Prioritizing Wi-Fi on Xiaomi: A Complete Guide to Network Setup in 2026

Have you ever faced a situation where your Xiaomi smartphone stubbornly clings to a weak Wi-Fi signal instead of switching to a more stable network? Or the Mi Router gives priority to devices that do not currently need high speed? Wi-Fi prioritization is a key feature that allows you to manage which network or device will have an advantage when connecting. In this article, we will examine all the nuances of setting priorities on Xiaomi smartphones and routers, and also explain how to avoid the typical errors that lead to slow Internet.

The manufacturer doesn’t always emphasize this feature in official instructions, but setting the prioritization right can significantly improve the user experience. For example, you can get the phone to automatically connect to 5 GHz instead of a congested 2.4 GHz network, or configure the router to give maximum speed to your work laptop, rather than a smartphone that just downloads updates in the background. Next, we’ll look at all the available methods – from basic settings in the phone menu to advanced features of MIUI firmware and Xiaomi routers.

What is Wi-Fi Prioritization and Why You Need It

Wi-Fi prioritization is a mechanism that determines which network or device will have an advantage in allocating connectivity resources. At the smartphone level, this means choosing between available networks (e.g., the network, Home_5G vs Home_2.4G), a at the router level - the distribution of bandwidth between connected gadgets.

Why would you do that?

• 📶 Connection stability: automatically connect to the network with the best signal, avoiding breaks.
• ⚡ Maximum speed: prioritize devices that need high bandwidth (e.g. streaming) 4K or online gaming).
• 🔋 Saving charge: the smartphone will not constantly scan and reconnect to weak networks, which reduces battery consumption.
• 🎮 Game mode: on Xiaomi routers, you can prioritize for the console or PC to reduce ping.

Without the right setup, you may find yourself stuck on a weak 2.4 GHz network, even though there is a powerful 5 GHz nearby, or when the router evenly divides the speed between all devices, instead of giving the maximum to the one that really needs it.

Prioritizing Wi-Fi on Xiaomi smartphones (MIUI 12–14)

Since MIUI 12, Xiaomi has added tools to manage network priorities, but these are hidden in the depth of settings. Consider two main ways: manual network selection and automatic prioritization.

To manually prioritize the network:

1. Open the Settings. → Wi-Fi.
2. Click on the current network name and select Network Management.
3. Enable Auto Connection for Priority Network (e.g, Home_5G).
4. For other networks, turn off Automatic Connection or set Low Priority (if available).

Automatic Prioritization (not available on all models):

• 🔄 Go to Settings. → Wi-Fi → Additionally. → Network priority.
• 📊 Select Auto Selection or Priority 5 GHz (recommended for modern smartphones).
• ⚠️ On some firmware, this option may be called Intelligent Switching.

Go to Settings. → Wi-Fi|Disable automatic connection for unnecessary networks|Enable priority for 5 GHz (if available)|Reboot your smartphone to apply changes-->

Important: If your smartphone does not support 5 GHz, the prioritization option will not be available. You can check support in the model specifications or through the WiFi Analyzer application.

⚠️ Attention: On devices with MIUI For the global market (e.g. Redmi Note 12 Pro)+ 5G) The prioritization option may not be available due to the limitations of regional firmware, and installation will help. EU-rum ADB-team.

Prioritizing devices on Xiaomi routers (Mi Router, AX3600, AX6000)

Xiaomi routers (e.g. Mi Router 4A Gigabit, AX3600, AX6000) allow you to prioritize connected devices through QoS (Quality of Service) feature, which is especially useful if you have a lot of gadgets competing for bandwidth.

How to set up QoS:

1. Open the Mi WiFi application (or the router’s web interface at 192.168.31.1).
2. Go to the QoS section. → QoS settings.
3. Enable the function and select the mode: 🎮 Game mode is a priority for consoles and PC. 📺 Multimedia mode is a priority for streaming (Netflix, YouTube). 🖥️ Manual mode - independent choice of devices.

Manual mode

1C:3E:84:XX:XX:XX

For advanced users, settings are available via SSH (requires the developer to be enabled in the router firmware). For example, to manually prioritize a device, you can use the command:

iptables -t mangle -A QoS -m mac --mac-source 1C:3E:84:XX:XX:XX -j CLASSIFY --set-class 1:1

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If the speed has not changed after setting up QoS, try restarting the router and check if the antivirus or VPN is blocking traffic on priority devices.

