Xiaomi WiFi Online Radio Review - Wireless Speakers and Internet Radio in One Device

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

A compact Wi-Fi receiver from Xiaomi that allows you to listen to many online radio stations without a computer or smartphone.

Let's make a reservation right away that although the word "radio" will often appear in the text, we are not talking about classical radio waves. Xiaomi WiFi Online Radio is a new type of device that can not only play the role of an ordinary wireless speaker, but can also connect to the Internet and play music, news, sports stations.

Xiaomi WiFi Online Radio comes in a small white cardboard box. Inside is the receiver itself and a USB charging cable. By the way, it is also white, flat and rather long.

The column has the shape of a cube with side dimensions of 8, 3 × 8, 3 × 5 centimeters. The body is made of white glossy plastic, the high quality of which is beyond doubt. All the edges adjacent to the back cover are smoothly rounded, making the device pleasant to hold in your hands.

On the front surface there is a speaker grill. Above - a touch strip for changing the volume, indicated by a series of gray dots. On the side of it, a bright red lever stands out for switching stations.

On the back there is a socket for connecting a USB cable and an operating mode indicator. Pay attention to the small hole next to it - it serves for a complete reset of the device.

To activate the gadget, you need to press the red lever for a long time. However, nothing interesting happens when you turn it on for the first time: the indicator on the back just lights up, a pleasant voice says a few words in Chinese and that's it. For full use, the device must be configured. And this is where the fun begins.

Xiaomi WiFi Online Radio is intended exclusively for the Chinese market, therefore it is tailored for the local consumer. This means that mainly Chinese Internet radio stations are able to play it, which, of course, is not encouraging. However, domestic craftsmen found a way out.

First of all, you need to install the Mi Home application on your smartphone, which has versions for Android and iOS.

Please note that upon first launch, the application will ask you to create a new one or log into an existing Mi-account. In the settings, in the "Location" column, you must specify "Mainland China", otherwise you will not be able to connect the radio. Then you should click on the plus sign in the upper right corner of the main Mi Home window and wait until the smartphone detects a new device. Xiaomi WiFi Online Radio should also be turned on at this time.

After pairing the devices, you must specify the Wi-Fi network to which you want to connect and enter the password if necessary. The receiver will then automatically update the firmware and download the list of available radio stations. It is very large, but mainly includes music and information in Chinese.

However, even here you can find a couple of dozen suitable streams. Just enter the name of your favorite genre of music, and then add the stations that appear in the search results to your favorites. They will immediately appear in the device's memory and you can start listening.

However, we will not dwell on this, but go further. Our task is to teach the radio to sing and speak in Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian and other familiar languages. To do this, visit the Ximiraga project page. Its creators were able to create a special server that broadcasts online streams of the most popular radio stations in a format that Xiaomi WiFi Online Radio understands.

All instructions for setting up access to the Ximiraga server are available on the website in the "Installation" section. This is not difficult at all: you just need to change the DNS server address on your smartphone or router. If the sentence you just read did not surprise you, then you can easily cope with it. If you don't understand anything, then find a computer specialist who will set everything up in two minutes.

After connecting to the Ximiraga servers, dozens of domestic radio stations will appear in the list of available streams. A full list of them can be found here. By the way, if you still do not find your beloved, then you can ask the administration to add it.

The sound power of Xiaomi WiFi Online Radio is only 2W, but this is enough to fill a small room with sound. The playback quality strongly depends on the selected radio station, but the speaker sounds good for its compact format.

The built-in 1000 mAh battery is enough to work for 4-5 hours with an average gain level. If you dig deeper into the Mi Home application, then among the Chinese inscriptions you can find the settings for automatic switching on by timer. Then the column turns into a bedside alarm clock that will wake you up at the appointed time with the music of your favorite radio station.

And the last and easiest option is to use Xiaomi WiFi Online Radio as a regular wireless speaker. To do this, just slide the red lever up or down and hold it in this position for 2 seconds. The radio will switch to Bluetooth pairing mode, after which it can be connected to a smartphone or tablet.

Summing up, it should be noted that Xiaomi has turned out to be a rather unusual and useful gadget.

Xiaomi WiFi Online Radio will feel great on the bedside table as an internet alarm clock, in the kitchen for background music playback, or on the student's desktop. In short, in all cases where mobility, convenience and style are the main priorities, this device can be safely purchased. If sound quality is more important to you, then you should pay attention to more serious and dimensional acoustics.

At the time of this writing, the cost of Xiaomi WiFi Online Radio is approximately 2,500 rubles.