Tech: xFi Gateway hang don’t quit setup and return

Ok, so against my better judgement I decided to save $5/month and get xFi Complete. You basically use the xfinity cable gateway (a combo cable modem, WiFi access point and switch) because it comes bundled with the $30/month unlimited data.

What a mistake! The box arrived and it plugged it in. First of all it requires the xfinity mobile app so you have to have a phone and run up and down to the basement to work it.

The huge mistake I made was when it asked me for my own WiFi name and ssid I don’t want it to radiate so I hit cancel.

This started a 3 hour nightmare where the xFi gateway couldn’t be reset. And it showed in factory condition but wouldn’t display its local WiFi setup in 10.0.0.1. And it actually passed traffic fine. I could vpn and it would work but not regular internet.

Also the Comcast folks couldn’t see the thing from their side. And I couldn’t login to the local setup WiFi.

I’m pretty sure that exiting the setup basically got the modem firmware into. Strange state and I probably should have done a factory reset (hold the button in the back for 2-4 minutes).

The most frustrating thing though was chat support. Don’t use it. What happens is that after about five minutes they just stop answering. I think probably it has to do with their comp system where long calls are bad so they just stop answering. This happened 5 times.

Also the text based chat doesn’t work at all they never reply.

What did work was the phone call back. Then the guy had to stay on the line.

Also note that their system said I was stuck in activation on their end. The reset didn’t work at all as I said.

Net, net, I ended installing the old modem. Be aware that you should check the orders carefully. They tried to charge $15/month for a modem that is customer owned!

Net, net another terrible day with Comcast. These monopolies are hard to deal with. In some ways I think I’m saved since I’ve no idea what firmware reporting is in that box so it’s nice to have CPE equipment that you own.

Other nice thing is they finally tell you their overage. And at $10 per 10GB it’s easy to run up a massive charge quickly if you do go over so turn those alerts on.