AX3000T (RD23, firmware 1.0.97 INT) - Flashing plan review request

Installing and Using OpenWrt
1

Hi,

Before flashing my two Xiaomi AX3000T routers (model RD23, international version, firmware 1.0.97), I'd like to share my planned procedure and get confirmation that it's correct before touching any hardware.

My setup:

  • Two Xiaomi AX3000T RD23, firmware 1.0.97 INT
  • Windows 11 PC
  • Target: OpenWrt 25.12.4 (latest stable)

Planned procedure:

  1. Download XMiR-Patcher from GitHub and extract it.
  2. Download xiaomi_mi-router-ax3000t-initramfs-factory.ubi and xiaomi_mi-router-ax3000t-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin from the official OpenWrt downloads page (25.12.4).
  3. Copy initramfs-factory.ubi into the firmware folder of XMiR-Patcher.
  4. Reset the router to factory defaults and set a password via Xiaomi web interface.
  5. Connect the router to the PC via ethernet cable (LAN port), disable PC WiFi.
  6. Open CMD as administrator, navigate to XMiR-Patcher folder and run run.bat.
  7. Select option 4 — create full backup of original firmware.
  8. Select option 2 — install exploit. Enter router password when prompted.
  9. Select option 7 — install firmware. Wait 40-70 seconds.
  10. Open browser at 192.168.1.1 — access LuCI.
  11. Go to System → Backup / Flash Firmware → Flash new firmware, upload sysupgrade.bin.
  12. Wait for reboot. Done.

Known issue I'm aware of:

I found issue #138 on the XMiR-Patcher GitHub repository, which reports that with RD23 firmware 1.0.97 the get_icon exploit fails with "Cannot transfer payload to router! (ret_code = -1)" due to a timeout. The workaround documented there is to edit connect7.py and change timeout = 3 to timeout = 15 at line ~119, and also to run the script with administrator privileges. I'll apply this before starting.

My questions:

  1. Is the procedure above correct and complete for my specific hardware and firmware version?
  2. Is there anything outdated or incorrect in my plan that I should be aware of?
  3. Has the timeout issue in issue #138 been fixed in a recent version of XMiR-Patcher, or is the manual workaround still needed?

Thanks for reading.

2

Are you asking what the correct steps are for using a 3rd-party tool? Check it with the script maintainer

Or just downgrade your fw to v.1.0.76 and follow the instructions in the official wiki

3

Thanks for your reply!

I understand you're saying that XMiR-Patcher is a third-party tool. And I understand you're recommending I follow the official procedures. However, after clicking on the link you provided, the first thing I see is a message with this text: "Besides the manual steps outlined below, there is the XMiR-Patcher tool that can automate the entire process, making the first-time router flashing much simpler with just a few clicks. As always, know what you're doing when executing scripts from the internet!"

So this response is a bit confusing.

4

In case it helps anyone, I went ahead and the flashing worked without any problems. You just need to swap the order of steps 7 and 8. Of course, installing the exploit beforehand to establish an SSH connection is a necessary step to interact with the router.

Thanks to the developers and maintainers of this excellent software and documentation.