Maybe many of your friends or coworkers already have one and it has stung you. There are many quality scooters in the market but those of the Chinese brand may be the most popular and recognizable on the street. If you are interested in becoming the owner of a Xiaomi scooter, there will be things that worry you beyond the price, such as its specifications: battery autonomy, safety or even the way to trick it to run more than allowed by the factory . The Xiaomi are one of the best scooters that we can find in the market and therefore we will review everything you should know about them if you are thinking of buying one soon.
If you do not decide, we explain everything you need to know about a Xiaomi electric scooter. How many different models there are of the brand, what are their differences, what are their advantages, what qualities they have or how they are or what their technical details are. Although not everything is good, we also explain some of the defects that have been found or problems that must also be counted when making a significant outlay.
Available models
Xiaomi has two different electric scooter models, the Mi Electric Scooter , which you will find in black and white, and the Mi Electric Scooter Pro, the most complete version with the best performance. So that you can choose between the two models depending on the price or their characteristics, we will analyze each one so that you have all the information before deciding on one or the other model.
Mi Electric Scooter
This Xiaomi scooter will be found in black and white, which is the only difference in its characteristics. It is not worth more in one color than in another (399.99 euros) or its benefits will vary. It has a long-range battery, made up of 30 high capacity 7800 mAh lithium batteries that provides us with a range of 30 kilometers of autonomy, and is produced in aerospace aluminum, which Xiaomi says offers “ excellent thermal conductivity and resistance to corrosion, which increases its durability’.
It weighs 12.5 kilograms and perhaps its greatest strength is its ease of transport. Its weight is not excessive and is easy to fold, with a simple and convenient three-step system for transport. Its handlebar is non-slip, to provide greater safety and grip, and its control panel is intuitive and simple. It has an on and off button and four LED lights that will indicate the battery level of our Xiaomi Mi Electric Scooter scooter. To turn on the scooter, just press the button , to turn it off we must make a slightly longer press.
Another of its forts is its lighting, since it has ultra-bright 1.1 W headlights that will illuminate us up to six meters for greater protection and visibility of the terrain at night. It also has stop lights, to notify other vehicles that we are performing this maneuver. And precisely the braking is another point in which the Xiaomi scooter stands out, with a double braking system, front and rear, with a brake disc and eABS to make a smoother and more efficient braking in just four meters. Its 8.5-inch wheels are also designed to give the scooter greater stability and safety.
Mi Electric Scooter Pro
The most advanced version of Xiaomi costs 499.99 euros, 100 euros more than its simple version. This price increase is justified with the best specifications of this model, which is an improvement of the Mi Electric Scooter. For starters, the first difference between the two is in the battery. The Mi Electric ScooterPro offers up to 45 kilometers of travel on a single charge thanks to its 18650 lithium battery, its 474 Wh capacity, its great power supply and its efficient acceleration. In addition, the scooter converts kinetic energy into electrical energy and stores it and has a regenerative braking system that will also increase battery life.
It weighs more than its little sister, 14.2 kilograms, but it has the same easy folding system in three steps and the difference in weight will barely be noticed when transporting it. Its screen is a breakthrough compared to the cheaper version, which only had an on and off button and four LED lights to check the battery level. Here, on the handlebar, we have a control panel in which we will see the speed, the driving mode we are using, the battery level, the Bluetooth icon and even the repair notices. A whole dashboard in the style of a car and that we will drive with the same on and off button, with which we will also turn on the light or switch between the three driving modes (ECO, Sport and Standard).
As for the rest of the specifications, they are the same in this Mi Electric Scooter Pro as in the previous Xiaomi scooter that we have already seen. Ultra-bright headlights, double front and rear braking system, red brake lights and 8.5-inch tires.
Both scooters have the mobile application that allows the Scooter to be linked to the mobile via Bluetooth and use the application to turn it on, update the firmware, show mileage, remaining power, speed and activate cruise control.
Prices
Although what we give are the prices that Xiaomi itself marks, you can find scooter offers or find them in some distributors for a few euros less so if you plan to buy it or with temporary offers that make you save some money against its original price.
- My Electric Scooter Black 399.99 euros
- Xiaomi Mi Electric Scooter White 399.99 euros
- My Electric Scooter Pro 499.99 euros
Rent or buy a scooter?
One of the most frequent doubts when deciding to buy a scooter is its high price. To be sure that we want to buy a Scooter we must think of several keys, in case after studying them we decide that renting it is the best for us and that it will be more profitable. The first thing is to be sure that we will use it, that we will give it continued use and it will not be a whim for sporadic use. We will have to analyze how many trips we are going to make a week or a month, the money that it would cost us to hire it through scooter rental companies and if it compensates the expense to have one in property. If we decide to buy it, we will have to add the expense in electricity to the account.
We may also find it inconvenient to have to carry the scooter in tow or that we have no place at work to leave it. You should also look at the city where you live or the town where you are since not all offer the same options to rent scooters and not all companies in charge are equally powerful or complete.
Possible problems
Manufacturing defects
Scooters, like all electronic products, can suffer some manufacturing failures or suffer attacks by hackers. These are some of the inconveniences you may face if you decide to buy a Scooter of the Xiaomi brand, the best selling and popular.
In June 2019, Xiaomi carried out a removal of scooters from a specific game of Mi Electric Scooter (M365) due to a structural failure in its manufacture. The screw used to fold the scooter in two on the vertical bar was discovered that it had just come loose, causing the vertical bar to break, a serious safety problem since it occurred when the scooter was running. Xiaomi proceeded to replace those defective units, more than 500 units sold in Spain. The company reacted quickly but warned that those units that had been manipulated to increase their power or other similar modifications would not be repaired. Even so, all these units were removed and the problem has not been repeated.
Hacker
The possibility of connecting your Mi Electric Scooter or the Mi Electric Scooter Pro with your smartphone through the application has good consequences, such as the possibility of controlling aspects such as speed, battery or cruise control from the mobile, but it also opens the door that has been manipulated by third parties who want to harm us, as is the case with some hackers. It was made public that there was a security breach whereby a hacker could access the scooter by skipping the password protection, which is a risk as it can take actions such as blocking it while we are in transit and causing a dry braking and an accident. Both this and other security flaws are resolved with the successive updates the application receives.
Tricks and tips
Increase power
The Xiaomi Mi Electric Scooter scooter has a 250W motor that allows a maximum speed of 25 km / h and a range of 30 km / h with its 7,800 mAh battery. And that is the official limitation of the scooter. If we buy it and use it without more, that will be its maximum speed. But there are ways to increase that power , under your responsibility and even if it means modifying the scooter and losing any guarantee. It would be about hacking the scooter, in this case the firmware that comes from the factory. You will need an app called M365 DownG and get the custom firmware of your scooter. From there you can modify the factory performance of your scooter, at the risk of creating problems in the battery , autonomy or other functions of your Mi Electric Scooter.
Get free maintenance
Perhaps one of the doubts you have when buying a Xiaomi scooter is the maintenance you need, where to find it or how much it will cost you. On the website of the Chinese company a candy is hidden, a way to get official maintenance for free. Simply enter a form hosted on the Xiaomi website and enter some data: the serial number (we find it on the bottom front of the scooter), the kilometers traveled (they appear in the Xiaomi Home or Mi Home application) and the date shopping. If we are lucky and are grateful for free maintenance, we will receive instructions to make an appointment and achieve a complete review of aspects such as screws, tires, brake system or general operation of the scooter.
