iKuai IK-Q3000 WiFi6 Wireless Router - Unboxing, Review, and Teardown. An AX3000 router priced at 149 CNY.
The IK-Q3000 is a multifunctional Wi-Fi 6 wireless router designed for small business offices, chain stores, and similar environments. It supports the 802.11ax protocol while remaining compatible with 802.11a/b/g/n/ac standards. The 5G band supports a 160MHz bandwidth, achieving a maximum wireless speed of up to 2976Mbps, providing high-speed Wi-Fi network access for various usage scenarios. It supports SD-WAN, multiple WAN access, DPI traffic control, internet behavior management, various authentication methods, firewall, VPN applications, AC controller, and cloud management platform control.
The IK-Q3000 supports multiple deployment methods, including gateway deployment, bypass deployment, and AP mode (MESH), allowing for flexible adjustments based on actual scenarios to meet the network construction needs of different customer groups.
IK-Q3000 Review and Teardown Video:https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1LpRKY9EwD/
- iKuai IK-Q6000 WiFi6 Wireless Router Unboxing, Review, and Teardown: https://blog.zeruns.com/archives/835.html
- Home Network Setup - My Home Data Room/Cabinet | Home Network Solutions: https://blog.zeruns.com/archives/859.html
- iKuai IK-X9 Ceiling AP Unboxing, Review, and Teardown - Tri-band WiFi7, BE5000: https://blog.zeruns.com/archives/846.html
Specifications
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Model Number | IK-Q3000 |
| Processor | ARM Dual-Core Processor |
| RAM | 512M |
| Flash | 128M |
| WAN Ports | 3/1 |
| LAN Ports | 1/3 |
| Power Consumption | ≤12W |
| Ports | 4 x 10/100/1000Mbps adaptive Ethernet ports |
| Dimensions | 145mm x 65mm x 166.5mm |
| Wireless Speed | 2976Mbps (2.4GHz: 574Mbps, 5GHz: 2402Mbps) |
| Antennas | 5 x 3dBi built-in, non-removable |
| Wireless Transmit Power | 2.4G: 20dBm, 5G: 20dBm |
| Power Supply | External DC 12V 1A |
| Recommended AP Management Quantity | 32 |
| Recommended User Capacity | 120 |
| Operating Temperature | 0°C~+40°C |
Official product introduction page: https://url.zeruns.com/IK-Q3000
Purchase Links
- JD.com: https://u.jd.com/GD9QF2W
- Taobao: https://s.click.taobao.com/rUFN7Ls
- Pinduoduo: https://p.pinduoduo.com/XEgVefnt
Unboxing
Front of the Packaging Box
Side of the Packaging Box
Back of the Packaging Box
Unboxing
Inside the box, we can see the router itself along with a power adapter.
Removing the router reveals additional items: a quality certification, a user manual, and a warranty card.
The power adapter supports a wide voltage input range (100-240V) and outputs DC 12V/1A. The adapter brand is AMC (YaJingYuan), model AD-0121200100CN-17, with a DC5525 output interface.
Front View of the IK-Q3000 Router
The router has a sleek white body, identical in design to the IK-Q6000, which is black. They likely share the same mold.
Rear Ports
From top to bottom, the ports include a WPS/MESH button, a reset button, three Gigabit LAN ports, one Gigabit WAN port, and a DC power input.
Bottom Label
Performance Testing
Power Consumption Test
With only the WAN port connected to a Gigabit Ethernet cable and no wireless devices connected, the router operates at approximately 3.5W.
When a single smartphone (Mate40Pro) connects to the router and performs a download speed test, power consumption rises to around 7W.
If the same smartphone is placed behind a wall and performs another download test, power consumption increases to 8.5W.
Speed Test
The test device used is a Pura70Pro+, with the speed test server located in the upper-tier local network of the Q3000. The results are measured after NAT processing.
Speed Test at 1 Meter (No Obstacles)
- 5GHz band: Negotiated speed of 2041Mbps, download at 964Mbps, upload at 765Mbps.
- 2.4GHz band: Negotiated speed of 438Mbps, download at 354Mbps, upload at 280Mbps.
Speed Test Behind One Wall
- 5GHz band: Negotiated speed of 980Mbps, download at 934Mbps, upload at 536Mbps.
