Original English Version Xiaomi Mi WiFi Router 3 under $28

I really don't know if the following is a great deal or not. At any rate, I just wanted to share it with you all.

Currently, GearBest has this Original English Version Xiaomi Mi WiFi Router 3 with 128 MB RAM $27.99 + Free S/H to US. According to OpenWRT TOH, it is based on a Ralink MT7620A SoC MIPS 24KEc V5.0 @580 MHz with 128/128 MB RAM/ROM with MT7620 built-in 10/100 switch (no gigabit switch, unfortunately). If you need one, grab it before the offer is gone. Honestly, I would prefer a gigabit router with its CPU clocked to at least 1+ GHz.

I think this is the better choice for 10 bucks more:

Original Xiaomi WiFi Router 3G  -  WHITE 214613301
1167Mbps 802.11ac Dual Band Gigabit USB 3.0 256MB DDR3-1200
Original Xiaomi Mi WiFi Router 3G
Original Xiaomi Mi WiFi Router 3G is the updated version of the Original Xiaomi Mi WiFi Router 3. 
With 867Mbps wireless speeds over the crystal clear 5GHz band and 300Mbps over the 2.4GHz band. 
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! Adopting MT7621A MIPS dual-core 880MHz processer, 
128MB SLC Nand Flash and 256MB DDR3-1200 ( the router 3 is 128MB DDR2 ), 
the Xiaomi Mi WiFi Wireless Router 3G is the superior choice for seamless HD streaming, 
online gaming and other bandwidth-intensive tasks.

Main Features:
● Stable and reliable: MT7621A processor, 128MB SLC Nand Flash ROM, 256MB DDR3-1200.
● The latest 802.11ac WiFi standard: get 3x faster 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 Mi WiFi APP.

also from gearbest: Xiaomi WiFi Router 3G



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/01/2017 05:18PM by joerg_999.

any known LEDE support for these devices?

of course, see the update instructions here:
you have to take the mir3g from snapshots here: LEDE_nightly

1. Unbox router
2. Connect to the router using WiFi
3. Goto http://192.168.31.11
4. Go through the wizard to set passwords for the router + wifi
5. Reconnect to the router using WiFi
6. Goto http://192.168.31.11
7. Logon and find the page where you can upgrade the firmware look for a big yellow dot with an “i” inside. 
   You will see the version number of the router and there is a button below where you can browse for a file. 
   Flash miwifi_r3g_firmware_c2175_2.25.122.bin (developer firmware) and wait a few minutes.
8. Download https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.xiaomi.router8 to your phone/tablet (there is also an iOS app)
9. Open “Mi Wi-Fi” app (and sign-up) and sign-in to your account. 
   Router will be detected and added to your account 
   (assuming you are connected to the WiFi on the router and the routers WAN port is connected to Internet).
10. On a PC, visit http://d.miwifi.com/rom/ssh8 and sign-in to you account. 
   You will get to a page that should display your router, the root password and a download button. 
   Hit the button to get miwifi_ssh.bin
   Goto Page  https://downloads.lede-project.org/snapshots/targets/ramips/mt7621/
   and download:
   lede-ramips-mt7621-mir3g-squashfs-kernel1.bin      (Tue Oct 10 12:38:47 2017)
   lede-ramips-mt7621-mir3g-squashfs-rootfs0.bin      (Tue Oct 10 12:38:47 2017)
11. Format USB drive using FAT32 and copy 
    1.) miwifi_ssh.bin, 
    2.) lede-ramips-mt7621-mir3g-squashfs-kernel1.bin and
    3.) lede-ramips-mt7621-mir3g-squashfs-rootfs0.bin to the USB drive
12. Cut the power the router, put the USB drive in the router, press and hold “reset” button (with a paper-clip), 
    power on the router (while holding reset).  >5-10s
    When the router starts flashing yellow release the reset button. 
    Wait until router has rebooted and you should (finally…) have SSH access.
13. Login to the router using SSH using the “root” as username and 
    the (root) “password” from http://d.miwifi.com/rom/ssh8
14. In SSH console  
cd /extdisks/sda1 (can be different if you remove and reinsert the usb stick)
mtd write lede-ramips-mt7621-mir3g-squashfs-kernel1.bin kernel1
mtd write lede-ramips-mt7621-mir3g-squashfs-rootfs0.bin rootfs0
nvram set flag_last_success=1
nvram commit
reboot
15. LEDE should be installed and available at 192.168.1.1 (with WiFi disabled)
    (set root pw and install luci, - (no luci installed at this moment)
16. Upgrading to a newer snapshot can be done using the regular methods 
    (from the command-line using sysupgrade or through LuCI) using lede-ramips-mt7621-mir3g-squashfs-sysupgrade.tar
NEW: the file is called now (13.12.17) openwrt-ramips-mt7621-mir3g-squashfs-sysupgrade.tar
    # new link:
    new sysupgrade file

   #  old link:
    old sysupgrade file

--joerg_999



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/13/2017 03:38PM by joerg_999.

thanks jeorg

You are welcome,
i did my upgrade 6 weeks ago - a little bit confusing because of the chinese webpage but possible an only for the first upgrade.

Every further update/upgrade works like a normal sysupgrade you normaly do with LEDE.
don't hesitate, if you have any questions.

good succeed
joerg_999



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/11/2017 03:00PM by joerg_999.

Nice! I'd like to aim for a couple of those next year. Is the RAM low for AC plus Linux though? I'd heard previously the fragmentation of packets when running AC necessitates more RAM the better. Which would be no pain for me to leave stock and plug a Pogo into it right?
An AC 750 router a few years ago took me out of the dark ages; the speed is to similar feeling to wires.

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