When I first looked at pictures of the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 and its official specifications, I was impressed and looking forward to test it. This router has a daring design, powerful hardware, and it can work with 2.5 Gbps internet connections that are slowly gaining ground all over the world. But how do all these elements translate into the real-life experience of users? Is the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 as great as it seems? To learn the answer to this question and more, read my detailed review:
The packaging used for the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000
When you open the cardboard box, you find another gray styrofoam box that protects the router from shocks during transportation. While this box is impressive in terms of looks and the protection it provides, it is not environmentally friendly. After you open it, you see the router you just bought.
Unboxing the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000
Alongside the router, you find the user manual, the warranty, the power adapter of the router, and a network cable.
What's inside the box
Both the packaging and the unboxing experience of the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 are impressive. They make you feel like you’ve just bought a premium device.
Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 has twelve antennas
Inside the router, there’s a powerful Qualcomm IPQ8072 quad-core A53 processor, running at 2.2 GHz, 1 GB of RAM, and 256 MB of storage space for the firmware. This hardware needs quite a bit of cooling, so you’ll find many ventilation grids on the router. On its front, there are two small LEDs that signal the status of the router and of your internet connection.
The LEDs on the front
When you rotate the router a bit, you find the power jack, the On/Off button, and the Reset button.
The buttons on one of the sides
Next, you find the USB 3.0 port and the Mesh button which allows the router to connect to a mesh Wi-Fi system composed of other Xiaomi routers.
The Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 has mesh Wi-Fi support
Then you find a 2.5 Gbps WAN port for connecting the router to the internet and four 1 Gbps Ethernet ports for connecting the devices that are part of your network. It would have been helpful for this router to have at least one more 2.5 Gbps port to connect a PC or NAS to the network.
The ports on the back of the router
On the bottom of the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000, you find four rubber feet that hold it into place without slipping. There are also ventilation grids and a sticker with information about the model you bought. However, there are no holes for mounting the router on walls.
There are no holes for mounting the router on walls
Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 is a tri-band Wi-Fi 6 router, with the theoretical maximum bandwidth split as follows: 1148 Mbps for the 2.4 GHz band, 4804 Mbps for the first 5 GHz band, and 2402 Mbps for the second 5 GHz band. This leads to a total of 8354 Mbps. It also offers 4x4 MU-MIMO transfers on all three bands.
The router itself is quite large, measuring 270 mm × 270 mm × 174 mm or 10.6 x 10.6 x 6.8 inches in width x depth x height. It also weighs about 2 kg or 4.4 pounds. For more technical details, you can find all the official specifications of this router on the following page: Mi Router AX9000.
Don't make your Wi-Fi password the admin password
When the initial setup is complete, you can see if there’s any new firmware version available. I encourage you to install the latest version to benefit from the latest bug fixes and security updates. Speaking of firmware, Xiaomi doesn’t have a website where you can download the latest firmware and view the release notes for each version individually. I think this aspect should be improved.
The web-based admin interface is friendly and nicely organized but lacks many of the advanced features and settings found on premium routers from other brands. For example, you can’t configure the USB drive connected to your router. You can only turn it On and Off. Also, you can’t set the wireless standard for each individual band: you either enable Wi-Fi 6 for all three bands or you go into “Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) compatibility mode” and enable Wi-Fi 5 for the two 5 GHz bands and Wi-Fi 4 for the 2.4 GHz band. Advanced users will be disappointed by the simplistic approach used by Xiaomi on this router.
The firmware looks friendly but lacks advanced features
Also, the Xiaomi doesn’t offer security tools like cloud-based antivirus and parental controls, and the VPN server functionality you find on premium routers from other brands is missing.
On the upside, all the settings are nicely explained, and you don’t need any specific help documentation to configure what you want. Most settings are changed immediately, while a few others require a reboot. The user interface is in English, but you can switch to any of the other languages available (Spanish, German, French, Chinese, etc.).
