How do you enable IPv6 on a Xiaomi router? 192.168.31.1 only has one switch, but I've stepped on all three pitfalls for you

last month, I switched my old Mercury at home to IPv6, and remote connection to NAS has become much easier. The detailed process is in the Mercury router enabling IPv6. This time, it was my mom's Xiaomi AX3000T. Their broadband is 300 Mbps from Telecom. When I tried to connect to her surveillance camera, v4 didn't have a public IP, so my first reaction was to turn on IPv6. But the switch was turned on, and after going through three pitfalls, it finally got to work. To get straight to the point: the switch can be turned on in just one minute, and all the pitfalls are after it's opened.

Step one: First, confirm whether broadband is given IPv6 and don't start by touching the router

the mistake I made was reversing the order. After fiddling with the router's switch on and off, I finally found that the IPv6 broadband was blocked halfway by the optical modem. The correct order is to first verify whether V6 is available on the broadband side.

the easiest way: turn off WiFi on your phone to use data, open test-ipv6.com in your browser, and wait about ten seconds for the results. If you get 10 points for data, it means your local carrier's network V6 is working (nowadays, all three providers default to the issue). Then connect to the home WiFi and test again. By comparing the two times, you can tell which layer the problem is. My home scores 10 points for data and 0 points for WiFi, so the problem is focused on the section from the optical modem to the router.

another detail: after getting the V6 address, look at the first four digits: Telecom starts with 240e, China Unicom starts with 2408, and China Mobile 2409. This will be useful for later investigations. As for whether your broadband has a V4 public IP address, that's another matter. In this tutorial on verifying public IPs I wrote about a three-step self-check method. V4 and V6 are two independent paths that do not affect each other.

Where is the

switch: In the commonly used settings of 31.1, it is not

your computer or mobile browser, open 192.168.31.1 (enter miwifi.com as long as you are connected to this router's WiFi), enter the management password, and enter it.

path is: Common Settings → Internet Settings . Scroll to the bottom of the page, where there's an "IPv6" switch. Just open it, and you'll see a prompt to save and restart the network. Wait about a minute.

there are two common points of sticking points here. First, some people's firmware versions are too old, and the internet settings page doesn't even have this switch—my uncle's old AX6 is like this, and the firmware only appears after the upgrade. I'll record the upgrade process in the article Xiaomi router manual firmware upgrade. Before upgrading, remember to copy your broadband account. Second, many people habitually search in the Mijia app. I searched through the toolbox and found that IPv6 switch is not in the app, so this can only be changed in the web backend. I reviewed the things the Mijia App can do in my in the remote management article. Basically, it's daily operations like changing WiFi passwords, kicking devices, checking online status, and even deeper network settings have to be restored to the web interface.

one more reminder: the moment you turn on the save switch, the router will reconnect the network. If your family's WiFi goes offline for about a minute, IoT devices like cameras and vacuum cleaners will all disconnect and crawl back again. The first time I started, I happened to catch my mom watching a live class on TV and got scolded. Pick a time when no one at home uses the internet, and you'll recover in a minute.

Turning on the Switch Is Just the Beginning: Don't Choose the Wrong Four Internet Methods

After turning on the

switch, there's a line below for you to choose from "Internet Access Mode"—this is the first entry point to the pit. Xiaomi gave several options, and I made a comparison table:

focus on NAT6, because it's the most confusing. The first time I turned it on, the router automatically set up NAT6. test-ipv6.com test it was a perfect 10, and I thought it worked. But when I tried to access the home camera using mobile data outside, I couldn't get through. After a long search, I finally understood: in NAT6 mode, your device receives the internal network V6 address set by the router. You can only access the when going out, not the , sharing the same address externally. Speed testing websites give you full marks because they see your direction; But if you want to connect home from outside, you have to go in the inbound direction, and NAT6 completely blocks that road.

want the device to get a genuine public network V6 (the kind that can connect back from outside), the router needs to operate in Native mode. The premise is that the modem is in bridge mode, dialed by a Xiaomi router, or the modem's LAN side V6 function is enabled. The optical modem routing mode that "eats" V6 is another high-frequency pitfall. I wrote detailed judgment methods in the first section of the Mercury article, and Xiaomi follows the same logic, so I won't repeat it here. If you really want to convert the optical modem to bridge, see the article on converting optical modem to bridge . Before making the change, make sure to save a screenshot of the WAN connection table.

How to verify after

opening: Check three places

the first place, still in the 31.1 backend, on the internet settings page, next to the IPv6 switch, the v6 address obtained by the router's WAN port will be displayed, only those starting with 240e count. Nothing at all—that's the broadband-side issue mentioned in the previous section.

second point, open the command line on your computer (Win key + R type cmd), type ipconfig and press Enter, scroll down to find the "IPv6 address." As long as it's not starting with fe80 (which is the local link address, which is useless), but starts with 240e or 2408, it means v6 has really been sent to the device.

third, after connecting your phone to WiFi, open WiFi details. Some systems can directly see the IPv6 address. Or just run again at test-ipv6.com, 10 points, and the address starts with 240e, so the link is considered open.

also answer a frequently asked question: Will enabling IPv6 affect internet speed? No. v6 and v4 are two parallel stacks. Which device runs first depends on system policy. Download speed test should be 300 Mbps or 300 Mbps; I tested the front and rear versions. The type of NAT that gamers care about is basically unaffected; it depends on whether the carrier has sent you public v4, which has nothing to do with the switch. The only possible sensibility is the compatibility issue with older devices mentioned earlier, which is a low-probability event.

passed all three places. Congratulations, the hardest part is over. But there is still one final hurdle before it can be put into practice.

third pitfall: The official firmware cannot find IPv6 port access

After

v6 it connected, I tried to connect the surveillance camera from outside, but found it still couldn't get in. This time, it's not an address issue, but Xiaomi's official firmware firewall defaults to block all incoming connections, and there's no IPv6 port forwarding interface in the background, . The IPv4 port forwarding only handles v4; the graphical interface on the v6 side is blank.

to be fair, this matter should be fair: blocking incoming stations is the default security requirement; not blocking them is dangerous—in the V6 era, every device had a public network address, and once the firewall was open, it was basically exposed. But if you stop them and don't let them through, it's not friendly to those who want to go home remotely. If you want to pass through the official firmware, the main way is to enable SSH and modify the firewall profile, which is just a hassle. I don't recommend it for beginners. My laid-back method: monitor devices that need to actively connect home, use the manufacturer's cloud relay (camera apps prioritize P2P punch-hole drilling), and v6 is only for scenarios where "I actively go out and connect to it," like NAS QuickConnect or frp that you initiate yourself. Three Ways to Remote Access NAS I compared in the about connecting to NAS remotely I said, v6 is just one of them; it may not be suitable for everyone.

there's another software pitfall: some older devices have issues with the V6 protocol stack, and after getting the V6 address, they actually time out all sorts of times. My uncle's family has an old 2017 network printer like this—whenever I turn on V6, it intermittently switches on and off. Don't mess with this—just uncheck V6 on the device side, and don't touch the router.

Taking the Fact: Should Your IPv6 Be Enabled

Finally, here's the complete sequence to avoid detours: test for mobile data - iPv6 to confirm region V6 → 31.1 Enable IPv6 switch and select auto configuration → ipconfig to check if the device has obtained the 240e address → Test from outside to see if it can be connected back → If not, check NAT6 first, then check the firewall. After completing these five steps, your Xiaomi router's IPv6 is truly "usable," rather than just a perfect score on paper.