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How to install a full spec Padavan English Firmware for Xiaomi Router Mini

So you’ve bought a new little Xiaomi toy but the firmware is not up to your needs? You’ve come to the right place, here you can get a firmware that will squeeze the real power out of it.

This Firmware has been compiled by me with Prometheus, a tool released by Freize.net, and is based on the Padavan & N56U project. All credits go to their respective team and their wonderful job.

Padavan Firmware interface

 

Here are the main features included in the firmware:

  • Customizable User Interface with multiple themes built-in;
  • hardware offload support (WAN/LAN);
  • VPN server/client;
  • 2.4 and 5Ghz Wifi support;
  • USB applications: FTP server, Torrent client (Transmission), SMB Server, UPnP/DLNAMedia Server, iTunes Media Server (Firefly);
  • support for Entware or Optware Packages;
  • support for USB 3G/4G modems;
  • ssh/telnet access;
  • dynamic DNS support (a lot of services);
  • detailed network traffic graph;
  • AiDisk (share your files over the internet), etc.
  • SAMBA/FTP/Printer Share (via USB port)

I DO NOT OFFER ANY SUPPORT, I’m just sharing binaries compiled by me!

Mi Router Mini

LAST BUILD: aef4269 — October 1st 2016 (changelog)

Download here (firmware always tested before uploading)

Warning/Disclaimer: there is a risk of damaging your device internal configuration if something goes wrong during the process. Proceed with absolute care if you don’t know what you’re doing. I deny any responsibility for any kind of damage caused to your router or to you.

Mi Router 3

LAST BUILD: aef4269 — October 8th 2016 (changelog)

Download here (EXPERIMENTAL) (I can’t test this version because I don’t own the Mi Router 3, and I don’t know if the instructions below are suitable for it)

Warning/Disclaimer: there is a risk of damaging your device internal configuration if something goes wrong during the process. Proceed with absolute care if you don’t know what you’re doing. I deny any responsibility for any kind of damage caused to your router or to you.

 

Instructions to install the firmware

(credits for this guide go to user I<3LIN @ lowyat forum, thanks a lot!):

Part 1 — Gain access to the router console (either telnet, ssh or web based console)

There are various ways to gain access to the console ( https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/xiaomi/mini ), this is the easiest.

1. Connect to your PC to your router with the ethernet cable;
2. power on and setup the Xiaomi router until it reboots and gets IP address 192.168.31.1;
3. log-in into the router and grab the value of the stok URL parameter (for instance: “9c2428de4d17e2db7e5a6a337e6f57a3”);
4. replace the <STOK> placeholder and load this URL in your browser or curl, this will start telnetd on the router:

http://192.168.31.1/cgi-bin/luci/;stok=<STOK>/api/xqnetwork/set_wifi_ap?ssid=whatever&encryption=NONE&enctype=NONE&channel=1%3B%2Fusr%2Fsbin%2Ftelnetd

5. it should spit out some wifi error code, that is ok, don’t worry;
6. replace the <STOK> placeholder, the current password and the desired root password and load this URL in your browser or curl, this will set the router root password

http://192.168.31.1/cgi-bin/luci/;stok=/api/xqsystem/set_name_password?oldPwd=OLDPASSWORD&newPwd=NEWPASSWORD

it should spit out: {“code”:0} ;

Part 2 — Installing the custom bootloader — Breed

1. Now I assume that you have access to your router console/telnet/ssh, so log in to the router firing up your linux console (or putty on windows)

ssh root@192.168.31.1 OR telnet 192.168.31.1

2. this is the risky part, proceed with extreme caution as a broken bootloader could brick your router, the only way for you to revive the router would be to physically wire a serial cable to rewrite the bootloader;
4. download Breed for Xiaomi router mini here;
5. copy it to the root directory of a usb thumb drive (1GB free space is more than enough) with FAT/FAT32 partition;
6. plug the thumb drive into the router;
7. on the console connected via SSH to the router, type

cd /extdisks/sda1/

followed by

ls -l

you should be able to see the breed-mt7620-xiaomi-mini.bin file;
8. type

cat /proc/mtd

it will list out the partitions on the router flash chip;
9. look for “Bootloader”, it should be listed as mtd1: 00030000 00010000 “Bootloader”;
10. now dump a backup of the partition to your usb drive with the following command

dd if=/dev/mtd1 of=/extdisks/sda1/Bootloader.bin

11. you should also create a backup for all the other partitions listed by

cat /proc/mtd

you will see a list of blocks with a block index (e.g. mtd1) and the block’s name (e.g. Bootloader). Adjust the command above replacing the highlighted parts with their respective block index and name.