The languages available for the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000
One aspect that’s lacking in Xiaomi’s approach is that some of their features are available only in their mobile app, while others are found only in the web-based admin interface. I think they should harmonize the two and make sure the web-based interface has all the capabilities available for their wireless routers. This issue is especially problematic in the premium segment, where the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 aims to compete.
In my two weeks of using this router, I noticed the following aspects:
The apartment in which I tested Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000
I evaluate the quality of the wireless network managed by Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 through measurements made in three different places:
Signal strength on Wi-Fi 4 (2.4 GHz band)
The signal strength decreased a bit when I switched to the Wi-Fi 6 standard on the 2.4 GHz band.
Signal strength on Wi-Fi 6 (2.4 GHz band)
Next, I started the SpeedTest app and used it to measure the maximum speed you get when transferring data to and from the internet on the 2.4 GHz band. Unfortunately, the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 delivered slower downloads than its more affordable brother - Xiaomi Mi AIoT Router AX3600 - in most rooms.
SpeedTest - The download speed on Wi-Fi 4 (2.4 GHz)
The Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 couldn’t deliver any steady throughput in the room furthest from the router when measuring the upload speed. This problem is common to all the Wi-Fi 6 routers I’ve tested from Xiaomi, and it should be fixed in a future firmware update.
SpeedTest - The upload speed on Wi-Fi 4 (2.4 GHz)
When switching to the Wi-Fi 6 standard on the 2.4 GHz band, the downloads had very similar speeds to the ones we got when using Wi-Fi 4, which is disappointing, especially for an AX9000 wireless router.
SpeedTest - The download speed on Wi-Fi 6 (2.4 GHz)
The same happened when measuring the upload speed: I didn’t notice any improvements when using Wi-Fi 6 instead of Wi-Fi 4 on the 2.4 GHz band.
SpeedTest - The upload speed on Wi-Fi 6 (2.4 GHz)
For the next set of measurements, I used the PassMark Performance test to transfer data between two computers connected to the network. I was on the 2.4 GHz band with the Wi-Fi 4 standard turned on. Downloads were reasonably fast in all rooms, but the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 did not beat its brother, the Xiaomi Mi AIoT Router AX3600.
Network Wi-Fi downloads on Wi-Fi 4 (2.4 GHz)
The upload speed measurements painted a similar story, with Room 2 being problematic again.
Network Wi-Fi uploads on Wi-Fi 4 (2.4 GHz)
When switching to the Wi-Fi 6 standard on the 2.4 GHz band, I did not see any improvements in speed over Wi-Fi 4. In addition, downloads were generally slower than when using the Wi-Fi 4 standard.
Network Wi-Fi downloads on Wi-Fi 6 (2.4 GHz)
The upload speed was somewhat disappointing in all rooms.
Network Wi-Fi uploads on Wi-Fi 6 (2.4 GHz)
My measurements have shown that the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 doesn’t offer a large coverage area on the 2.4 GHz band. Also, this router doesn’t deliver meaningful speed improvements when switching from Wi-Fi 4 to Wi-Fi 6 on the 2.4 GHz band. On this band, this router is almost constantly outmatched by its more affordable brother - Xiaomi Mi AIoT Router AX3600.
Signal strength on Wi-Fi 5 (5 GHz band)
The same was true when using the Wi-Fi 6 standard on the 5 GHz band.
Signal strength on Wi-Fi 6 (5 GHz band)
I switched to the SpeedTest app. When using the Wi-Fi 5 standard, the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 delivered super fast downloads everywhere in my apartment.
SpeedTest - The download speed on Wi-Fi 5 (5 GHz)
I noticed the same trend when measuring the upload speed too.
SpeedTest - The upload speed on Wi-Fi 5 (5 GHz)
Moving on to the Wi-Fi 6 standard on the 5 GHz band, downloads improved even further in the entire apartment. I loved the results obtained by the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000.
SpeedTest - The download speed on Wi-Fi 6 (5 GHz)
Upload speeds were super fast, almost reaching the maximum speed allowed by my internet provider.
