802.11ac

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 63 Comments on Xiaomi Mi WiFi 3 Router Unboxing, Teardown, and Serial Console

Xiaomi Mi WiFi 3 Router Unboxing, Teardown, and Serial Console

Mi WiFi 3 is the new low cost 802.11ac WiFi router by Xiaomi that sells for about $40. GearBest send my one sample for evaluation, and today, I’ve taken some photo of the device and board, and connected the UART pin to see if the serial console was accessible for people who want to try to port OpenWrt for example. Xiaomi Mi WiFi 3 Unboxing There’s some information on the package, but everything is in Chinese, except the part about AC1200 meaning it supports up to 867 Mbps with 802.11ac and 300 Mbps using 802.11n. The router comes with a 12V/1A power supply, and a user’s manual in Chinese only. There’s also a QR code inside the box linking to the Android and iOS apps,  available both in English and Chinese, so actually that one of the few Xiaomi product that should be easy to use outside of China without […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 24 Comments on Xiaomi Mi Box 3 Enhanced Review

Xiaomi Mi Box 3 Enhanced Review

We’ve already taken Xiaomi Mi Box 3 Enhanced TV box apart in the unboxing and teardown post, and after changing the language to English, seen the performance is excellent thanks Mediatek MT8693 hexa-core processor, so I’ve done further experiments and tests with the device, and will report my findings in this review. Settings and Power Handling and Consumption Mibox 3 Enhanced boots reasonably fast I can get to the user interface within 30 seconds. We’ve already the main GITV user interface in previous posts, but I had not gone through the settings yet. There are eight main sections: Display Resolution settings – 3840×2160 @ 60/50/SMPTE24/30/24 Hz, 1080p @ 60/50 Hz, 720p @ 60/50 Hz, Scale and position – For overscan adjustment Sound Button sounds – On/Off Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format – PCM/Raw data (actually used for HDMI audio pass-through) System_update – MIUI TV firmware OTA update Device & Bluetooth – […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 33 Comments on Xiaomi Mi WiFi 3 AC1200 Router Gets 128 MB Storage, Sells for $40 Shipped

Xiaomi Mi WiFi 3 AC1200 Router Gets 128 MB Storage, Sells for $40 Shipped

The first Xiaomi Mi WiFi router brought the cost of 802.11ac WiFi to the masses, and it is now selling for less than $30 including shipping, but the company has now launched Xiaomi Mi WiFi 3 router with some improvements, including a total of 4 antennas and more storage, and sold on e-retailer such as GearBest and GeekBuying for just under $40. Xiaomi Mi WiFi 3 router specifications: Wi-Fi SoC – Mediatek MT7620A @ 580MHz System Memory – 128 MB DDR2 Storage – 128 MB SLC NAND Flash Wi-Fi Protocols – IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Transmission Rate – 300Mbps max @ 2.4GHz 2X2  MIMO, 867 Mbps max @ 5GHz 2X2  MIMO Wireless Security – WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK encryption, wireless access control (black and white list), SSID hiding 2.4 GHz Channels: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13 5 GHz Channels: 149,153,157,161,165 5 GHz DFS (dynamic frequency selection) channels: 36,40,44,48,52,56,60,64; 4x external antennas Ethernet – 2x 10/100M Ethernet (LAN), 1x 10/100M […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments on Geniatech ATV195e 4K TV Stick Features Amlogic S905 Processor, 802.11ac WiFi

Geniatech ATV195e 4K TV Stick Features Amlogic S905 Processor, 802.11ac WiFi

While there are way too many Amlogic S905 TV boxes to keep up, the number of TV sticks based on the processor is fairly low, and until today I had only heard about Guleek A8 a few months ago, but I can’t even see it for sale anywhere.Potential reason include people have released TV stick are not that convenient, or electronic design houses had issues to cool the thing down, as we’ve seen even some full-size TV boxes have issues with cooling. Nevertheless, Geniatech has designed their own Amlogic S905 TV stick called ATV195e with 1GB RAM, 8GB flash, and 802.11ac WiFi. Geniatech ATV195e preliminary specifications: SoC –  Amlogic S905 quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 2.0GHz with penta core Mali-450MP GPU up to 750MHz System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash (2 to 32GB on-request) Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60Hz […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 23 Comments on MINIX NGC-1 Review and Benchmarks with Windows 10 Home