dd if=/dev/mtd1 of=/extdisks/sda1/Bootloader.bin

All of the backup files will be in the usb drive;

12. now you’re ready to install the custom bootloader, type

mtd -r write breed-mt7620-xiaomi-mini.bin Bootloader

13. it should show rebooting when the installation is complete.

Part 3 — Boot into Breed, install the Padavan firmware

1. download the firmware I compiled from here;
2. power off your router, look for a pinhole on the back, power on your router while pressing and holding the button inside the pinhole;
3. release the pinhole button when you see the orange/yellow light blinking;
4. open your browser (preferably Chrome) and type 192.168.1.1 into the address bar;
7. you should be able to access the Breed web interface (in chinese but I will guide you!);
8. now select the second button on the menu;
9. now you should be located at http://192.168.1.1/upgrade.html, select the custom Padavan firmware file on the second row of the form. Then press the last button on the bottom of the form. It should look like this https://i.imgur.com/28pq86W.png;
10. wait for the progress bar to complete, it should reboot automatically;
11. you might need to boot into Breed for the second time to reset the default settings for the Padavan firmware. To reset the settings, click the 5th button on the menu, then select Config (it should look like this https://i.imgur.com/oFjNtBm.png) and click the submit button to reset the settings.

117 Replies to “How to install a full spec Padavan English Firmware for Xiaomi Router Mini”

  1. Hi friend.

    Thanks for this tutorial. Work nice for me, but you forget the admin first login and password (admin/admin)

    Best Regards

    Marcelo Gomes (Brazil)

    Reply

      1. Thank you sir,

        Can you please buildup 1 Firmware for Xiaomi router gen 3 (AC) ?
        There’re a lot my friends use this router model.

        Best regards

        Reply

          4. I can compile it but I can’t test it. If you are ok with it I can send you the compiled firmware for gen3 in private for you to test it.

      2. after I followed your instruction, there appears to be two ssid ASUS and ASUS_5G but needs password, could you tell me the password, or how to reset it, pls!

        Reply

  8. how much free memory do you have when running this? I have about 12MB – i see from the screenshot that you have 81MB free – is this correct?

    Reply

    1. thanks for the update. Do you have a changelog?

      I report an issues with transmission. i have a error when i try download a torrent.

      “Desc. error: Unable to save resume file: File exists (3)”

      I can’t any change in settings.json using winscp.

      Any idea what happens?

      thanks in advance

      Reply

  12. Hi, I would like to try your firmware cause I want to use xiaomi mini router as repeatre mode on 5ghz and repeat on that band as well. It’s possible? Because on xiaomi’s firmware it’s only possible to receive from 2.4ghz and than re-transmit on 2.4 and 5ghz…

    Reply

      1. Yes, that is the advantage of Padavan! On Xiaomi you can only AP Wireless with 2.4ghz… On Padavan you can choose por 2.4 or 5ghz!

        Reply

    1. I never tried to go back to stock, so I can’t help you. But I assume you can just flash the stock firmware from the router configuration page (clicking on “firmware” link, top right of the page).

      Reply

        1. I don’t think you can brick it so easily, if you flashed breed bootloader then you can just boot in breed safe mode and reflash padavan. As for the Mi logo I’m building a new firmware that has it (on the september build it got deleted I guess).

          Reply

          1. That will be great with Mi logo 😉
            When you make it available, how is the proceadure to upgrade and keep my options?