SpeedTest - The upload speed on Wi-Fi 6 (5 GHz)
For the next set of measurements, I used the PassMark Performance test to transfer data between two computers connected to the network. Again, downloads were very fast in all the rooms of my apartment.
Network Wi-Fi downloads on Wi-Fi 5 (5 GHz)
Uploads were also super fast everywhere.
Network Wi-Fi uploads on Wi-Fi 5 (5 GHz)
I switched to the Wi-Fi 6 standard on the 5 GHz band and repeated the same measurements with the PassMark Performance test. I was super impressed with the download speeds achieved by the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000.
Network Wi-Fi downloads on Wi-Fi 6 (5 GHz)
As you can see below, uploads were brilliantly fast too.
Network Wi-Fi uploads on Wi-Fi 6 (5 GHz)
When using the 5 GHz band, both on Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6, the performance delivered by the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 is simply outstanding and in stark contrast to the results I got on the 2.4 GHz band.
SpeedTest on wired connections
I also plugged a fast SSD drive into the USB 3.0 port of the router and made some data transfers on it. The results are shown in the chart below. I believe they will please many users.
The speed of the USB 3.0 port
The Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 has no problem handling 1 Gbps Ethernet connections. That’s not surprising since we’re dealing with a 2.5 Gbps router. Also, its USB 3.0 port is both fast and useful. The only thing lacking is an extra 2.5 Gbps Ethernet port alongside its WAN port, that could be used to connect a device inside your network.
Setting up the Dynamic LED lights
Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000: Who is it good for?
This wireless router is a suitable choice for:- Users who have 2.5 Gbps internet connections
- People who want super-fast Wi-Fi on the 5 GHz band
- Those who want to control their router from a mobile app
- Wi-Fi networks that include many connected devices
Pros and cons
Here are the things we like about Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000:- Reasonable price for a premium router
- Excellent hardware that can handle many network devices
- Superb performance and coverage on the 5 GHz band
- WPA3 encryption support
- 160 MHz channel bandwith
- The firmware is easy to use and configure
- You can control it remotely with a mobile app
- Fast USB 3.0 port
- Mesh Wi-Fi support
- Small coverage area on the 2.4 GHz band and disappointing performance
- Lacking many advanced features in comparison with other premium routers
- The router would have benefited from a 2.5 Gbps Ethernet port too
Verdict
Price-wise and spec-wise, Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 looks great. Its price is appealing for an AX9000 router, and other vendors ask for a lot more for their AX9000 routers. For your money, you get super powerful hardware and outstanding performance on the 5 GHz band, both when using Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 5 standards. Couple that with the fact that this router can work with 2.5 Gbps internet connections, and you’ll agree that the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 has great potential. Unfortunately, the Mi Router AX9000 is hindered from reaching its true potential by its firmware: Xiaomi’s Wi-Fi implementation on the 2.4 GHz band is disappointing for a premium router. You also get fewer tools and features than the ones offered by the competition in the premium segment. Therefore, I can only recommend the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 to people who want premium hardware for less money and are OK with a less advanced firmware that doesn’t deliver the usual features you get from a premium router.Unboxing the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000
The packaging of the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 is quite impressive. The router comes in a large black box with blue accents and a picture of the device on the front cover. On the sides, you get lots of technical information about the router, its hardware, and its technical capabilities, aiming to please people who are into online gaming.Hardware specifications and design
Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 has an aggressive design that seems aimed at gamers. On the top, you see the Mi logo and some RGB lights in the form of the letter X. These lights can be programmed from the Mi Home app to light up in any color and pattern you want. While you may assume that this router has only four antennas, it actually has twelve, hidden in the four antenna groups that you see. Each antenna group contains three high-gain antennas, one for 2.4 GHz, and two for 5 GHz frequencies, to provide wider signal coverage.Setting up and using the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000
Setting up the Mi Router AX9000 can be done from a computer, using a web browser, or a smartphone/tablet with the Mi Home mobile app for Android or iOS. I used a web browser on my PC and the setup wizard was relatively brief: it requests the admin password you want to set, details about your internet connection, and basic Wi-Fi settings like the name and password you want to use. What I don’t like is that the router encourages users to set the Wi-Fi password as the router administrator password. This is a very bad approach from a security standpoint.- The coverage for the 2.4 GHz frequency band is lacking and has similar issues to the other Xiaomi routers I’ve tested.
