How to Change DNS Settings on a Redmi Router Using the English Interface

Redmi routers ship from the factory running Xiaomi's MiWiFi firmware, which defaults to Simplified Chinese regardless of where in the world you bought the device. If you're staring at a dashboard full of characters you can't read while trying to find the DNS settings, this guide gives you the exact steps — switching the UI to English, locating the DNS configuration fields, entering your preferred servers, and verifying the change actually took effect. It covers the international ROM, the CN ROM with and without a language toggle, and every major Redmi model sold since 2022, including AX3000, AX5400, AX6000, BE3600, and the older AC2100.

Why Redmi Routers Default to Chinese

Redmi is a Xiaomi sub-brand that sells most of its router hardware primarily in mainland China. Units sold through AliExpress, Amazon third-party listings, or regional Mi stores in Southeast Asia frequently ship with the CN ROM (Chinese ROM), which has limited or no English translation. The international ROM — distributed in select markets or sometimes flashed by importers — includes a full language switcher.

How to tell which ROM you have: log in to the admin panel and look at the firmware version on the status page. A CN ROM shows a version string ending in _CN (for example, 1.0.80_CN). An international ROM ends in _INT or carries no country suffix at all. Some CN ROMs include a partial English mode that translates common navigation labels but leaves advanced settings pages in Chinese — useful but incomplete.

Accessing the Admin Panel

Default IP Address and Login URL

Redmi routers use 192.168.31.1 as the default gateway — not 192.168.1.1 like most consumer routers from other brands. The web interface is also reachable at miwifi.com, but only when your device is actively using the router's own DNS resolver. Once you switch to a third-party DNS (which is exactly what this guide helps you do), miwifi.com will stop resolving. Always keep 192.168.31.1 bookmarked as the reliable fallback.

1. Connect your computer to the Redmi router via Wi-Fi or a direct Ethernet cable.
2. Open any browser and navigate to http://192.168.31.1
3. Enter the admin password you set during initial setup.

Forgotten or Unset Password

If you never configured a password — common with second-hand routers or units that were reset — navigating to 192.168.31.1 triggers the first-time setup wizard automatically. To reset a forgotten password: locate the recessed pinhole reset button on the back or underside of the router, hold it with a straightened paperclip for 10 seconds until the status LED flashes amber, then run through setup again. On most Redmi models the LED sequence is: solid white (booting) → flashing amber (reset mode) → solid white again (ready).

Switching the Firmware Language to English

International ROM: Full Language Toggle

On firmware running the international ROM, the language change is a one-minute job:

1. Log in to http://192.168.31.1
2. Click the gear or cog icon in the top-right corner of the dashboard to open Settings.
3. Navigate to General Settings → Other Settings. On MiWiFi 4.x firmware (shipped on AX3000, AX5400, AX6000, BE3600), a language icon appears more prominently in the top navigation bar — click it directly.
4. Open the Language dropdown and select English.
5. Click Save or Confirm. The page reloads in English within a few seconds, and the setting persists across reboots.

On MiWiFi firmware 4.x and above, the canonical path is: Settings → General Settings → Language. If you see a globe icon anywhere in the top bar, that is always the language selector.

CN ROM: Workarounds for a Non-English Interface

The CN ROM does not ship with a complete English translation. You have two practical approaches without flashing new firmware:

• Browser auto-translate: In Chrome, right-click anywhere on the admin page and choose Translate to English. Results are imperfect — some field labels render as garbled text — but it is good enough to navigate to Internet Settings and locate the DNS input fields. Firefox users can install an extension for the same effect.
• Use the Chinese field labels listed below: If you know exactly what to look for, you can navigate the CN ROM without translation and just type into the correct fields.

If neither approach is acceptable, flashing the international ROM gives you a permanently English interface. That process is covered in its own section below.

Locating the DNS Settings

International ROM (English Interface)

After enabling English, DNS settings are under:

Internet Settings → DNS Settings → Manual DNS

On some firmware builds the path is slightly different: Internet Settings → Advanced, with DNS fields appearing after you scroll down. Look for input fields labeled Primary DNS and Secondary DNS. If only one field is visible, scroll — the secondary entry is almost always directly below the primary.

