How to remove Mesh networking from a Xiaomi router? Forgot to delete the node when selling second-hand, and a colleague received the goods and said the machine was broken

last month, I gave my Redmi AX3000 at home for sixty yuan to a colleague. I bought this machine as a sub-router when I was building a Mesh back then. I used it for over two years, but after upgrading, I stopped using it. I unplugged the cable, put it in the box, and shipped it away. I felt pretty happy, thinking I had helped my colleague get a bargain.

the next day, he sent a video: his phone connected to the default WiFi sent by the router, but the browser tried to enter 192.168.31.1, but after scrolling for a long time, he couldn't get in. Trying again still didn't work. He asked me if the machine was damaged and if I wanted to return it. It took me half a minute to realize— this sub-router was still attached to my Mesh, it wasn't a "standalone" router at all, but a satellite.

This is my fault. When I was networking, I wrote a full process article. At the time, I thought removing this step was just 'unplugging the wire,' but when I actually started selling second-hand, I realized there were many tricks involved. This article clearly explains the three ways to remove Mesh, the state of the machine after deletion, and the correct order for selling second-hand products.

first clarify: what role do sub-routers have in Mesh

Once two Xiaomi routers form a Mesh, the power structure changes: the master router decides, and the sub-router only listens to the master. Specifically, there are three areas you can perceive.

First it doesn't have its own backend . When you enter 192.168.31.1 in your browser, you're entering the main router's management page, while the sub-router is like an unlabeled room in this network. A colleague took it home and powered it on separately. The machine still remembered "I am a child node of such-and-such Mesh," set up a default WiFi for you to connect, but no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't get into the backend—it looked like a brick missing a sheet of paper. If you want to know how this power structure is built when building a Mesh network, you can check out my article on the entire networking.

second, WiFi name and password follow the main router . When networking, the wireless configuration of the sub-router is uniformly taken over by the main router. If you change the WiFi password once at home, both devices change simultaneously. So when you take out the sub-router and use it, the configuration on it is still broken.

third, device records in the Mijia app are bound under the main router's name . When the sub-router powers on separately, it either doesn't show up in the app or shows up with a strange name, no matter how you click it, nothing happens. It looks similar to the issue where router shows offline in the app, but fundamentally, it's different—the former is because the identity hasn't been removed, the latter is about the network or account.

first way: delete the node in the app in two minutes, and you can do it even when you're not home

This is the most decent way to remove it, and it has a lifesaver: doesn't need a sub-router on your hand . At that time, I had already sent out the machine, and I was still at the office. It was through this route that I remotely deleted the node.

can be done in either the Mi Home app or the Xiaomi WiFi app, and the underlying data of both apps is connected. Take Mijia as an example: open the app and go to the device page of the main router, find an entry point like "Network Management" or "Mesh Node" (different firmware names vary slightly, but you can definitely recognize "networking" and "node"). In the list, you can see how many sub-routers are running at home. Click on the Redmi AX3000, select Delete Node, confirm, and wait a minute or two. The sub-router will restart itself, and after rebooting, it will revert to a dedicated router.

two prerequisites must be met. The phone needs to be connected to the main home router's WiFi, whether it's connected to data or other networks, and the operation will fail—many of Mijia's router settings require the user to be on the network, remote management those read-only functions are two different things, and deleting nodes is a strict write-down process. Also, if you can't access the networking entry point in the app, it's usually because the firmware is too old. First, upgrade the main router firmware, and the upgrade method is in the firmware section.

delete the node, don't rush to close the app. Just glance at the main router's device list and confirm that the sub-router has gone offline. After I deleted the node, my colleague would reconnect to WiFi and tap the backend in a few minutes, and it was plugged in in one go.

second way: Reset the sub-router directly. Both the second-hand and buyer can save themselves

If the device is right by your side, for example, if you remember to remove it before selling the second-hand version, you don't need to go through the app—just restore the sub-router to the factory and get it done in one step. Reset will clear everything from it, including the Mesh identity, and it will come out as a clean machine.

method is the same as for a single machine: while powered on, hold the SIM ejector pin against the reset hole on the back of the device, hold it without loosening. After more than five seconds, the indicator light turns orange. Release and wait one or two minutes for the machine to restart. The machine will return to factory settings. I wrote the details in the article about restoration factory replacement, and I also covered the precautions related to selling second-hand items.

this route, I recommend it for second-hand buyers for two reasons. First, cleanliness—in theory, the app can remove node deletion, but operating through a network cable can feel a bit uneasy. Reset is a physical reset, and verifying it face-to-face before sending it is more reliable than anything else. Second, it also clears your privacy: the router stores your home WiFi password and management password. If it's not clean, it's sent away, which is like putting your home door key inside a package.

buyer's side is also a self-rescue tactic. If the received machine cannot access the backend or suspects the Mesh sub-routing has not been removed, you don't need to contact the seller for a refund; you can reset it yourself and revive it. If you're unclear about the difference between restarting and resetting, read this article first. Don't turn the reset into a power disconnect and restart.

the third path: the cost of messing with the main router

Another way to resolve it is to restore the main router to the factory, and the mesh will naturally break down. It can be done, but I put it at the very bottom because the price is the whole family being wiped out: the main router's broadband account, WiFi name and password, static binding, port forwarding all reset to zero, dozens of devices in the house re-networked, and just the vacuum cleaner's camera alone can torment you all night. The full reset order is in the reset reset post.

under what circumstances is it worth taking this path? There is only one way: the main router should be replaced or reconfigured from the start. For example, if you upgrade the entire Mesh set to a new machine, and the old router still needs to be sold second-hand, then it doesn't matter—you need to clear it anyway. Last year, when my cousin replaced the entire Mercury system at home with a Xiaomi, he did exactly that: clearing both the main and sub-routers together, building from scratch.

three removal methods are compared in one table:

After deleting nodes: the status of sub-routers and three follow-up tasks

Deleting them is not just about walking away; after regaining independence, there are three things you need to be aware of.

the first item, it comes out of the factory and requires running through the settings wizard again to use it. After powering on, connect to the default WiFi it sends (usually the name starts with Xiaomi_), enter 192.168.31.1 in the browser, enter the wizard, select the internet method, set the WiFi name and password, and it's exactly the same as with a new machine. For the complete setup process, refer to the latter part of the article on Router Upgrade. The orange indicator light stays on after the first restart, which is normal. It's waiting for you to initialize, not broken. Compare in this article.

the second item, remember to unplug the network cable the wired return route. The unit on the second floor of my house has a backhaul network cable. If you delete the node in the app and the cable is still plugged in, some firmware versions will pull it back into the Mesh, which is basically a wasted deletion. After deleting the node, unplug the cable. Once it restarts and confirms it's independent, decide whether to plug it back in.