How to change DNS on a Xiaomi router? It's normal not to be able to find it in the Mijia app; after filling two panels in the 31.1 backend, you can avoid three pitfalls

last winter, my TV box went crazy—the homepage spun for about forty seconds, and the Qiyi's startup screen had to wait for the patina to appear. But under the same router, your phone is scrolling videos nonstop, and WeChat messages are sent instantly. At first, I thought the box was old and I wanted to replace it, but then I realized it wasn't right—WeChat can send messages, which means Netcom has smooth video and sufficient bandwidth, but the 'open webpage' step is stuck. This is so familiar—it's DNS's fault.

changed the router's DNS from the default carrier to Alibaba's 223.5.5.5, and the TV was ready to play the same day. During this time, I struggled again because I couldn't find DNS settings in the Mi Home app and the changes didn't take effect within the first hour. This article clearly explains the entire process and pitfalls to save trouble for people in similar situations.

first take the issue seriously: these symptoms are the DNS's fault

DNS simply put, it's a public phone directory. When you enter a website, it translates it into an IP address. If you scroll through the phone book slowly or make mistakes, no matter how fast the internet is, it's useless—if the webpage doesn't open or loads slowly, the bulk of the internet is right there. But it only cares about the moment when the door opens; whether the video lag lags or the game latency after opening it has nothing to do with it.

so before changing DNS, first check a pair of symptoms. Situations where DNS should be activated: WeChat QQ messages sent instantly, browser webpage white screen spinning; Some websites can be launched, while others can't be opened no matter how much you refresh; The home screen of TV boxes and smart TVs takes half a day to load; A friend came to my home to connect to WiFi and said a carrier's ad page had popped up. Situations where DNS shouldn't be changed: video quality not upgrading, games disconnecting late at night, speed tests failing to fill the package—these are bandwidth, channel, and light degradation issues. Changing DNS won't fix it, so don't desperately try to fix it.

want to systematically understand what DNS is and how to choose various public DNS providers, I previously wrote a general version (DNS the that the web opens slowly due to incorrect configuration). This article only covers practical operations on Xiaomi routers, so let's look at the two side by side.

31.1 Backend DNS Change: Two Steps to Complete the

enter 192.168.31.1 in the address bar of your computer or mobile browser (entering miwifi.com is also fine, but only if you are under the router's WiFi), enter the management password to enter the backend. If you forgot your password, read my post about finding the backend password , don't rush to reset it.

After

in, click "Frequently Used Settings" → "Internet Settings," scroll down the page, and you'll see the "DNS Configuration" option. By default, it is automatically acquired. If you check 'Custom DNS,' two boxes will appear: DNS1 is 223.5.5.5(Alibaba), DNS2 is 119.29.29.29(Tencent). Save, then click Restart in the top right corner. Wait two minutes and reconnect to WiFi, and you're done. The whole process took less than five minutes.

a side note: many tutorials online say 'WiFi settings→ find custom DNS in WiFi Advanced settings.' I searched for a long time in the new firmware of my AX3000T and found no such option. That's a mix of old firmware or other brands; the new firmware is in 'Internet Settings', not in WiFi settings.

114.114.114.114, I didn't put the old ones in the table. Xiaomi still lists it on the official FAQ recommendation list, but in the past two years, there have been quite a few complaints about hijacking. I've personally encountered some issues with its site parsing, so for stability, I use the combination above.

Mijia app doesn't have this switch, don't flip it

my initial habit was to open the Mi Home app on my phone and tinker, clicking through the toolbox one by one: WiFi settings, browsing reports, anti-internet access...... After checking twice, I still couldn't find any DNS files. It's not that your version is outdated, it's that it really doesn't have it—DNS is a low-level network setting, Xiaomi only puts it in the web backend, while the Mi Home app handles high-frequency actions like remote restart, changing WiFi passwords, and kicking devices. I mentioned this division of labor in my previous in my toolbox review article.

mobile users can just enter 192.168.31.1 directly into their browser. Be careful not to select search engine results; enter them directly from the address bar. Another useful detail: when the router is offline, the Mijia app's remote functions completely lose contact, but the webpage backend still works—the backend is the local address and doesn't rely on the external internet. If one day the broadband fails and you want to check logs in the backend, this trick is the trick to log in. If you can't log into 31.1 and the entry point, that .