CN ROM Field Labels for Manual Navigation

If Chrome's auto-translate is producing unreliable output, these are the original Chinese labels and their meanings:

• 上网设置 — Internet Settings (main section)
• DNS设置 — DNS Settings
• 手动DNS — Manual DNS (toggle to enable custom servers)
• 首选DNS — Primary DNS (Preferred)
• 备用DNS — Secondary DNS (Alternate)
• 保存 — Save

Model-Specific Navigation Notes

Redmi AX3000 and AX5400: DNS fields appear on the Internet Settings page after you select your connection type (DHCP or PPPoE). If your ISP uses PPPoE, the Primary and Secondary DNS fields are on the same screen as your PPPoE username and password — scroll to the bottom of that form rather than looking for a separate DNS page.

Redmi AX6000 and BE3600: Newer firmware revisions on these models relocated DNS to Advanced → LAN Settings → DNS Server in some builds. If DNS is absent under Internet Settings, check the Advanced section before assuming it is hidden or unavailable.

Redmi Router AC2100: An older model with a distinct layout where DNS is under Basic Settings → Internet Settings. The AC2100 was a popular target for custom firmware — if yours is running OpenWrt, skip ahead to that section, as the MiWiFi interface is no longer present.

Changing DNS Servers: Step by Step

1. Navigate to Internet Settings → DNS Settings using the path for your model above.
2. Switch the DNS mode from Automatic (ISP-assigned) to Manual.
3. Type your preferred resolver address in the Primary DNS field.
4. Type a secondary resolver in the Secondary DNS field.
5. Click Save.
6. Wait 10–15 seconds. Most Redmi models apply the change without requiring a full reboot — the DNS service restarts in the background.

Recommended DNS server pairs for 2026:

• Cloudflare (fastest globally, privacy-focused): 1.1.1.1 / 1.0.0.1
• Google Public DNS (highly reliable, broadly documented): 8.8.8.8 / 8.8.4.4
• Quad9 (DNSSEC-validating, blocks malware domains): 9.9.9.9 / 149.112.112.112
• OpenDNS (optional content filtering): 208.67.222.222 / 208.67.220.220

If your ISP provides IPv6 (most do by default in 2026), set IPv6 DNS addresses as well — otherwise your ISP controls all IPv6 resolution regardless of what you entered for IPv4:

• Cloudflare IPv6: 2606:4700:4700::1111 / 2606:4700:4700::1001
• Google IPv6: 2001:4860:4860::8888 / 2001:4860:4860::8844

For detailed technical background on what public DNS resolvers actually do, Google's Public DNS documentation is a clear and well-maintained reference.

Verifying the Change from Connected Devices

After saving, connected devices need to renew their DHCP lease to receive the updated DNS information. The fastest way is to toggle Wi-Fi off and on, or on Ethernet: disconnect and reconnect the cable. Then flush the local DNS cache and verify.

Windows

To see exactly which DNS address the router advertised via DHCP:

macOS

Linux (systemd-resolved)

On older distributions still using /etc/resolv.conf directly:

Android

Settings → Wi-Fi → tap your network name → pencil/edit icon → Advanced Options → DHCP. The DNS 1 and DNS 2 fields show what the router pushed via DHCP. On Android 9 and above you can set an encrypted DNS override at Settings → Network & Internet → Private DNS — this bypasses whatever the router advertises.

iOS and iPadOS

Settings → Wi-Fi → tap the (i) beside your network name → Configure DNS. If it shows Automatic, the device is using the DNS from the router's DHCP offer. Tap Manual to inspect or override the active servers for that Wi-Fi network specifically.

Per-Device DNS Override vs Router-Level DNS

The DNS setting on the Redmi router controls what resolver addresses get pushed to all DHCP clients on your network. Any device with a manually configured DNS address ignores the router entirely and queries its own specified servers. This trips people up constantly: you changed the router correctly, but one laptop still uses stale DNS because it has a static network configuration from months ago. Check each device individually if results are inconsistent.

If you want to change DNS for a single device without touching the router, configure it directly on that device. Windows: Network Adapter Settings → IPv4 Properties → Use the following DNS server addresses. macOS: System Settings → Network → [adapter] → Details → DNS tab → (+) to add servers. Android 9+: use Private DNS with a DoT hostname like dns.quad9.net. iOS 14+: install a DNS configuration profile or use a per-network manual DNS setting as shown above.

