One detail you may have noticed in the plan tables is the discrepancy between the download and upload speeds. This is because Xfinity Internet relies almost solely on hybrid fiber-coaxial cable connections to provide service to subscribers' homes.
HFC offers speeds much faster than those typically offered by DSL, satellite and fixed wireless networks. Still, due to the asymmetrical nature of the connection, your download speeds will always be much higher than your upload speeds.
That's the main reason why cable falls short of the performance of fiber-to-the-home networks. Typically, we pay closer attention to download speeds because they affect our ability to watch movies, listen to new music or stream our favorite shows without that nagging buffering. That said, as more of us work from home, our ability to upload files is becoming more and more critical. For example, Zoom recommends at least 2Mbps for single-screen usage of its platform.
If you have two people on separate Zoom calls simultaneously, or if you're on an important work call while your kids are gaming online, you could potentially run into issues very quickly on some of these plans. That plan is only available in select homes equipped for it, so you'll need to request a site survey to ensure that serviceability is even possible. Our Comcast sources also tell us that Xfinity is putting its resources on finding ways to utilize existing cable connections to achieve the symmetrical speeds we commonly associate with fiber rather than chasing after additional fiber deployments.
Xfinity Internet plans are available in 39 states as well as Washington, DC. Here's the full lineup:. If you live in one of these states and are trying to determine whether you're eligible for Xfinity service, you can check your address using the internet serviceability tool at the bottom or top of this page. It's always a good idea to take some time to read the fine print.
If you're planning out your budget, you want to ensure you've allotted the proper amount for your internet service. After all, it's not just about the starting monthly fee.
Also, as we mentioned above, after your promo rate ends, your monthly rate will convert to a much higher regular rate. Xfinity does give you the option to use your own modem and router, but your equipment must be compatible with its service. Even if it is, you won't get the same technical support or device upgrades with the xFi. Xfinity does let you bypass this additional cost by selecting self-install, meaning it'll ship you a Getting Started kit and you can activate the service on your own, using the Xfinity app.
Yes, sadly, Xfinity enforces a monthly data cap, set at 1. Note: Data limits will not apply to customers in the Northeast market until So Xfinity falls behind some of its challengers when it comes to data caps. That said, what does 1. If you want to binge all three seasons of Stranger Things in glorious Ultra HD, you can expect to use up to 7GB per hour of viewing time.
If, however, you do find your household using more than the given 1. Still, it's only really worth it if you'll be incurring at least three overage charges per month, on average. You can stream content from apps like Hulu on Comcast's Xfinity Flex, and it comes with a free subscription to Peacock Premium. We've talked about the not-so-hidden additional fees you might expect to incur when signing up for internet service.
You will also find freebies or enticing extras that come when you sign up for broadband with Xfinity. You can get more specific details in the CNET internet promotions guide. Similar to the tables we listed above, the exact bundle deals vary by region. Still, all customers should have the option of nearly 10 types of bundles , ranging from Double Play options internet plus another service to premium bundle packages that include internet, TV and streaming, phone and home security.
Xfinity by Comcast has steadily risen in customer satisfaction metrics over the last few years. And having faster internet is really important for that.
Over on its support forums, Microsoft offers a handy reference document to help you know how fast your internet speeds should be to accommodate online play. According to the document, you'll want a download speed of 3 Mbps or better and an upload speed of 0. Your ping rate a measure of lag your Internet connection causes in online gaming should also be less than milliseconds.
When it's time to stream games between friends on Twitch , you'll need faster connectivity, according to Microsoft and other game companies. According to Twitch's broadcasting guidelines , you'll need a bit rate of at least 2. It then goes up to 3. If you want to stream at p and 30 fps, you need 3. The good news is that internet speeds are improving. A study from internet speed-test company Ookla found that the average download speed increased by Gigabit speed connections, once limited to specific neighborhoods in only the largest cities, is now more widely available than ever.
See our guide to learn what is gigabit Internet. And there are plenty of places to find that out. There are also similar tools provided by various broadband companies, if you want to use a tool that's specific to your Internet service provider:.
Regularly checking your connection speeds will not only give you a good idea of whether you're getting the services you pay for, but also how well-suited your connection is to uses like streaming in 4K or online gaming.
While most discussion of home internet service centers around fixed broadband and fiber connections, the reliance on wireline connectivity to meet the needs of an entire home is starting to shift dramatically. As 5G wireless technology starts to roll out across the country, there is a push to use the faster speeds of 5G for in-home broadband, as well as mobile connectivity.
The potential speeds promised by 5G are an incredible jump forward, with download speeds ranging from from Mbps to more than 1 Gbps in some tests. That's an enormous improvement over 4G, which ranges from Mbps. That's also fast enough that you could conceivably use a 5G connection to meet all of your home internet needs instead of traditional wired broadband.
Once 5G speeds come to your area, the mobile technology could give your current ISP a run for its money. However, there's still a way to go before 5G in the home becomes a viable option. First, 5G service needs to roll out to more of the country. It's offered in some cities, but rural coverage isn't wide spread, and networks are still being built out and refined. The hardware for in-home use is a little different, with exterior 5G antennas to pull in the signal, and 5G-friendly routers then divvying up the connection throughout the home.