  16. Can anyone describe how to revert to stock original firmware of Xiaomi? Cause I have problem with wireless signal and I need to take it back to shop with original…

    Reply

      1. Thanks in advance for your help. However, I can’t find how to do it on that MIUI forum. What I have done so far. With a formatted usb fat32, download the developer firmware and rename to miwifi.bin and stick on router with reset pressed power router and when blinking lights release the reset… Don’t did nothing! As well to use the web interface on upgrade file… Nothing… Please help 🙁

        Reply

        1. Hi All,
          If smb managed to configure two devices with Padavan firmware as main wifi point and WDS repeater?
          Unfortunately I’m not able to run such functionality

          Reply

          1. You mean this step?

            12. now you’re ready to install the custom bootloader, type

            mtd -r write breed-mt7620-xiaomi-mini.bin Bootloader

            But instead that breed, replace that file on usb from the developer bin from Xiaomi?

            mtd -r write miwifi.bin Bootloader

          2. I meant Part 3 but use miwifi.bin instead of the Padavan firmware once yu’re on the web page at 192.168.1.1

    1. 2 more questions sorry

      1: Do I use the breed bootloader from your instructions or do I need another version?
      2: Does this Padavan firemware add VLAN capabilities?

      Thanks.

      Reply

    1. I have tested the firmware on my Mi-3 router, this is only to update my existing firmware to the latest version aef4269.
      The firmware is working fine like the Xiaomi Mini pavadan.

      Just to clarify further, I did not flash the firmware direct to my Mi-3. prior to it, I have using Prometheus scripts to flash my Mi-3 to pavadan and I just update to your firmware to test if it is okay.
      I been told by other forum member from lowyat, you can’t direct flash to Mi-3 for reasons:-
      1) There is no bleed bootloader for Mi-3, currently only available for Xiaomi Mini which no one test it on Mi-3 yet.
      2) With Prometheus scripts, it will flash the Pavadan firmware into multiple partitions and what is believe here, there maybe some partitioning task performed in order to put the new firmware.

      Thanks again for your firmware. Appreciated for your hard works.

      Reply

  20. the only way to flash Mi Router 3 tru prometheus tools, since there’s no unlocked bootloader except using prometheus tools backdoor.

    Reply

  21. Hi,
    I’m really glad to use this firmware on my MINI router 😉
    However, I would like to customise in order to reboot every week or once every 15 days. How can I do this? Can you help me?
    I see under Administration – Cron Daemon (Scheduler) I can active) open Scheduler tasks (Crontab), and than how can I set to reboot safely, not the hard one…
    00 01 1/15 * * root reboot
    will reboot every day 1 and 15 at 01:00. Any advise?

    Reply

  22. it’s great fw, have a lot of features and the wifi signal as strong as the stock firmware
    but I want to use it to record the stream from my ip cameras, the interface is LAN & wifi
    is it possible to do it with padavan?

    Reply

  23. In padavan, each time I change the theme settings and logo the changes only appears in the browsers and pc that the changes were made. When I try opening in different browsers or pc / notebook the theme went back to default is it normal?
    also trying to log out, close the browser tab and opening the admin page in new tab shows that I’m still logged in, is this also normal behaviour on padavan firmware? thanks.

    Reply

  24. I have it installed on my router, but forgot to install breed bootloader
    I use pandorabox before, then I flash your firmware in the update menu on pandorabox web ui
    can you tell how to get breed on my router with my current situation?

    Reply

    1. @spy
      I assume you use mi mini with padavan firmware now and with original bootloader
      the only way, you should revert back to xiaomi mi mini factory firmware (check how to flash original xiaomi mini firmware).
      from that point, you can follow above tutorial as describe by admin

      Reply

  25. Excellent guide. Thank you. However, in part 3, step 3 I’m only on flashing Blue light – don’t get orange/yellow. Have been holding the pin in for a while. Any other thoughts?

    Reply

  26. I’ve followed Parts 1 & 2 and all looks good. In Part 3, Step 3, I’m not seeing the flashing orange/yellow. It’s just flashing blue when I start it with the pin inserted and kept pushed in. Any ideas? if I let the router boot I see the Xiamo screen but everything is a 512 Bad Gateway after that. Am I hosed?

