Xiaomi Xiaofang 1080P Wireless IP Camera Review

Found some time to finally sit down and write a review of the Xiaomi Xiaofang WiFi IP camera. The camera itself is a glossy white 50mm plastic cube - lens assembly in front, speaker, status LED and USB ports (full-size and micro-USB) at the back, and microSD slot, air vent and reset button at the bottom. The articulated arm and swivel base adds another 6mm to the height. Weight is 100g.

For the price, I'm very impressed with what it supposedly can do.

• 1080P (1920x1080) full HD resolution video feed via the f2.0 aperture 110-degree lens. If you position two Xiaofangs together, the app supposedly creates a 220-degree panorama.
• The lens assembly also has an IR-cut double filter with 2 infrared LEDs, which provides night vision up to 9 meters. (You can hear a click when the filter cuts in.)
• The Mi Home app for the Xiaofang has a Speak button, which enables the intercom functionality.
• The camera also come with smoke and CO alarm monitor function. Basically, it uses sound recognition to detect that the smoke or CO alarm has triggered, and then sends you a notification.
• The camera can be configured to record video constantly onto the microSD card (64GB max) or only when motion is detected. Taking of timelapse photos also supported. The videos are also synced to Xiaomi's cloud storage (free!), so you can access/view them remotely.
• While watching the realtime video feed, you can take stills or record video.
• Network connection is via WiFi (2.4GHz 802.11 b/g/n). Remote access via WiFi or cellular network.
• The camera requires 5VDC 1A and is powered via the microSD port. Given that USB ports are almost everywhere (heck, you can even use powerbanks), that opens up options where the Xiaofang can be installed. Add that magnetic base into the mix, the options are limitless!

Initial setup is a bit tricky though, if you don't understand Chinese/Mandarin.

1. First off, download the Mi Home app from the Google Playstore. The retail box comes with a QR code, which should give you the link, or just do a search from within the Playstore.
2. Set your location/locale to Mainland China, or the camera will not work. Apparently, it's not supposed to be used outside of China.
3. Log in to your Xiaomi account, or create one if you don't have one yet.
4. Click on the "+" icon to Add Device. Select the Xiaomi Xiaofang from the list. Note that you might see two entries. Choose the one with the shorter title, as the other one is for WiFi Direct mode.
5. Apply power to the camera.
6. Long press the setup button at the bottom, until you hear a voice prompt, which says/means "Waiting for connection".
7. At this point, enter the credentials for the WiFi network that the camera is supposed to connect to using the Mi Home app.
8. Point the camera to the Mi Home, which should now be showing a QR code. Another voice prompt will indicate successful connection.

Note that the camera's default setting is to auto-record. Might want to turn that off.

Been playing with the camera for a couple of days now, and so far so good. Most of the features work as advertised - speak, audio, full screen, look back, timelapse, night vision, and dormancy. There are a few times when I cannot connect to the device, but it's easily fixed with a power reset. Not so convenient when you're in a remote location.

Motion detection is a bit sensitive. The clouds would pass by, changing the sunlight patterns on the blinds, and that's enough to trigger motion detection. Downloading videos also take a while, probably because they're coming from some server in China. Motion-detect videos seems to be limited to 16 seconds.

The camera comes with firmware version 3.0.3.56. The app has been nagging me to upgrade to 3.2.0.30, which I'm holding off, as there are reports that after upgrade:

• IR LEDs do not turn off even during daytime
• Camera not working when used outside China (geoblocked?)
• microSD card not detected

There is an option to lock down access the camera with a PIN password or fingerprint, but not sure how secure that really is. *cough* backdoor *cough*

For those who don't want the video feeds going to China, there is an option to apply some hacks via the microSD card to disable cloud service and stream via RTPS. That said, some of the functionalities become broken. Installation instructions here.

All in all, a neat little WiFi security camera.