MINIX NGC-1 Review and Benchmarks with Windows 10 Home

MINIX NGC-1 mini PC is powered by an Intel Celeron N3150 quad core “Braswell” processor with 4GB RAM and a 128GB M.2SSD, and pre-loaded with Windows 10 Home. While the product aims to provide a convenient alternative to Intel NUC kits, as everything is pre-assembled and pre-installed, I’ll also compare the experience to Bay Trail and Cherry Trail mini PCs such as MeLE PCG03 or Tronsmart Ara X5. I’ve already provided NGC-1 specifications and some pictures, so today, I’ll test the capabilities of the device, and run some benchmarks in the review. MINIX NGC-1 Setup Once you’ve connected a USB keyboard and mouse, and the power supply, you are ready to start. Press the power button, the blue power will lit on the front of the device, and you’ll hear a beep and the very first time system will boot to Windows 10 setup screen where you’ll be asked to […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments on Ugoos AM1 4K TV Box Review

Ugoos AM1 4K TV Box Review

Ugoos AM1 is yet another TV box based on Amlogic S905. I’ve already published specifications and uploaded some pictures of the nice looking cyan box and its board, so today I’ll report on my experience after actually playing with the device, where I mostly focused on known problems found on other S905 mini PCs, and some extra features added to Ugoos firmware. First Boot, Settings, and First Impressions I filled all three USB ports with a USB webcam, a USB hard drive, and a USB hub with RF dongles for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse,  Tronsmart Mars G01 wireless gamepad, and a USB keyboard (convenient for screenshots), and connected Ethernet, HDMI and power cables. A boot will usually take around 30 seconds. Before going through the user interface, I’ll mention that OTA firmware upgrade worked very well, and it was one of the first thing I did before the […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Ugoos UT4 Android 5.1 TV Box Review

Ugoos UT4 Android 5.1 TV Box Review

Ugoos UT4 is one of many Rockchip RK3368 TV boxes available on the market today, but it’s one of the model with higher-end specifications including  2 GB RAM, and 16 GB flash, as well as Gigabit Ethernet and 802.11ac WiFi, Ugoos offers regular firmware updates for their devices, and as I found out in Ugoos UT4 specs and teardown post, the mini PC features a fan to keep the device cool at all times. Today, I’ll focus on reviewing the firmware including video playback capabilities, performance and whether advertised features work as they should. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions Before powering on the device, I connected some cables (Ethernet, HDMI, optical audio, AV to speakers), and made use of all four USB ports with a USB hard drive, a webcam, a keyboard, and a USB hub with two RF dongles for MINIX NEO A2 Lite air mouse and Tronsmart […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Broadcom BCM4908 Router SoC Supports 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, and Up to 3.4 Gbps Combined WiFi Speeds

Broadcom BCM4908 Router SoC Supports 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, and Up to 3.4 Gbps Combined WiFi Speeds

While most of us are still talking about megabit per second (Mbps) when it comes to Internet connectivity, some are already enjoying higher maximum speeds of one or more Gigabit per second (Gbps) with services like Google Fiber or Comcast Gigabit Pro (2Gbps) in the US. That means one of the bottleneck include Gigabit Ethernet in most home settings, so to address higher network speeds at home and at the office, Broadcom has designed and unveiled BCM4908 quad core 64-bit ARM SoC for high-end routers that includes an interface for a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet PHY, and supports the company’s BCM4366 wave 2 5G WiFi MU-MIMO for up to 3.4 Gbps combined WiFi transfer rates across multiple devices. Some key features of BCM4908 processor include: Quad core 64-bit ARM processor @ 1.8 GHz Zero CPU Wi-Fi offload to free up CPU resources BroadStream iQoS acceleration Dedicated security processor to enable hardware […]