    Reply

    1. I have same situation before
      don’t worry, it’s not problem at all
      just connect one of your router’s LAN ports to a computer
      open your browser and go to url: 192.168.1.1

      Reply

      1. That worked perfectly. I used a cable over LAN (on my Mac) and was able to get in and have it configured for a AP bridge mode over the 5GHz channel so my 5G signal from downstairs is now available upstairs! All great and thanks a ton again.

        Reply

  28. Hi,
    did flash my miwifi3 with Prometheus tool.
    As I bought my router few weeks ago, there were no more ssh access easily available so I had to downgrade to the version miwifi_r3_all_55ac7_2.11.20.bin (dev version) found on the 4pda forum (all in russian), through the official webUI of the router.
    Then following the Prometheus.freize.net website I just run VirtualBox with their custom image. Set the SSH access (option 0) then went to firmware (4), created one (3) then flash (4).
    The option 0 for SSH basically does some trick like you describe here but for me, it did set up a random ssh password that didn’t work. I had to tell prometheus that the password was the webui one even for ssh (did try with my iterm on the side before).
    Anyway after 15min of firmware building and a quick flashing, it worked. I just don’t have a proper skin but that is not really important. Had to reboot it properly with broadband box. Admin/PW of the padavan is admin/admin and IP 192.168.1.1

    It took me some time to go through (especially with the translation from the forums) so I post here in case someone needs info.

    Reply

  29. hi
    thanks for build its realy fast !
    only one problem – i want to use usb as network share
    i and it work fine as FTP
    but i canot use it as smb share – why ?
    anyone tested ?
    when i try \\192.168.1.1 it says that network share is not longer availible
    i did checked on 2pc so not pc issue / 2h ago on pandorabox smb was working fine 😉
    thanks and regards !

    Reply

  32. new update? i know update maybe wont change anything for xiaomi mini, im just update addict, i wanna have my device with latest update :p

    Reply

  33. Hi I would like to see this firmware have QOS any reason why it is not implemented? When should we expect to see it come out for this firmware?

    Reply

  35. just so ppl know mini on firmware 3.4.3.9-099_aef4269 ‘Blocked Client List’ not working, after pressing the X button to block clients, clients are added to blocked list but it does nothing.

    Reply

  39. Hi, i succeeded till the end stage, but once i get into Breed Menu, sometimes it displays main menu sometimes and sometimes not. When i click on 2nd option to flash the Padavan, it circles and circles infinitely and finally it gives up. i dont know what i am doing wrong. till the final step i had no error in flashing files.

    Any idea pls.. thanks

    Reply

  43. Please, I need to revert to Xiaomi firmware, can anyone help?
    I have followed the part 3 (boot into breed) however don’t let me upload Xiaomi.bin
    Help…

    Reply

  45. Please, I need help in order to revert from this firmware to the original Xiaomi… I have tried several several times and nothing. Beside this firmware is brilliant, I think you could support the people that needs for any reason go back to the original..

    Reply

    1. The only reason I do not offer support is that I don’t know how to revert to the original firmware and I don’t have time to do research. Besides I currently do not own the router any more.

      Reply

      1. I understand, but in my humble opinion, you should say that on the beggining with bold letters… Cause right know i’m fu**ed by my self

        Reply

  48. How did you guys customise it for Xiaomi? I tried to build one for Xiaomi Nano but it is referred to as “Asus” and the logo is Asus as well. Did you just replace the image file before building and may be change the strings in the source code?

    Reply

  50. Hello I have flashed breed bootloader on xiomi mi 3 router and now led doesn’t work. It’s bricked. Any help please? Thanks a lot

    Reply

  55. thank you I will try as soon as my unit arrived. 4g and transmission is what I intent to do with the mini.will report in 4-5 days

    Reply

  56. confirmed working 4g modem (ZTE MF831) along with transmission…great share..additional info : my led has only blue color, no orange no yellow (blinkging blue also on safeboot)..thanks

    Reply

  57. Hello , it appears i’m stuck after giving the command to start telnet on the mi mini router, i have used the correct “Stok” and have flash the router to to a dev version before starting the process. i keep gettin the error about telnet connection being refused on port 23. i have tried quite a few things but just cant get past this telnet opening menace.. any help would be greatly appreciated.
    thanks in advance.

    Reply

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