get a bit confused with all the jargon in relation to routers etc. - I have just signed up for Hyperoptic 100Mbps broadband package but was told by their Customer Services rep that their standard router can only do 70-80Mbps on WiFi, so would this get me the full 100?
nathan18k
25 Apr 16#56
Yes I think it will. Any "N" router will provide you with the 100Mbps connection, and this is AC, the higher level than N. All of these are limited for a certain range of course.
bubblegum2910
25 Apr 16#57
I don't think any ISP can actually give you the advertised speeds, this router might be able to give 300Mbps, but even wired I doubt you will get 100Mbps.
I would wait until you have the service installed, & using CAT cable test it at
The point of having higher speeds is higher transfer rate within your internal network, i.e copying files from one computer to another etc Not so you can use 300mbps internet.
nathan18k
25 Apr 16#59
Looking at some of the options provided, would the 1Gbps speed fibre be worth while for a normal consumer? I guess for a business maybe, but its just crazy speeds :confused:
StabbyJack
26 Apr 16#60
I see people saying this has only 100mbps lan, but in the answered questions at the bottom it says this:
Hello. The lan ports support Gigabit or only 10/100 ?
Reply:
Hi,Cristian
Thanks for your inquiry.
10/100/1000Mbps.
I hold out hope that it is indeed the case.
frownbreaker
27 Apr 161#61
Depends if you have traffic generated within your home network. I have a a media server, nas and TV headend servers that send media stream around the home network to tablets and TVs (e.g in the kitchen where there is no TV or SAT socket) this traffic would choke on a 100mb switch so for me the 1gb switch makes sense.
Depends on what you do at home.
moneysavingkitten
27 Apr 16#62
Keep us posted please, it would be interesting to know.
The range on 5gHz is less than 2.4gHz but this is not relates to the AC spec as wireless N units can be dual band
To be clear Dual Band is not the same as AC. For example I've units that are dual band but not AC.
Dual band has its uses. You can use the 5gHz to connect to AP together (bridge / WDS) and then have clients connec to each over 2.4gHz. This has the advantage that clients and AP run full speed. This is NOT how Wifi Repeater work they HALVE your WiFi Speed!
One final point the speed of 100mb 1gb etc is not the speed of the wireless connection to ethernet. It is the speed of the ethernet to ethernet switch. Many cheap units internally use a USB path from the Wifi to the ethernet and so can NEVER deliver the full wireless throughput to the switch.
Worse still Wifi with encryption comsumes CPU and early chipsets cannot support WPA2 in hardware, so vendors put the new standards like WPA2 in software. Again if they use cheaper CPUs or overload the CPU you will see a drop in speed (Wifi or some onther task the CPU is working on will be slower) I noticed this with the Virgin Superhub 2. When it runs as an AP the cable modem speeds drop by up to 10mbs download when under heavy use.
If you open up a high end unit like the Asus you will see the massively overspec the CPU and other parts of the design along with other tweaks to deliver faster throughput and much better range and signal coverage. This type of engineering costs the heatsink alone on some of the higher end units costs more than the wholesale price of the cheaper units!
Radio in general is complex, digital radio more so... .And to get the best from an AC unit you do need a AC client (laptop, tablet) and the same difference exists with the client adaptors! That said a good AC AP will deliver better non signals to non AC clients.
jojosebastian
1 May 16#64
can I use this product to REPLACE my existing DSLTalk Talk router or I needs to connect this to my existing dsl router and use as a repeater or AP.
Opening post
Dual band, 802.11 ac, 1167Mbps etc
Tech blurb
Experience smoother HD streaming and online gaming with this high-performance Original Xiaomi Mi WiFi Dual-band Wireless Router 3. It comes with the latest 802.11ac WiFi technology which is 3 times faster than wireless N speeds and delivers a combined wireless data transfer rate of up to 1167Mbps. With 867Mbps wireless speeds over the crystal clear 5GHz band and 300Mbps over the 2.4GHz band, the Xiaomi Mi WiFi Dual-band Wireless Router 3 is the superior choice for seamless HD streaming, online gaming and other bandwidth-intensive tasks. Furthermore, four powerful high-gain external antennas give wider coverage and better performance when lots of devices are connected, making it ideal even for large home!
Main Features:
● The latest 802.11ac WiFi Standard: Get 3xfaster access and more reliable streaming for your home computers and mobile devices.
● Simultaneous dual band networks, 2.4GHz (300Mbps) and 5GHz (867Mbps).
● Four external antennas for faster wireless performance at greater distances.
● Manage your network settings easily with the Xiaomi MiWiFi APP.
● MT7620A processor, 128MB SLC Nand Flash ROM, 128MB DDR2 RAM: Stable and reliable.
Top comments
All comments (64)
Had a Mi R 2 with 1tb and this seems to be a brilliant update for Mi in the right direction to go with
all the other Mi gear they are bringing out this year ;-)
This is Gearbest Store Rep Alice
Apologize for the inconvenience regarding the delivery. Hasn't arrived until today ?
