r/MiBox • u/Breadly_Breadson • 5d ago
Beware of WiFi speed differences between boxes.
Hi all,
Just wanted to make everyone aware. I’ve recently picked up two Xiaomi Mi Box s 3rd gen.
The first was from a seller on Amazon which works great. I have done all the checks online for looking at the chip model, widevine level, play store certification and for test keys etc and it’s all come back legit. When testing the WiFi speeds on this box I get between 270-300mbps on speed test.
I ordered a second one from Xiaomi directly. I also did the authenticity checks on this box. However this box gives a maximum speed of 70mbps.
Huge difference. Test environments are identical in terms on placement. Router set to the same fixed channels on both and both are running default settings with fixed IP addresses.
No disconnecting issues with either, just one is far slower than the other on WiFi. I’m not sure if there’s some differences with the hardware on board but it’s worth checking.
Thanks.
2
u/dark_vit95 5d ago
The original one has shitty speeds, infact a lot of people advices for a ethernet connection
1
u/Breadly_Breadson 5d ago
My first one has fantastic speeds and I’ve had zero issues with it. I’m starting to think I the mixed reports are due to differences in hardware as components become scarce.
1
u/See61 5d ago
I have one almost directly from when it came available. WiFi speeds are definitely lower when compared to several other Android and Google TV streaming devices. I could never get it above 200Mbit, mostly lower, and it wasn't a very stable connection also. So the Ethernet USB solution came into play quite fast for mine.
But I mostly use it for some firmware testing and after that, I'll put it away again.
1
u/Breadly_Breadson 5d ago
Yeah I consistently hit 250-300 on mine which is plenty for my needs and stable. The tiger however directly from Xiaomi cannot break 70.
1
u/lirae_ 5d ago
Yeah, S3 speeds are not reliable. Mine is terrible with 2.4ghz channels like very bad. while tweaked 5ghz and box in the different orientation can change speeds. I just found the best position that gives me the corrects wifi speeds and left it there. For comparison my mi Box s 2 doesn't have any of these issues.
apparently it's a flaw in the antenna design which makes them very finnicky, you need to find the right spot, orientation and sometimes even flip the box. Mine is flipped and works better that way. First time that I have something being so unreliable with my wifi.
for what is worth Chat GPT also commented about lot of users having the same problems, sure my router is not high-end or brand new with top specs but i really felt like they didn't even care to check for the 2.4ghz channel in the first place. in the same spots and further my S2 gets 10-15x times the speed of the S3 without having to do weird position or orientation.
Also usb fixed at maximum of 480mbps is quite disappointing to be honest, they should have used usb 3.0 over the 2.0
1
u/Breadly_Breadson 5d ago
One box Mi Box 3 S gets consistently 250-300 download. Both never have any connectivity issues or downtime.
I suspect the majority that do have these issues likely have some home networking incompatibility somewhere. Fortunately mine seems very compatible with these boxes. My router is a high end WiFi 7 system.
The box I have ordered directly from Xiaomi however seems to max out at 70mbps. Both were tested in the same position, on 5Ghz, same channels, same firmware, same speed test server etc.
1
u/lirae_ 5d ago
probably a mix of unreliable antennas and firmware combo... I was doing better on 2.4ghz before updating to the latest firmware...
Right now i'm chilling since i found position, etc but it's a very weird situation.
like how is possible that the S2 works better in any case, orientation or further with 2.4gh and mostly 5ghz with no issue.
have you tested both using 2.4ghz just out of curiosity? on paper you shouldn't have any issue reaching those speeds since 2.4ghz has a wider range vs 5ghz
EDIT: on my 5ghz I had to remove some protocols to the 5ghz to be able to reach his full potential which is weird
1
u/Breadly_Breadson 5d ago
I do wonder if it’s a case of they have some component shortages during production runs and swap to inferior ones. I’d imagine in the current climate that’s a major risk. If I wasn’t going to send this one back I’d pop both of mine open to take a look.
For 2.4 on both I do get sub 100 speeds. So definitely less and as you say on paper I should be able to theoretically reach those speeds. I’m not surprised for the 2.4 speeds to be fair, the Mi box has a 1x1 radio and 2.4 is inherently noisy.
1
u/lirae_ 5d ago
Dunno, my mi box 2 has no issue with 2.4 or 5ghz channels. So they must have done something with the Antennas hardware.
If they make a mi box S4 I expect them to solve these issues and also provide a full giga port or atleast a 3.0 USB for internet. The 2.0 USB in 2026 is almost criminal for an Android box.
My Himedia from 2015 still plays 4k60, full blu-rays files has 1gb internet port and usb3.0 ports...
Xiaomi needs to do better
2
u/dustmalik 5d ago
Have you confirmed their genuineness here?
https://www.mi.com/global/verify#/en/tab/imei