Redmi AX6 vs AX5 vs Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 Comparison | Specs, Features, Speed (Compared)

Recently, Redmi AX6 WiFi 6 router came out and we compared it with AX5 and Huawei AX3 Pro. Xiaomi says that it has the same configuration as Xiaomi AIoT router AX3600. However, there are some differences as well. That’s why this Redmi AX6 vs AX5 vs Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 comparison is needed. So, without any further wait, here’s the comparison:

Redmi AX6 vs AX5 vs Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 Comparison | Cost-Effective Routers vs Premium Routers

Redmi AX6 vs AX5 vs Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 – Specs Sheet Comparison

Redmi AX6 vs AX5 vs Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 – Price Comparison

Let’s start the Redmi AX6 vs AX5 vs Xiaomi AIoT Router X3600 comparison with the price tag of each router.

Redmi AX5 is the cheapest one which is priced at 249 Yuan (35 USD). Redmi AX6 price is 369 yuan (53 USD). Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 price is 599 yuan (85 USD) making it the most expensive router by Xiaomi. The router which offers the best here is the Redmi AX6 router (explained later in this comparison).

Winner: Redmi router AX5 (Best Price)

Winner: Redmi router AX6 (Best Price/Performance Ratio)

Redmi AX6 vs AX5 vs Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 – Design Comparison

Starting this section of Redmi AX6 vs AX5 vs Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 comparison, let’s first compare AX6 and AX5. The Redmi AX6 and AX5 router have a similar traditional rectangular design and are made from plastic which gives a cheap feeling to these routers, after all these are cost-effective routers. In terms of size and weight, Redmi AX6 is slightly larger and heavier than AX5. Though the ventilation is also the same on both routers, however, Redmi AX5 vents on the top appear to have a larger gap making it more heat-efficient, and even the hardware doesn’t generate that much heat compared to AX6. Both of them are available in white color only.

Meanwhile, Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 is entirely different from Redmi AX6 and Redmi AX5. In fact, it’s the most uniquely designed router I have ever seen (and the biggest one as well), It’s an iconic triangular design, a matte plastic case, and a large area of ​​heat dissipation grill that is surround through the entire router. Even the antennas are triangular in shape. Heat dissipation performance is not bad (much better than Huawei AX3 Pro). The router is so unique and large that from a distance you can see that one has the AX3600 working. The router is available in black color only.

Redmi router AX6 images:

Redmi router AX5 images:

Xiaomi Router AIoT AX3600 images:

We can see that how similar the Redmi AX5 and Redmi AX6 looks. They appear almost the same with only the two LED lights shifted from the top (Redmi AX5) to the more convenient front side in Redmi AX6. Also, the edges are more pointy in AX6 and curved in AX5. That’s all.

The Xiaomi AIoT AX3600 router has the  best-LED lights management  in any Xiaomi router. Why? This thing has 1 system indicator Led, 1 network status Led, 1 network LED, 1 AIoT LED light and even 4 separate LEDs for port status. It’s like for every function in the AX3600, there’s this LED light indicating the current status.

In terms of durability, the AX3600 stands out. The AX5 and AX6 are also durable thanks to the incredible heat dissipation but not as good as AX3600 (due to the large vertical heat sink).

Ending this section of the Redmi AX6 vs AX5 vs Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 comparison, the AX3600 is the winner because of the unique design, better-LED lights management, and the best heat dissipation.

Winner: Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600

Redmi AX6 vs AX5 vs Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 – Antenna Distribution

All three routers have different numbers of antennas but the antenna strength remains 5dB. Redmi AX5 has the least numbers of antennas which are four (2 x 2.4G antennas and 2 x 5G antennas).

Redmi AX6 has 6 antennas (4 x 5G antennas and 2 x 2.5G antennas).

Last but not least, Xiaomi AIoT router AX3600 has the most antennas in any Xiaomi router. They are 7 in number (4 x 5G antennas, 2 x 2.5G antennas, and 1 x AIoT antenna).

Moreover, the antenna design for AX6 and AX5 is quite similar and traditional. However, Xiaomi AIoT router AX3600’s antennas give a much premium effect since they match the triangular body. Not to forget the middle antenna which is AIoT has the blue LED light on top and that is why it appears to be different from other antennas if you view them from the top.

All routers’ antennas are rotatable and foldable. The signal strength is the strongest in AX3600, then comes AX6 and at the last is AX5 (only two antennas for 5G).

Though there should be a tie in AX6 and AX3600 since the AX6 router is only missing the AIoT antenna, however, I select AX3600 to be the winner because of better antenna design and the extra AIoT antenna. If you don’t want the special AIoT function (used for Mi home appliances), just go for the AX6.

Winner: Xiaomi AIoT AX3600

Redmi AX6 vs AX5 vs Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 – Hardware Comparison

Coming to the real thing of this Redmi AX6 vs AX5 vs Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 comparison which is the hardware. Now Xiaomi says that Redmi AX6 has the same hardware as the Xiaomi AX3600. Well, it’s mostly true. We do see the same Qualcomm IPQ8071A 6 core SoC ( (14nm, 4x A53 @ 1GHz CPU + 2 x 1.5 GHz NPU) in both routers and the same RAM which is 512MB.