Could you please PM me your order number for checking ?
Best regards,
I have the Xiaomi Mi Wifi Mini and it's a brilliant bit of kit, it has OpenWRT and Padavan support, Padavan is significantly better than OpenWRT, hopefully you'll get support from these firmwares on this hardware.
There are rumours that Xiaomi insert ads into webpages with the stock firmware, that was enough to make me wait for custom firmware before ordering.
Avoid the Asus units with build in modem (ASDL/VDSL) as there are issues. However the regular access points are very good. Lots of feature and software updates / custom firmware. Great build quality and range.
1) Range is much improved over the ISP provider units. Eg. Superhub 2 and 3 other access points replaces with a single Asus modem.
2) Improved connection stability. This is down to several factors the antenna design, RF design and the software and CPU used. The advanced units support beam forming and other tricks the basic ISP option cannot manage
3) Faster downloads. On the Superhub 2 I got 5-6mb faster downloads when the unit was switched to Modem mode (no wifi) this is because the CPU in the SH2 was now dedicated to being a modem + network router and all the Wifi work was done by the ASUS
4) Easier to change ISP. I moved off Virgin to plusnet (who sent me a very cheap wifi access point) and then to BT. All my network printer / media player and TV setting unchanges with each change. Indeed the change from PlusNet Fibre to BT Infinity2 was just a password change on the ASUS!
5) Reliability The ISP provided kit is cheap and in my experience does fail more than you might expect. The ASUS kit is very well made - High spec components, design and build.
6) Extra capabilities easy to add storage, printers, VPN, prioritises IPTV, manage traffic richer interface and Phone based apps to control the router. You can turn off the LEDs or the wireless just using physical switched on the unit ideal if you are going on holiday and don't want wireless left on etc...
If you want cheap options look at the Tenda units on sale on AliExpress (use the UK site and get top cashback) and make sure you select one with English firmware.sub £20 delivered. I've order loads of stuff from AliExpress superb service.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Tenda-F1203-Dual-Band-WIFI-Router-1200Mbps-Repetidor-WIFI-Repeater-2-4G-5-0G-11AC-Roteador/32523731562.html
Tenda kit is really well made I've kit I purchase 9 years ago still working today running 24x7 bombproof and really feature rich. Good design and contruction at this price point. The ASUS kit is great but the price reflects the amazing build. Tenda is very good at the budget end. Both excellent options IMHO.
NOTE the ASUS and TENDA units may have bad reviews / comments check the dates there are normally when the units are new and the firmware is buggy. This is normal for WiFi units launched using a new "standard" as the bugs and compatibility take around a year to settle. This is not a feature of any particular brand or unit but a feature of the industry.
Customer Questions & Answers:
By Bertrand Apr-17/2016 11:04:25
Question:
hello. Is the firmware product only in chinese, or there is is an english version ? thanks for your informations
Reply:
Hello Bertrand,
The item is only in chinese.
fwiw, you may wish to consider the new Sky Q hub dual band AC router which is now available to existing Sky broadband customers for a one-off price?
I would wait until you have the service installed, & using CAT cable test it at
http://www.speedtest.net/
Hello. The lan ports support Gigabit or only 10/100 ?
Reply:
Hi,Cristian
Thanks for your inquiry.
10/100/1000Mbps.
I hold out hope that it is indeed the case.
Depends on what you do at home.
The range on 5gHz is less than 2.4gHz but this is not relates to the AC spec as wireless N units can be dual band
To be clear Dual Band is not the same as AC. For example I've units that are dual band but not AC.
Dual band has its uses. You can use the 5gHz to connect to AP together (bridge / WDS) and then have clients connec to each over 2.4gHz. This has the advantage that clients and AP run full speed. This is NOT how Wifi Repeater work they HALVE your WiFi Speed!
One final point the speed of 100mb 1gb etc is not the speed of the wireless connection to ethernet. It is the speed of the ethernet to ethernet switch. Many cheap units internally use a USB path from the Wifi to the ethernet and so can NEVER deliver the full wireless throughput to the switch.
Worse still Wifi with encryption comsumes CPU and early chipsets cannot support WPA2 in hardware, so vendors put the new standards like WPA2 in software. Again if they use cheaper CPUs or overload the CPU you will see a drop in speed (Wifi or some onther task the CPU is working on will be slower) I noticed this with the Virgin Superhub 2. When it runs as an AP the cable modem speeds drop by up to 10mbs download when under heavy use.
If you open up a high end unit like the Asus you will see the massively overspec the CPU and other parts of the design along with other tweaks to deliver faster throughput and much better range and signal coverage. This type of engineering costs the heatsink alone on some of the higher end units costs more than the wholesale price of the cheaper units!
Radio in general is complex, digital radio more so... .And to get the best from an AC unit you do need a AC client (laptop, tablet) and the same difference exists with the client adaptors! That said a good AC AP will deliver better non signals to non AC clients.