- Transfers on the 2.4 GHz band also suffer from high variability, with big differences between the minimum and maximum speeds achieved.
- I was impressed by how fast and stable the network connectivity was when using the 5 GHz bands, both on Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 5.
Wireless network performance
My new test apartment is set up similarly to the diagram below. As you can see, I’ve placed the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 in a central position to provide good coverage in all the rooms where I tend to spend most of my time.- I record the maximum speeds when no walls absorb the wireless signal in the room where the router is placed.
- Room 1 - is separated by one wall from the router. The wireless signal and the Wi-Fi speed I get should be lower here.
- Room 2 - is separated from the router by two walls absorbing the wireless signal. Also, the wall between Room 1 and Room 2 is twice as thick as the one between the router’s room and Room 1. Room 2 can be a difficult challenge for many routers.
How the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 performs on the 2.4 GHz band
I first measured the signal strength using NetSpot. When using the Wi-Fi 4 standard, this router delivered excellent signal strength in all the rooms of my apartment.How the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 performs on the 5 GHz band
I switched to the 5 GHz band, and I started by measuring the signal strength with NetSpot. When using the Wi-Fi 5 standard, the signal strength was excellent in all the rooms of my apartment.Wired network performance & USB port
It was time to evaluate the performance on Ethernet network connections. My internet connection offers a maximum of 1 Gbps for the download speed and 800 Mbps for the upload. When using SpeedTest, the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 reached the maximum potential of my internet connection, as shown in the graphic below.Extra features
The firmware on the Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 is not as advanced as the one found on competing routers from other brands. In the premium segment in which it competes, this is a significant drawback. Leaving that aside, here’s what you get from the Mi Router AX9000:- Dynamic LED lights - you can customize the LEDs on the top of the router from the Mi Home app and set them to light up exactly as you want, with the effects you want. This feature is mobile-only, though.
- Wi-Fi Optimization also exists only in the Mi Home mobile app, not the router’s web interface. It scans the signal strength of your network and the quality of your connection, and it improves the router’s settings. This should be added as a standard feature to the router’s firmware.
- Anti-Hacking Protection - another mobile-only feature that makes it easy to set up blocklists for unwanted guests and improve your router’s and Wi-Fi password security.
- Guest Wi-Fi - can be enabled only from the Mi Home app, not from the router’s firmware. Also, you can turn on only one guest network, and you can’t set the band it uses, only its name, password, and encryption.
- WPS - this standard feature can be enabled only from the Mi Home app, not from the router’s admin interface.
- IPv6 - the router can connect to the internet using IPv6 addresses, use IPv6 DNS servers, and assign IPv6 addresses to the clients connected to its network.
- QoS - an intelligent Quality of Service bandwidth allocation algorithm that prioritizes network traffic based on its type (gaming, web browsing, video, etc.). Unfortunately, it is designed to work only for 50 Mbps internet connections, rendering it unusable for people with fast internet connectivity of 100 Mbps and above.
- DDNS - enables you to connect to the router from the internet, even if your internet provider assigns you a dynamic public IP address. It can use the following DDNS services: Oray DDNS, PubYun, DynDNS, and No-IP.
- VPN - the router can connect to VPN services using the PPTP and L2TP protocols, but it cannot function as a VPN server. You also set which services or devices can use VPN traffic. In contrast, all competing routers can be set to work as VPN servers too.
- Mesh Wi-Fi - you can add the router as a node in a mesh Wi-Fi network composed of other Xiaomi wireless routers. It is a valuable feature when you need to increase the coverage of your Wi-Fi network.
- AIoT Intelligent Antenna Automatic Scan - automatically discovers Xiaomi Mi smart devices that have not been initialized and quickly connects them to the network.
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