The need for ever faster bandwidth speeds has created something of an arms race with manufacturers of WiFi devices walking speeds and lower costs. The trickle down effect is that you get more for less. As the cost comes down, what differentiates one brand from another is not price but style and power.
SummaryStyle over substance?Key featuresWhy would I want it?Rating 4/5In this article, we take a look at Xiaomi's latest router, the Mi Router Wifi 3, which looks great and has plenty of power.
In the box, you get the router itself, a power supply, and a small, three-fold paper manual.
It is a very attractive box, with its four vertical antennas. It's great to have functional gear like this that looks attractive because it means you don't have to hide it. It looks a bit like an Imperial Shuttle from Star Wars. The top is flat and featureless (apart from a discreet logo) and wedge-shaped. The bottom is curved and perforated for heat flow.
Everything about the build quality is solid, and the antennae grab attention with satisfying, positive action. You can also tilt or arrange them either for a better signal or just for looks.
The unit has two Ethernet inputs and a port for the WAN, connecting to your modem. There is also a USB port for mounting a hard drive or thumb drive.
One of the nice features of this router is that it has a dedicated mobile app to administer its settings. This is convenient because you usually have to use a browser on a computer to do router administration, but with this you can just do it on your phone.
As with remote administration, you can also manage router activity, block access to unknown users, and more. If an unknown user tries to join your network, the system will send a notification message to your phone. Access can be granted or closed, sending the user to the blacklist.
A slight downside is that the app suffers from a lack of back buttons, so when you fail to connect to the router, for whatever reason, it will keep trying and you won't be able to exit without exiting the app. application. Also, the documentation is thin, so if you want to do something out of the ordinary, you'll have to guess or search the internet, which while perfectly legitimate, isn't ideal.
If you already have a WiFi antenna in the house but want to extend your coverage, the unit can also be used as a repeater and very high power.
Despite the lack of docs, this is a very good router. It's powerful, it has four high-gain antennas that can reach every corner of the house, and it uses 802.11ac WiFi technology to triple typical speeds. You can also connect up to 126 devices at once, and that would be a challenge for even the most avid IoT fan.
We tested the router in a normal suburban home, and it performed very well for coverage, significantly better than standard WiFi. We didn't map it very accurately, but a casual walk with a WiFi meter and phone showed that in a few known dead spots there was much better coverage. Having four new high gain antennas really helps with both coverage and signal gain.
Often home units have a limit to the number of devices they can support, which is usually never stated on the box. You just know it when you lose your IP address on the network. But with each member of a family bringing at least three to six WiFi-enabled devices each home, it's growing rapidly, and having 126 potential connections, the Xiaomi goes a long way to ensuring you never run out.
At around $30, it's a bargain.
Advantages: Very elegant and solidly built. Looks like a tool, not a toy. Lots of device connections, high power coverage and beautifully fast. Very easy setup using the mobile app.
Cons: Loss of one point for lack of documentation provided. The mobile app gives you access to the settings and you can get by, but there's no proper walkthrough.
Overall the Xiaomi Mi WiFi Router 3 is a great router with a generous speed boost and fills in a lot of dead spots in your home.
Thank you for joining us for this review, and as always, if you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the comments section below.
