XB6/7/8 -How to adjust wifi channel

cypherstream

We support many users work from home and one of the issues we run across is xfinity users with the XB6 /XB7/ XB8 gateway and wifi. Many times the gateway chooses a very crowded interference prone wifi channel and the user has issues with VPN stability. Sometimes we have to fix their adapter to 2.4 GHz and sacrifice speed for stability. We can provide a very long ethernet cable to the user to wire in, but in some cases the gateway is in a different room or another floor where running a cable is not straightforward.

There seems to be NO WAY to change the wifi channel on these devices. We’ll run the free Windows store app “Wifi Analyzer” and clearly see the 5 Ghz channel is completely saturated and stomped on from various neighbors.
Came across this article:
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/change-wifi-mode-admin-tool-xfinity-xfi

Which states

xFi Advanced Gateways (XB6 or newer)
Most of these gateways have been upgraded with software that manages advanced WiFi settings automatically to help optimize your home network and provide the best performance possible.
Advanced WiFi settings for gateways with this software enhancement are not visible and cannot be managed from the Admin Tool or Xfinity app.

So if it manages the wifi settings automatically, why doesn’t it use a spectral radio to determine the least crowded frequency to set the channel? Even my home unifi gear does that, including the new Unifi XGS 10g Wifi7 ap with its spectral radio. Our Cisco Clean Air AP’s at work do this as well, constantly scanning and optimizing channel placement based on interference patterns.

Anyone have any ideas on a workaround for xfinity gateways?

swilliams

Before I threw in the towel and got my own Wifi router, I was never able to change a WiFi channel on my XB8. Maybe I missed where but I could never find it.

Dumaine

I remember going to my sister’s house for an issue and had to go thru the app for certain settings

Kitsap

If you choose to work with the Xfinity mobile application. Make sure the application is running on the customer’s phone with the mobile number that is registered to the customer’s account. Also the phone needs to be connected to Wi-Fi being broadcast by the customer’s gateway. Other combinations have a tendency to generate a number of demons and dragons that are difficult to slay.

cypherstream

We can set it in the 10.0.0.1 web ui to manual, change the channel but then in a few minutes it changes back to channel 157. Running a wifi scan it seems ALL the neighbors Comcast AP’s are using channel 157. Channel 36 is clean so thats what we wanted to do in order to help this person. We’ll try that route, but from google searching it seems that setting the channel was removed from the XB6 and later, and this person has the XB6. They do have OFDMA channel and ok signals, and 2.4 GHz is ok, but the 5 GHz needed for the better speeds just isn’t stable on such a crowded band.

Dumaine

That would suck to have an entire neighborhood all on the same channel.

HardlyWorthit

Dumaine That would suck to have an entire neighborhood all on the same channel.

Welcome to Comcast. I reside in an over 100 unit MDU that is over 80% served by Xfinity.
There are only three residents who do not use an Xfinity gateway. Happy to be one of them.

cypherstream

Yeah it sucks and they pay $15 a month for it. This person is NOT tech savvy, so usually we would recommend the ISP’s gear for simplicity. Grabbing the very shortlist of modems and coming up with a router and convincing them to purchase it when they don’t know much about this stuff isn’t a clean way to resolve.

I wish the gateway firmware would just figure out a channel. I setup a UniFi WiFi 7 XGS today on a 10gig ethernet port and with its spatial radio it was able to scan and set an appropriate channel in 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz bands. My iPhone 16 was able to iperf about 1500/1500 WiFi 7 2×2 using all 3 bands (MLO). Wish Comcast could do that.

jweaver

Bad firmware design and dumb product teams thinking they know better and ordering engineering to lock it. No way any competent engineer is on board with this.

Once Mesh Mode is enabled, it’s fully locked up. Even if you’re not using it as mesh. They won’t budge on disabling it either.

lesmikesell

swilliams Before I threw in the towel and got my own Wifi router, I was never able to change a WiFi channel on my XB8. Maybe I missed where but I could never find it.

It is in the app under advanced settings. If you set a channel instead of auto, I think you also have to set the bandwidth so you need to consider adjacent channel usage.

jweaver

lesmikesell This has been disabled/removed for most

lesmikesell

jweaver You mean advanced settings are removed or channel setting is removed from advanced settings? In my app I get there under ‘view wifi equipment’, not ‘wifi details’.

jweaver

lesmikesell channel settings are removed/disabled for most.

Test-User

The only way of which I know, is by using the admin portal at 10.0.0.1, while connected to your home network. Last I checked, the capability was still there. However, if you have an xFi Pod connected, you are unable to make any changes, including the WiFi channels.

SpottedCat

HardlyWorthit Damn, that has got to be torture Wi-Fi wise, even if you run your own equipment.

In your situation I’d probably make sure every single thing I can put on wired is on wired. It’d likely be just my phone and laptop on WiFi, and the laptop only when I’m away from my desk!

HardlyWorthit

SpottedCat

Since Xfinity has their subs all in contention with each other, not much of a problem for me using self administered equipment. I survey wireless with WiFi Explorer Lite and configure to not be in contention with theirs.

lesmikesell

jweaver Bad firmware design and dumb product teams thinking they know better and ordering engineering to lock it. No way any competent engineer is on board with this.

There is an onboard spectrum analyzer. It would not be a bad design to use it to pick the channel with the least contention. I don’t have enough 5Ghz reaching my house to tell if it is doing that or not.

jweaver

Test-User That is locked, even for people who do not have xFi Pods.

Test-User

jweaver Ahhh, that figures. It’s been a while since I’d tested it, but I think I recall having the ability previously, albeit some time ago. Thank you for checking on it.

lesmikesell

jweaver Test-User That is locked, even for people who do not have xFi Pods.

I guess I’m special then. Mine works in the app.