Product Review Summary
The Xfinity's xFi Gateway has a one-stop shop for control of your home network and even parental controls giving you an easy way to see what's going on in your home network and easily change it.
Be aware that using the Xfinity Home Hotspot may allow other people to see info you send over this network if not eventually secured with a profile and be cautious of fake 'xfinitywifi' named networks.
"The Comcast family of companies respects your privacy." is stated within Comcast Privacy Policy so they will only be using the information to protect and help users with their products— no personally-identifiable selling of data, no advertising, and the company isn’t collecting information on your internet habits.
Product Review
Xfinity Gateways are all-in-one devices that deliver Internet and Voice connectivity, network control and speed for the ultimate connected experience. General features of the latest Xfinity Gateways include:
- Secure wireless home network
- Protected Browsing to help safeguard you from malware and phishing
- Secondary Xfinity Hotspot network (Home Hotspot)
- Exclusive WiFi management tools and Parental Controls which includes an - app for management from your mobile device
- Internet connectivity via Ethernet connection (two or four portals)
- Connection for one-two phone lines
- Regular automatic updates to improve speed, coverage, control and security
Xfinity xFi Gateways combine the technology of an Internet/Voice modem and WiFi router neatly in one piece of equipment. Additionally, Gateways provide access to exclusive features and simple tools with our free Xfinity xFi app, and enhanced products like Advanced Security and xFi Pods. Xfinity xFi Gateways come in 2 sizes:
o Xfinity xFi Gateway (XB3) with speeds up to 400 Mbps
o Xfinity xFi Advanced Gateway (XB6) with speeds up to 1 Gbps
Note that you can only rent these gateways and only one active xFi Gateway per account.
FEATURES
The product also includes other services and add-on products including:
o Extend whole-home coverage with xFi Pods
o Artificial-intelligence-powered service that monitors, blocks and informs o Customers of online threats to connected devices
o Protection for those devices when connected to their home network
o Includes internet-connected smart gadgets (thermostat, cameras).
Home Hotspot:
The Xfinity WiFi hotspots give your guests WiFi access via the xfinitywifi network without having to share your personal password. The automatic hotspot is setup under the name 'xfinitywifi' that you can provide your guests to use but doesn't touch your home network.
The 'xfinitywifi' Home Hotspot uses an open network so someone could potentially see what you send over this network. You can setup a secure profile but be extra cautious because anyone could setup a fake 'xfinitywifi' network and have you 'sign-in'. You can disable it when not in use. Instructions can be found here - https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/disable-xfinity-wifi-home-hotspot. But the good news is even if you disable your Home Hotspot, you’ll have access to millions of Xfinity WiFi hotspots while away from home which saves on cellular data usage and mobile billing costs.
From a privacy perspective, the Home Hotspot does not list subscribers' addresses on the hotspot location map or in the Xfinity WiFi Hotspots app although in the future it may use general indicators of Hotspot availability around a neighborhood, but only in a manner that assures the privacy of our customers.
Simple Digital Dashboard:
Let’s you set up your home network, find your password, see what devices are connected, set parental controls and even pause WiFi during dinner or bedtime, monitor the network, see who is most active and set time limits for your devices from xFi (see image below). Note that it’s best to setup additional parental controls on every device the child uses for seamless protection and control.
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