Problems with Wi-Fi Prioritization and Solutions

Even after you set it up properly, you may encounter problems, and here are the most common scenarios and ways to solve them:

• 🔄 The smartphone doesn't switch to 5 GHz: Check if your device supports 5 GHz (e.g. Redmi) 9A works only 2.4 Make sure that the router settings have mode enabled. 802.11a/n/ac (for 5 Update the router's firmware through Settings → Update of the PO.
• ⚡ QoS does not work on the router: Disconnect IPv6 In router settings (sometimes conflicting with QoS), reset the router to factory settings and reset the QoS. Check if the number of connected devices is above the limit (e.g. Mi Router). 4C stable ≤30 devices).
• 📵 Permanent connection breaks: Change the Wi-Fi channel in router settings (e.g., from Auto to Channel 36 for 5 GHz). Disable Smart Switch in smartphone settings if it leads to frequent reconnections.

⚠️ Note: If you are using Xiaomi Mesh system (e.g. Mi Mesh Router) AX3000), Prioritization works differently, because devices automatically connect to the node with the best signal. You can't manually prioritize the node, but you can disable weak nodes in the Mi Home app.

Hidden Prioritization Functions in MIUI (for Advanced)

MIUI has hidden options that are not dokumented in official guides, such as forcibly disabling scanning for weak networks or prioritizing through ADB.

To disable automatic connection to weak networks:

1. Activate Developer Mode (click 7 times on the MIUI version in your phone settings).
2. Turn on USB debugging and connect the phone to the PC.
3. Adb shell settings put global settings wifi_networks_available_notification_on 0 This will disable notifications about weak networks and reduce unnecessary connections.

For compulsory priority 5 GHz (requires root):

su


settings put global wifi_frequency_band 5

Warning: These methods can cause Wi-Fi to be unstable if used incorrectly, and it is recommended to back up settings before experimenting.

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Using ADB and root access to set up Wi-Fi can invalidate warranty and cause crashes. Use these methods only if you are confident in your actions.

Prioritizing Wi-Fi on Xiaomi devices with alternative firmware

If you use custom firmware (like LineageOS, Pixel Experience or Xiaomi.EU), the prioritization mechanism may be different, and in most cases it is more flexible than stock MIUI.

For example, Xiaomi.EU is available:

• 🔧 Advanced Wi-Fi settings: choice between 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz (on supported models).
• 📊 Signal strength graph: Real-time signal strength mapping for each network.
• 🔄 Fast Transition: Fast Transition option (802.11r) for smooth roaming between access points.

To set up:

1. Go to Settings → System → Additional → Developer Settings → Network.
2. Enable Aggressive Wi-Fi roaming (accelerates switching between networks).
3. In Network Priority, select your preferred range.

On LineageOS and others AOSP-Firmware prioritization is configured through the file /data/misc/wifi/WifiConfigStore.xml (For example, to prioritize the network. Home_5G, find a line:

<string name="Home_5G_Priority">1</string>

Change the value to 3 (maximum priority).

How to check if prioritization works

To make sure your prioritization settings are working correctly, follow the following steps:

1. For smartphones: Open Settings → Wi-Fi and see which network your phone is connected to. Use the WiFi SweetSpots app to analyze signal strength. Turn off the priority network manually, the phone must automatically connect to the next priority.

For routers:

• Run a speed test on a high-priority device (e.g., via Speedtest).
• Compare results with a device without priority while loading simultaneously (for example, downloading a file on both gadgets).
• Check the QoS log in the router web interface (192.168.31.1 → Logs).

If prioritization does not work:

• 🔄 Reboot the router and smartphone.
• 📱 On your smartphone, clear the Settings app cache (Settings) → Annexes → Application management → Settings → Clear the cache).
• 🌐 On the router, reset your QoS settings and configure again.

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If after all the manipulations the smartphone persistently connects to a weak network, try to “forget” all networks (Settings → Wi-Fi → Additional → Forget networks) and connect again, starting with the priority one.

FAQ: Frequent questions about prioritizing Wi-Fi on Xiaomi