you have a Mesh system at home, just switch to the main router and that's enough

my home is AX3000T as the main router, and I hung a Redmi in the bedroom as a mesh. On the day I changed DNS, I made a foolish mistake: I was afraid the sub-router would 'not listen,' so I went to the sub-router's room to change it too. Actually, it's not used at all. In Mesh networking, the router works as if it were the 'hand' of the main router. DHCP sends addresses and DNS configurations all fall to the main router. If you change the main router and the whole house reconnects to WiFi, the DNS is brand new. The wireless relay mode is even more straightforward—it only forwards it, and there's nowhere to change the DNS configuration. the relay mentioned that it even changes the management IP.

instead reminded me: don't change both devices and enter different DNS settings. I've seen a neighbor switch the main router to Alibaba or sub-router modes but accidentally switch back to automatic, roaming between the two devices, and the parsing results change from time to time, showing that "some web pages are good and bad," which can drive people crazy. Remember one thing: a home is only changed in one place, the main route . To figure out who listens to whom in Mesh, check my Mesh in the networking article.

changes didn't take effect? Three pits, one by one

the first time I turned on the TV excitedly after modifying, the homepage still spun around. I once thought DNS wouldn't handle this. Only after recovering did I remember to check the troubleshooting spots. The pitfalls I fell into were basically the following three, sorted by frequency of occurrence.

first pitfall: the device's own cache wasn't flashed. The router's DNS has changed, but the phone and computer still remember the last parsing result, especially the TV box's cache obsession. On Windows, the administrator opens the command prompt and types ipconfig/flushdns; The simplest is the phone: turn on airplane mode for ten seconds and then turn it off, or forget to reconnect via WiFi; Just cut off the power and restart the TV box—don't use the remote to turn it off—that's standby, and the cache is still on. My one works instantly after power off and restart—I spent an hour searching for nothing.

second pitfall, only saving without restarting. After Xiaomi saves DNS in the background, sometimes it may not be immediately sent to connected devices, especially when using PPPoE dial-up, so you have to re-dial the router. The safest way is to save, then tap the top right corner to restart and wait two minutes. Don't mind the hassle—this step can save you 80% of the 'no response after modification.'

third pitfall, IPv6 has taken a side path. If your home has IPv6 (I've written tutorial ), some devices will prioritize IPv6 DNS, and that DNS is the default for your carrier—no matter how nicely you modify your IPv4 DNS, it never actually took that route. Verification method: Open the test-ipv6.com in your mobile browser and check if the DNS resolution column shows if the carrier you have switched to. If you're too lazy to verify, go backend and try turning off the IPv6 switch. The webpage will be clean immediately, and that's confirmed to be it.

who doesn't need to touch at all DNS

to be fair, DNS anxiety is really unnecessary. If your website opens instantly, your TV is crisp, and you haven't seen carrier ads, don't touch it—carrier default DNS hasn't been slow these past few years, and after a round of adjustments, the improvement might only take tens of milliseconds, which is almost invisible to the naked eye. Changing DNS is a medication you only take when you have symptoms, not a health supplement.

Another situation is that even if you change it, it's pointless: some regional operators will respond to DNS requests on the network side, and the 223.5.5.5 you enter will be replaced directly with their own version at the exit. The way to check is to enter Alibaba's DNS and then open ip.cn to check "DNS resolution export" on such sites. If the operator name is still a local operator, then the answer was rushed. Ordinary users basically can't solve this problem—either call the carrier to request it, or use encrypted DNS—but Xiaomi's official firmware doesn't have a DoH switch, so if you want to play this, you have to flash OpenWrt ( the flashing post ). Beginners aren't advised to flash their phones for this purpose.

By the way, AdGuard DNS deserves a separate statement. I ran it for half a month, and the TV startup ads were indeed reduced. The principle is that it directly resolves common ad domains into empty addresses. The downside is that some apps' launch images and event pages can't be displayed, and my wife's shopping app image cracks several times, but in the end, she still switches back to 223.5.5.5. Those who wanted to try it tried it used it as DNS1 and Alibaba as DNS2 for a week, and my family didn't complain and kept it for a week.

the order at the end, basically follow it all at once: first confirm the symptom is DNS; → enter the browser into 192.168.31.1 → Common settings, internet settings, custom DNS → Enter 223.5.5.5 and 119.29.29.29 → Save and restart the router; → Flash the device cache (TV power off, phone airplane mode) → If that still doesn't work, turn off IPv6 comparison. → tried all but no changes That means the carriers are rushing to answer, so stop fussing around. It takes ten minutes before and after, much cheaper than changing the box.