- 2.4GHz band: Negotiated speed of 137Mbps, download at 200Mbps, upload at 29.5Mbps.
Speed Test Behind Two Walls
- 5GHz band: Negotiated speed of 204Mbps, download at 269Mbps, upload at 56Mbps.
- 2.4GHz band: Negotiated speed of 87Mbps, download at 9.36Mbps, upload at 0.42Mbps.
Speed Test Across One Floor
- 5GHz band: Negotiated speed of 122Mbps, download at 87.9Mbps, upload at 23.4Mbps.
- 2.4GHz band: Negotiated speed of 29Mbps, download at 71.2Mbps, upload at 13.4Mbps.
Thermal Imaging of Heat Generation
Unboxing review and imaging performance demonstration of the UNI-T UTi261M thermal imaging camera: https://blog.zeruns.com/archives/798.html
Thermal Imaging of the IK-Q3000 Router in Idle State
When the router is idle, the highest heat source on the front side of the PCB (with the heatsink removed) is the CPU, reaching about 45℃ (ambient temperature around 22℃).
Thermal Imaging While Running a Download Speed Test on One Phone
When a single phone is connected and running a download speed test, the highest heat source on the front side of the PCB (with the heatsink removed) is the wireless RF chip, reaching about 80℃ (ambient temperature around 23℃).
On the back of the PCB, the highest temperature near the wireless RF chip location is about 70℃ (ambient temperature around 22℃).
The outer shell of the router shows a peak temperature of around 30℃ at the top (ambient temperature around 20℃).
Router Management Interface Screenshots
The router system runs on iKuai Enterprise Edition.
Multiple SSIDs can be configured.
The system also includes internet behavior management functions, such as restricting access to certain applications and viewing internet activity logs for each connected device.
Disassembly
The Q3000 router has two screws under the bottom label. After unscrewing them, the case can be pried open along the gap. However, the case is secured with clips, which are quite tight, making non-destructive disassembly impossible—the clips will inevitably break.
After Opening the Case:
View of the router's PCB back side.
Flipping the PCB over reveals a large aluminum heatsink, with five FPC antennas attached to the plastic casing and connected to the motherboard via coaxial cables.
FPC Antennas
The antennas are labeled UANT® 20U0739AX1, manufactured by Youbi Electronics in Dongguan, China.
Router Motherboard Front Side
Near the Ethernet ports, under the heatsink, is likely the Gigabit switch chip. The heatsink is firmly attached, so I didn't remove it.
After removing the heatsink, the CPU is shielded, while the wireless RF chip is exposed.
A Winbond 25N01KVZE1R chip is present—this is a serial NAND flash memory chip from Winbond, with a capacity of 1Gbit (128MByte × 8-bit), likely used for firmware storage. There is also a BGA solder pad next to it, indicating compatibility with different flash memory package types.
To the right, there are several power-related circuits.
CPU and Wireless RF Chip
After prying off the shield, the CPU underneath is an MT7981BA, a Wi-Fi 6 system-on-chip (SoC) from MediaTek. It features a dual-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor clocked at 1.3GHz, built on a 12nm process. The SoC integrates dual-band MAC and baseband. The 2.4GHz band supports 2x2 MIMO with a maximum speed of 574Mbps, while the 5GHz band supports 2x2 MIMO with a maximum speed of 2402Mbps.
Next to the CPU is a P3P4GF4BLF-GJS chip, a DDR3 SDRAM memory chip from Powerchip Semiconductor (PSMC), with a capacity of 4Gbit (512MByte).
The wireless RF chip (RF) is an MT7976CN. The MT7976's 5G RF supports a 3T3R (three-transmit, three-receive) physical antenna architecture, but the number of spatial streams is determined by the connected baseband chip. For instance, when paired with the MT7981 baseband (which supports only 2x2 MIMO), only two spatial streams are enabled. However, when used with an MT7986 baseband (such as in the IK-Q6000), full 3T3R MIMO capability is unlocked.
Additionally, the MT7976's 3T3R RF employs "preferential selection algorithms" to choose the two best transmit-receive paths, improving signal quality compared to traditional 2T2R solutions. This technology is called Xtra Range. In practical scenarios, when the baseband supports only 2x2, the 3T3R configuration enhances coverage through diversity gain, though the theoretical maximum speed remains at 2x2 levels (e.g., 2402Mbps).
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