Flashing the International ROM

If you're stuck on the CN ROM and need a fully English interface permanently, flashing the international firmware is clean and reversible.

1. Note your exact model number from the label on the bottom of the router.
2. Download the correct .bin firmware file from the official Xiaomi/Mi router firmware download page. Confirm the file is for your exact hardware revision — installing firmware for the wrong model variant can cause a recoverable brick.
3. In the admin panel, go to Settings → Manual Upgrade (手动升级 in Chinese).
4. Select the .bin file and confirm. The router begins flashing immediately.
5. The process takes 3–5 minutes. The LED will flash continuously during the write. Do not power-cycle the router during this window.
6. If the router becomes unresponsive, Xiaomi provides a USB recovery tool called MiFlash for most models that can restore the device via the USB port on the back.

OpenWrt on Redmi Hardware

Several Redmi models are well-supported by OpenWrt — the AX3000, AX6000, and AC2100 in particular — due to their strong hardware specifications at budget price points. If your router is running OpenWrt, the MiWiFi interface is gone entirely and the default admin panel is at http://192.168.1.1 (not 192.168.31.1).

DNS settings in OpenWrt:

1. Go to Network → DHCP and DNS → General Settings tab.
2. In the DNS forwardings field, enter your upstream DNS servers in the format 1.1.1.1#53 (address#port).
3. Click Save & Apply.

For DNS-over-HTTPS at the router level on OpenWrt (unavailable on stock MiWiFi firmware):

DD-WRT is less commonly flashed on Redmi hardware but follows the same principle: Administration → Management, then the Static DNS 1, 2, and 3 fields near the bottom of the page.

Common Misdiagnoses

DNS reverts or does not change after saving. Most often caused by editing the wrong field — there are sometimes separate DNS entries under LAN Settings (what the router tells DHCP clients) and under WAN/Internet Settings (what the router uses for its own upstream queries). You want the LAN/DHCP DNS fields to control client devices. After saving correctly, devices need a fresh DHCP lease: toggle Wi-Fi on affected devices or run ipconfig /release && ipconfig /renew on Windows.

miwifi.com stopped loading. Expected. The miwifi.com hostname is a Xiaomi-controlled DNS alias that only resolves if your device is using the router's built-in resolver. Switching to Cloudflare or Google means miwifi.com no longer resolves. Use 192.168.31.1 directly for admin access going forward.

Settings accept input but revert on next visit. Usually a timed-out admin session. Log out completely, log back in, and save again. Also seen when Chrome auto-translate submits a mistranslated form action — try in a private/incognito window with translate disabled to rule that out.

192.168.31.1 refuses connection. Either you are not connected to this router's network (check which Wi-Fi you are joined to), or the gateway IP was changed during setup. Confirm the correct address: on Windows run ipconfig and look at the Default Gateway line; on Linux/macOS run ip route show default or netstat -rn. That address is your admin panel URL.

2026 Considerations

IPv6 DNS: Most ISPs in Canada, the US, UK, and Australia now distribute IPv6 prefixes by default, and MiWiFi firmware on recent Redmi models enables IPv6 automatically. If you only configure IPv4 DNS, your ISP retains full control over IPv6 name resolution — a gap that matters for privacy and filtering. Set both IPv4 and IPv6 DNS server pairs as listed in the configuration section above.

DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS: As of mid-2026, no release version of stock MiWiFi firmware supports DoH or DoT at the router level. DNS queries leave the router as plaintext UDP on port 53 regardless of which upstream resolver you have configured. For network-wide encrypted DNS on Redmi hardware, OpenWrt with the https-dns-proxy package is currently the only path. Per-device encrypted DNS is available without any router changes: Android's Private DNS setting, iOS encrypted DNS profiles, or a client app like 1.1.1.1 by Cloudflare.

DNSSEC: Quad9 (9.9.9.9) performs DNSSEC signature validation on every response before returning it, blocking responses with invalid or missing signatures. Google and Cloudflare also support DNSSEC validation. The Redmi router itself is transparent — it forwards queries and passes responses through without validating signatures. Your DNSSEC protection comes entirely from the upstream resolver you choose, not from the router firmware.