How To Install Xfinity Xfi

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If you're a Comcast Xfinity internet customer with poor WiFi in parts of your home, Comcast'due south mesh WiFi xFi Pods, which are designed to piece of work out the box with Xfinity routers, would seem to exist the perfect solution. We were not impressed by the outset-generation xFi Pods, which had poor throughput. The new-and-improved xFi Pods Gen 2, however, which measured five times faster than the originals in our tests, are a great option for about Xfinity customers.

What's the departure betwixt Gen 1 xFi Pods and Gen 2 xFi Pods?

The styling's the same – still a six-sided puck that plugs into an AC outlet every bit unobtrusively equally a dark-light or air freshener. However, the Gen 2 xFi Pods are bigger than the commencement generation xFi Pods (Gen 2 on the left and Gen 1 on the right) and spot air vents on the sides and rear to dissipate heat.

Comcast has significantly upgraded the WiFi inside, more than doubling the throughput of the original Pods with an upgraded tri-ring AC3000 radio. The maximum throughput is now 500 Mbps instead of 200 Mbps, and in improver to a 2.4Ghz band and 5Ghz band, there'south a 3rd (5 GHz channel) radio devoted to back-channel communications and service optimization. The new Pods also pack a pair of ethernet ports (instead of just one) for ii hard-wired devices, like streaming boxes and smart home bridges.

The cost has increased, with one Gen 2 Pod costing $119 and 2 arranged for $199 on Xfinity. Original Pods were priced at three for $119, 6 for $199!

Setting upward Gen 2 xFi Pods

Exclusively designed for Xfinity internet and equipment customers, xFi Pods only work with an Xfinity Gateway serving as the master WiFi router. Like the first-generation Pods, the Gen two Pods are easy to install. Setup is performed with the same Xfinity xFi app you'd use on a smartphone or tablet to monitor and control other Gateway-connected devices (from computers to game systems to lights) and supervise elements in an Xfinity security organization. Once plugged in, an xFi Pod is automatically recognized and then awakened by property your smartphone six inches away.

Notation that the Gateway must be in the (default) non-bridge style.

Our Gen 2 xFi Pods speed tests

To put the Gen 2 Pods to the test, I returned to the scene of our earlier Techlicious Gen one xFi Pod examination to witness an equipment upgrade.  Namely, the 4,000 square foot suburban home base of operations for my friends Meg and Gary Jones, their two young adult daughters, and Gary's popular foodie website – The Reluctant Gourmet.

The Joneses take a centrally located XB6 Gateway stationed in their kitchen and Blast-class service that puts out a acme WiFi indicate in the same room at 357 Mbps. (The Speedtest by Ookla tracking was washed on Gary'south iPhone 11 Pro Max and my new iPhone 12 Pro four days after these self-maximizing new devices had settled in and learned the territory.)

With a Gen 1 xFi Pod plugged into ability 25 anxiety from the Gateway at the bottom of a staircase, the WiFi download speed clocked in Gary's office (one flight and some other 25 feet up) measured 57 Mbps. Later on subbing in a new Gen two xFi Pod, the part download speed leaped to 282 Mbps – literally 5 times faster!

Every bit staggering before-and-afters were clocked with our 2nd Gen ii xFi Pod placement – a pretty straight 25-human foot shot in the other management from the Gateway to a location but outside Million's function. In our initial tests, Meg was getting 65 Mbps inside her office. But subsequently installing the Gen 2 xFi Pod, Speedtest reported 350 Mbps in Meg's office – virtually the same speed every bit direct from the Gateway.

Clearly, your results may differ. Xfinity nevertheless plants a warning in the product page FAQs that "Pods help extend the range of WiFi coverage in your home to difficult-to-reach areas or areas with poor WiFi signals. They are non intended to provide the maximum speed of your Net speed tier throughout the home." Still, in our case study with Gen 2 xFi Pods deployed,  the indicate shrinkage was a mere 21 pct at worst. That's ameliorate than anyone could have dared to ask for and is unlikely to exist bettered past any other third-party mesh network gear.

xFi Gen 2 Pods aren't the best WiFi extender for these Xfinity customers

There are a few cases when the Gen two xFi Pods aren't the best selection. First, if you lot are using your own router for Xfinity service and don't want to pay the monthly fee for an Xfinity Gateway, yous tin can't apply the Gen 2 xFi Pods.

When you lot install the Xfinity Gen ii xFi Pods, 1 network is created with two bands, instead of two networks with carve up network IDs (SSIDs) and passwords. The Xfinity Gateway and Pods automatically steer traffic to one of the ii bands, two.4Ghz or 5Ghz. So the second group that shouldn't employ Gen 2 xFi Pods are those that have quondam WiFi devices that don't back up 5Ghz. Without manual control, y'all can't tell your devices to use the same ring and can tin go into situations where devices can't "come across" each other considering they are operating on unlike bands.

Third, some people volition want to choose which devices use each band to allocate bandwidth. For example, you might desire a gaming system or your streaming services to exist set on one band to ensure maximum throughput while other devices utilize the other band.

The lesser line

If y'all want plug-and-play simplicity to extend the reach of your Xfinity WiFi service with maximum throughput, the new Gen 2 xFi Pods are the best choice for most people. Merely those who don't want to pay for an Xfinity Gateway or need to manually control which band their devices apply should consider choosing some other mesh WiFi system.

The Gen 2 xFi Pods are available for $119 for a 1-pack and $199 for a two-pack on Xfinity. Note that currently Gen 2 xFi Pods are on backorder for a few weeks. So if you see xFi Pods on auction, make certain you're getting the Gen 2 Pods. The Gen one Pods are yet available from retailers.

[Image credit: Comcast, Jonathan Takiff/Techlicious]

Source: https://www.techlicious.com/review/review-of-gen-2-xfinity-xfi-pods/

Posted by: hugheypastachis.blogspot.com

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