When we hear about the system open source, very often xiaomists (as well as users of other brands) think of Android. But we must be aware that a system of this type is not only that of a smartphone, but also of other products. For example, as announced today by a Xiaomi engineer, even i Xiaomi routers will be open source. But what does it mean specifically? Let's try to figure it out together.
I Xiaomi router will become open source: what could change in the brand's routers in the near future? Here are some hypotheses
Before seeing how i Xiaomi routers will "evolve", we need to understand what open source means. When a product leaves the factory, if it is integrated with chips owned by a particular company or if it integrates proprietary software (see MIUI), they are present "locks" that do not allow developers to go to act on the system itself. Android, among the many systems, is one of those without padlocks. Well, according to what revealed today by a brand engineer, Xiaomi routers will no longer have these locks.
Now, all good, but what changes on board a router? We are used to thinking on smartphones, and therefore on devices that are used for various functions. A router is used by the vast majority of people, just for surf the net via WiFi signal. And so? The advantages of an open source firmware on a router are actually manifold.
The firmware of a serial router is "unreliable", or rather limited from a functional point of view and probably full of dangerous vulnerabilities that can expose the network to dangers. Manufacturers often fail to fix wireless routers from serious security holes, especially if the device is a few years old. An open source firmware unlocks a number of features not found in the stock wireless router firmware, such as the bandwidth monitoring, QoS, VLAN support, advanced wireless configurations, and more. These features increase the versatility of the wireless configuration. Not only that, the open source firmware comes constantly updated by an international user community.
Read also: Xiaomi Mi Router AX9000 presented in China: it flies at a maximum speed of 9000Mbps
One of the best options a user can unlock via open source software on a Xiaomi router is integration of the VPN routerwhich is impossible on most wireless routers. This means that users can secure their entire network with a VPN connection, rather than connecting each device individually. At the moment, the official has not announced when and how many and which Xiaomi routers will be "open". It is expected that they will be i most popular products with a relatively large user base, such as AX3600, AX1800, AX5, AX6.
Interesting, I didn't know the router could be open source too!