I’m so interested in recent Xiaomi’s products because of its good quality, minimalist design, and a very affordable price tag. The Xiaomi Mi WiFi Router 3 is another product following this trend. Let’s check it out.
Unboxing Video
Design & Features
Similar to other Xiaomi’s smart products, the Mi router features a minimalist design in a white exterior. The whole product is still made of plastic but it feels quite sturdy. I was also quite surprised when I took it out of the box, the router is extremely lightweight as there is only a mainboard inside the plastic body. It is super thin and there is no button at all.
You just can find some ports on the back of the unit, including 2 LAN ports, 1 WAN port, a power port and a USB 2.0 port.
The router is equipped with 4 external antennas to deliver a wider coverage, we will take a deeper look at the performance in the next section.
The router doesn’t have a power button, so you just need to plug in the power adapter and connect to your modem, then everything is ready. You now can connect your smartphone or computer to the new Xiaomi network to set up the router. The process is quite easy but the web interface is in Chinese, so you will have to take a guess sometimes.
There is a companion app called MiWiFi and it is available in English. However, I don’t find the app useful at all, the web interface is simpler and has advanced network settings. I also hate that the app is too complicated and it requires a lot of permissions when I install it on my Android phone. Take a look at some screenshots from the app.
Performance
The Mi WiFi Router 3 is a dual-band 802.11ac router that can operate on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. I made a speed comparison between this router and my current router, which is the Asus RT-AC68R. I tested them using my smartphone in the same room as well in the furthest room of my house. Let’s check out the results.
Speed Test on 2.4GHz band
Mi WiFi Router 3 (left) vs Asus RT-AC68R (right)
Speed Test on 5GHz band
Mi WiFi Router 3 (left) vs Asus RT-AC68R (right)
You can see that the performances of these 2 routers are quite similar on the 2.4GHz band. The Xiaomi’s router did a great job and I had no problem connecting to the Internet in the weakest Wi-Fi spots in my house. My computer and my smartphone always receive a very good signal from the router.
However, the performance on the 5GHz band is another story. The Internet speed with the Mi router is significantly slower when I’m far away, and sometimes I even couldn’t watch a Youtube video in full-HD resolution. Of course, the connection is still great when I’m in close proximity to the router. On the other hand, the Asus router performs consistently and I have great coverage all over my house.
Conclusion
Pros
- Cheap
- Futuristic design
- Great performance on 2.4GHz band
Cons
- The companion app requires unnecessary permissions
- Underwhelming performance on 5GHz band
Although the Mi Router 3 has some limitations, it is still a good value for most average consumers. I recommend this product if you stay close to it and don’t connect more than 6 devices simultaneously.
Serwei says
Hi, what’s the distance and obstructions from the router to the far side of your house?
Interested in more details on the 5 ghz :)
Tuan Do says
Specifically, it is about 30 ft away and there are 2 walls in the middle.
Hope it helps.
Rafael says
Hello, I found the model 3 and 3C. Do you know the differences? It’s so kind of confusing to understand the chinese products….lol
Thanks
Tuan Do says
Haha, I know
The Xiaomi Mi 3C router is the cheaper version of the Mi 3 router. It is smaller and only supports 2.4GHz band.
Fred says
For the far side 5Ghz test, did you try the “through the wall” power setting?
Tuan Do says
Sure,
This is the strongest setting.
hoani says
is the xiaomi mi wifi 3 a router or a modem router? ie, if i bought it would i have to also buy a modem?
thank you
Tuan Do says
Hi,
This is a router only. I believe most ISPs provide us a modem, why do you need to buy one?
hoani says
i have an old modem/router that is disconnecting from the internet and want to replace it but dont have a lot to spare for an upgrade.
any suggestions? (im trying to go for decent and cheap, so i dont mind if i have to get a modem and a router or a modem/router)
hoani says
extra details: im in New zealand and the telcos provide modem/routers combos.
gadget fan says
can i connect a usb 4g modem to it. will it works?
Tuan Do says
Does it have a RJ45 connector?
Richard says
Yes, for both the WAN and the 2 GB LAN ports
Milan Kuchta says
not true, they are 100mb ;)
Cucho says
Yes indeed, it’s a very good router quality price talking but it delivers lower performance in 5Ghz band. I have an ASUS-RT-n66 and I have compared it agaings MI Router 3.
Another issue is using Mi Router 3 as AP only delivers 100Mbps at maximum in spite of being a Gigabit router.
nanang says
Hay.. what function USB port
Support for eksternal Hardisk for save file & file transfer
Thanks
Sorry bad English
Rasyid says
Hi, I wonder why you said “don’t connect more than 6 devices simultaneously.”
What if I connect more than 6?
I have more than 10 devices that requires wifi connection.
Thanks
Minhajur Rahman says
Will it be good for a home with an area of 900-1000 square feet? Besides, does it have any heating issue? I’m thinking to place the router in one corner of the house.
Saikat says
Brother I wanted to buy one of this product…if you ensure me about it’s maximum range…(mi router 3)
there was one another choice that is Tp link Archer c60 AC1350 Then my question is which is better?
Serkan says
Same question goes for me
I am wondering too
saikat says
No reply!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
it’s saikat again after one year!
Nitesh says
100Mbps ethernet input makes gigabit wifi a bit moot, apart from wireless intranet. Hopefully they put in a gigabit ethernet port soon
Miguel Silva says
That’s an odd result, comparing both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz on the same room, the 5Ghz should give better performance than the 2.4Ghz and you are getting the opposite.
Could it be some odd incompatibility of your wifi client device (what device were you using?) and the router firmware? (what firmware version were you using on the Mi Router 3?)
I just bought one if these routers to improve wifi connectivity issues on the 2.4Ghz but I was hopping I could also benefit from the 5Ghz range…
Azfar says
Would be great if you share signal strength (in dBm) screenshots from wifi analyzer or any other app.
Orin says
What is the output power of MI Wifi Router 3c ? Thanks in advance.
Kakas says
What are the differences between router 3 and router 3g
Vabuk chele says
Hi, can you tell me which one will be good among Xiaomi router 3 and Xiaomi router 3C for 2000 sft home?
I need good range.
Goce Dimoski says
Wanna ask you for advice? Witch one you will prefeere between TOTOLINK A3002RU AC1200 and Xiaomi Router 3g? And can you tell me how is it range. Thanks a lot.
shahryar says
I bought Xiaomi router 3 and it sucks in internal download manager! I should buy Asus
George says
I bought Xiaomi Mi Router 3 and it works better than the crap from my ISP.
Just Mi Router 3 need some fine tuning on the settings and it s ok for its money.
Tien Bui says
My mi router wifi gen 3 can’t be set up as main router. I think the issue relate the wrong datetime setting on router. But I can correct the date. There is a bug here.
My router version:2.10.35 global versiob
Kushal says
Have you tried using the router to transfer files over LAN? What speeds were you able to achieve?
B says
The new model (Xiaomi Mi WiFi Router 3G) fixes these issues.
Dan says
Hi what do these actually do, does it make you’re internet faster or allows you free internet access can someone please explain?