Xiaomi Mi Router 3C

Having disrupted the smartphone market, Xiaomi’s set its sights on bringing its broader electronics portfolio into India. The Mi Router 3C follows last year’s Air Purifier 2 as its second smart device launch. Now, routers are the kind of equipment that typically get stuck behind a cupboard or under a table, and you have to hand it to Xiaomi for making the Mi Router 3C look somewhat visually appealing, with a clean design and just the single LED that changes colour based on your network status. Setup is pretty easy, more so if you use the Mi Wi-Fi app for iOS/Android. You will need to sign in with a Xiaomi account if you want to use the mobile app for setup, and this allows you to control your router from anywhere in the world. If that’s not for you, try the browser based setup.

For an entry level router, the Mi Router 3C is packed with a bunch of “premium” features. The browser administration page is leagues above some of the other basic routers, and it handles a number of tasks — limiting bandwidth consumption, setting up guest networks, defining ‘quality of service’ parameters — in a rather user-friendly manner. I liked the way Xiaomi surfaced a little known router optimisation tip via the Wi-Fi Boost feature, which analyses your signal strength, and automatically switches you to another more optimal broadcast channel.

In day-to-day use at home, the router performed well during network transfers, and the four antennas (a rarity at this price point) discernibly boosted range and connection stability over the house. The presence of the 64MB of memory onboard would theoretically help when you push the connected device limit, but in my testing, I only ever connected 15-17 devices at one time. More than most homes, I would wager, in any case.

The router does a good job at redefining features one expects in a basic model. If there is anything I missed, it would be a couple of extra wired network ports and a USB port to connect and share storage wirelessly.