However, Redmi didn’t mention the ROM capacity of AX6. If it can run 248 devices at the same time, then it has to be 256MB (I’ll update it once Xiaomi answers this). Even AX2600’s 2.4GHz Wi-Fi chip is QCN5024, the 5GHz Wi-Fi chip is QCN5054, and the AIoT Wi-Fi chip is QCA9889. We aren’t even sure if the same chips are used in AX6 as well.

The Xiaomi AX5 has the mid-level Qualcomm IPQ6000 5 core SoC (14nm, 4 x A53 @ 1GHz CPU + 1.5 GHz NPU). The RAM and ROM are half the other two routers which are 256MB and 128MB respectively. The max devices it can connect at one time is also half (128 devices).

If the hardware of Xiaomi router AX3600 and AX6 is the same (I’m waiting for the sale to start of AX6 and grab one), let us consider this section a draw.

Winner: None (AX6 and AX3600)

Redmi AX6 vs AX5 vs Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 – Connectivity & Speed Comparison

Let’s head towards the connectivity and speed comparison of the Redmi AX6 vs AX5 vs Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 comparison. All three routers are Dual-Band (2.4G and 5G). All of them have the option of intelligent connection (connects to the suitable band automatically) and switch to only one preferred band as well from the web page (sadly in Chinese for AX5 and AX6).

As for the 2.4G, all three support a maximum speed of up to 574Mbps with two antennas dedicated.

As for the 5G, we have a huge change and probably the downside of the Redmi AX5. The Redmi AX5 supports MIMO 2×2 (only 2 streams) which restricts its maximum speed to 1201Mbps. However, that’s not the case with AX6 and AX3600 which have MIMO 4×4 (4 stream channels) and a max speed of 2402Mbps on 5G. AX3600 maximum speed (total, dual band) is even higher reaching to 3559Mbps (thanks to the extra AIoT antenna which is dual band).

Moreover, as for the 160MHz bandwidth support, Redmi AX5 and Xiaomi AX3600 don’t support it (firmware does not support this, hardware does). However, Redmi AX6 is an exception here and the first Xiaomi WiFi 6 router to support 160MHz. But don’t get all excited because the 160MHz is supported only on the 2×2 MU-MIMO, not on 4×4. Come on… I think Huawei AX3 Pro is a much better alternative if you need 160MHz on 4×4.

All three routers support Mesh networking but only with their respectively family/series products. Xiaomi AIoT AX3600 and Redmi router AX5 (both with AX1800) have already got the mesh update. Redmi AX6 is new and will soon receive the mesh update.

So, just because of the 160MHz support, the winner here is Redmi AX6.

Winner: Redmi router AX6

Redmi AX6 vs AX5 vs Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 – Functions & Features

Considering the functions and features of each router in this Redmi AX6 vs AX5 vs Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 comparison, all three routers support WiFi 6 technology and enjoy the benefit of  OFDMA (up to 1024 QAM) and MU-MIMO.

All of them connect via the traditional way of connecting to a device (No NFC etc.). Since all three routers are operated via the same App and Web page, the features are also the same including:

• WPA-PSK / WPA2-PSK/ WPA3-SAE encryption, wireless access control (black and white list), hidden SSID, intelligent anti-scratch network, IPv4 / IPv6, PPPoE / DHCP / static IP address / Bridge WAN connection methods, Guest WiFi, Parental control, Game acceleration (premium, trial)

Winner: None

Redmi AX6 vs AX5 vs Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 – App & Web Page

As said all three routers have the same app Mi Wifi (2.9 ratings) and web page.

First starting with the app, there are many complaints about the app stability, frequent disconnects, and phone compatibility issues. Most of them are due to the user changing the location of the router from China Mainland to somewhere else. However, Xiaomi developers are trying hard to fix these problems.

As for the web page, Redmi AX6 and AX5 webpages are in Chinese since the firmware is in Chinese. You can you the browser translator to guide you. However, Xiaomi AIoT router AX3600 has now a global version with the English firmware so that one can also change the language and location.

Here are the screenshots of Mi WiFi app (sorry for the Chinese here):

Winner: Xiaomi Router AX3600

The Verdict

 Redmi AX6 (3 Points) | Redmi AX5 (1 Points) | Xiaomi router AIoT AX3600 (5 Points) 

Overall Winner: Xiaomi Router AIoT AX3600

Concluding this Redmi AX6 vs AX5 vs Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 comparison, we select Xiaomi router AIoT AX3600 as the ultimate winner because:

• It has a global version with global ROM available
• It has a unique and durable design
• Has an additional AIoT dedicated antenna
• LED lights for almost every router status

I would select AX6 router if:

• I want 160MHz on 2×2
• The best hardware configuration for the price
• I hate AX3600 large design
• I have an internet bandwidth of more than 1.2 Gbps

I would select AX5 if:

• I only need WiFi 6 router
• Don’t care about the looks
• I’m tight on budget
• Internet connection is not greater than 1.2 Gbps

Now the choice depends on you.

You can grab these routers from here:

Amazon links:

Gearbest is selling the global version of the AX3600 router. You can check that from here. The price is unreasonable though :O

I hope you loved this Redmi AX6 vs AX5 vs Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 comparison. Which router is your favorite? Let us know in the comments.