Xiaomi Mi Router 3C recovery from System Error (Orange/Red LED)

Here’s how to un-brick the Xiaomi Mi Router 3C if it gets stuck in a System Error state (steady orange LED showing on the front of the unit) and upload a fresh firmware to bring it back to life.

Note: For my sanity I will refer to the red LED as orange) as it’s clearly not red.

  1. Visit the MiWiFi website and download the latest firmware (website is in Chinese, I recommend using Google Translate to navigate this website)
    1. Switch to the ROM section
    2. Download the Stable ROM for R3C (latest release at time of writing is 2.12.15)
  1. Connect an ethernet cable to the WAN Port ethernet connector (that’s the blue port closest to the power supply connector).
    Connect the other end of the ethernet cable to your computer/laptop (if your laptop does not have a ethernet port use a USB to Ethernet adapter)
  2. Find a paper clip and when ready pull the power cable on the Xiaomi Mi Router then press down firmly on the Reset button and re-connect the power supply
  3. Continue to hold down the Reset button for up to 10 seconds or until the front LED colour changes from steady orange (System Error) to flashing orange (Safe Mode)
  4. If the LED colour fails to change to flashing orange after some time rinse and repeat by pulling the power cable and re-connecting until the unit enters Safe Mode
  5. Here’s where things get interesting… if an IP address is automatically assigned to your device you can skip to step 6 (thanks DD).

    If an IP address has not been automatically assigned to your device then jump back to the first step and move the ethernet cable from the WAN Port to LAN Port 1 (shown as a single dot, beside the other LAN Port with two dots) on the Xiaomi Mi Router 3C.

    You will need to manually assign a IP address on your computer as the DHCP server on the router is not enabled in Safe Mode, set the following network options for your ethernet connection:

    1. IP address: 192.168.31.5
    2. Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
    3. Default gateway: 192.168.31.1
    4. Preferred DNS server: 192.168.31.1
  6. Open up your preferred browser and enter http://192.168.31.1 into the address bar
  7. Upload the firmware file you downloaded earlier and wait a few minutes
  8. If the front LED does not change to blue within 5 minutes pull the power cable and put it back in and wait another few minutes for the router to boot up
  9. Check for nearby WiFi SSID’s, the Xiaomi Router should be available to connect and configure
  10. Undo your ethernet connection changes and configure your Xiaomi Router

That’s it.

How to connect the Xiaomi Mi Gateway to Domoticz

Out of the box the Xiaomi Mi Gateway does not allow other network-based devices to integrate with it, with a little bit of effort though you can enable LAN support for integration with Domoticz or other smart home platforms.

Here’s how to connect the Xiaomi Mi Gateway to Domoticz:

  1. Supply power to the Xiaomi Mi Gateway (you do not need to hard reset this device to enable LAN support)
  2. Open up the MiHome App (Android and App Store)
  3. From the Profile > Settings screen set to the Location field to “Mainland China”
  4. Open up the device detail screen for the Gateway device
  5. Click the triple dots button in the top-right corner of the screen to open the More screen
  6. Open the About screen
  7. At the bottom of the screen keep tapping the version number until a notice appears
  8. From the same screen open the Local Area Network Communication Protocol screen
  9. Slide the toggle element for “Local Area Network Communication Protocol” to enabled
  10. Note down the Password detail for later use in Domoticz (if the Password detail is blank or shows “password” click Confirm and re-open this screen
  11. Click the Confirm button to save changes and return to the More screen
  12. Open the Network Info screen and note the IP address for later use in Domoticz
  13. Switch to Domoticz and open up the Setup > Hardware screen
  14. From the Add new hardware section select Xiaomi Gateway from the Type list
  15. Set the Remote Address to the Xiaomi Mi Gateway IP address referenced above
  16. Set the Port Number to 9898
  17. Set the Password to the Xiaomi Mi Gateway password detail referenced above
  18. Click Add to add the new Xiaomi Mi Gateway to Domoticz
  19. Open up the Setup > Devices screen and check for new devices

That’s it 🙂

Give it some time for Domoticz to discover the new devices and you’re away, have fun!

Step-by-step setup for the Xiaomi Plant Flower Care

Here’s a walkthrough for setting up the Xiaomi Plant Flower Care BLE device on an Android device.

  1. Unpack the device from the packaging
  2. Install the free Mi Home App (Google Play Store/iTunes App Store)
  3. Turn Bluetooth on your Android device
  4. Open the Mi Home App
  5. Sign in or create a new Mi Home account
  6. From the opening My Devices screen click the top right “+” (plus) symbol
  7. Select “Add device” from the dropdown menu
  8. Pull the exposed plastic tab from the Xiaomi Plant Flower Care device to turn it on, if you have previously done this open the cover and unset/re-set the battery
  9. When the “Flower care” device appears select it
  10. Wait while the Bluetooth connection is established and the latest device firmware is installed
  11. From the initial Devices tab select the Flower Care device

That’s it! You’re good to go!

Screenshots