These products are still in the early days, so don't count on ditching your cable just yet. There's also the question of price, as most data plans from carriers are still mobile-oriented, and come with data caps and restrictions that aren't as flexible as current fixed broadband. For now, we recommend waiting on switching your whole home to 5G. Ultimately, deciding on the internet speeds you need isn't as simple as it looks — or as simple as ISPs want you to believe.
Anything around 10 Mbps or faster upload speeds is probably enough to get those YouTube videos uploaded or handle a Zoom call from your boss. But anyone running a livestream or sending out large files on a regular basis might want more. As for actual speed performance, you might be happy as a clam knowing Xfinity was seventh out of 38 ISPs we analyzed in our fastest internet providers list. It also ranked fourth out of all large ISPs. But Verizon Fios Home Internet swept in with some of the fastest internet speeds, likely thanks to its fully fiber network.
Still, you can see that Xfinity scored almost 10 points better than the other ISPs. Weighted score is out of Almost every Xfinity plan has a 1. But if data is a concern for you, Frontier and Spectrum both offer unlimited data on all their plans. If your data usage is blasting past that data cap, you do have a few options for adding data to your Xfinity plan.
But be warned, extra data costs extra money. If you prefer to use your own router instead of the xFi Gateway, you can still get unlimited data. If paying more for extra data makes you turn up your nose hey, we have the same reaction , check out our YouTube guide on how to budget data for various online activities. You might have to sign a 1- or 2-year contract, or you might have the option to pay extra to dodge that contract.
You can also upgrade your xFi Gateway rental to include xFi Complete, which includes unlimited data and an xFi pod if you need extra coverage in your house.
But bringing your own equipment to the table tends to cost less than a full year of renting the xFi. Most Xfinity routers come with a home hotspot enabled, meaning you can easily get Xfinity internet on the go.
You can find out how to hop on the Xfinity network for free or turn your home hotspot off in our Xfinity Wi-Fi sharing guide. Here are a few to watch out for:. It scored 67 out of , up from its score of 66 out of We hope Xfinity customer service continues that upward trend. But you can still chat with them over the phone. When you chat with the bot in the Xfinity app, you can request to talk to someone and either live chat with a representative or have them call you at a later time.
And however you do get a hold of Xfinity, these customer service tips might give you a leg up. If your Xfinity internet is out, here are a few troubleshooting tips to try before you call up tech support. Xfinity is one of our top picks for internet service thanks to its competitive prices, great range of plans to choose from, and excellent download speed performance.
On the downside, we wish Xfinity would just swap to unlimited data already. That means no more free unlimited data—but the ISP did permanently boost its data caps to 1. Additionally, Xfinity is continuing to offer a few resources that might help anyone still undergoing financial hardship due to COVID These resources include:.
Almost always, Xfinity will give you an xFi Gateway modem and router combo if you choose to rent from it. There are various models of the xFi Gateway, and if you need to troubleshoot or get started setting yours up, we recommend checking out this xFi Gateway support page. You can see our specific Xfinity router recommendations in our guide.
Our internet speed test will tell you your download and upload speeds and how much latency you experience. Pretty much. The Blast! Pro Plus plan sometimes shown as Blast! Pro or just Blast! Those speeds should cover you no matter how hectic a battle you get into. Check out our Best Internet for Gaming review. A perk to Xfinity is that it offers multiple services you can bundle together: internet, TV, home security, and mobile.
Bundling is a great way to save money each month, and you may also find bundle-specific Xfinity discounts. Another major benefit Xfinity customers enjoy is thousands of wireless hotspots across the US.
You can access the wireless hotspots through the Xfinity Wi-Fi app , which uses your Xfinity username and password. Xfinity has one of the largest Wi-Fi hotspot networks thanks to its xFi Gateway modems. Most of these modems are automatically set to broadcast a Wi-Fi signal. Yes, you can get Xfinity internet without TV or other services. Families with students may qualify for this plan if someone in your household is enrolled in a program like the National School Lunch Program.
Instead, your data is capped at 1. There are quite a few ways to get free internet , but you may or may not run into data caps along the way.
Accessed June 23, Than false information got told about having internet. Should of just stayed with century link they at least take care of there customers. Comcast wants money for doing nothing. I wish att was here. I have had Comcast for 5 years now, every year when my 12months is up and my bill for just internet skyrockets I dread calling.
This year was the worst so far. Every year I down grade and down grade our service and I still end up paying more. If you have another option go with a different company.
I have been a customer on and off for a number of years. Most recently, I have been with Comcast the past 15 months. On the 22nd of May, I requested a cancel of service because I was moving. The representative that I dealt with was helpful and convinced me to stay with Comcast after initially requesting to cancel my service. At the conclusion of the phone call, he confirmed with me that my appointment to move my service was for the upcoming Saturday May 27th and that a technician would be at my new residence between the hours of pm.
The 27th arrived and 1 oclock finally approach. I was still in the process of moving, but made it a point to be at the new residence at 1pm to let the tech in to do their job. I contacted Comcast and was hung up on twice person failed to call back before finally speaking to someone. She said I would have to wait for a phone call from a technician 15 minutes before arrival. She asked me what time it was where I was located and I told her that it was which is 40 mins past the time the suggested they would be here.
She then switched her story after reviewing her notes and proceeeded to tell me that I had set my appointment for the 30th not the 27th between the hours of 10ampm. After explaining to her how there was no possible way that I could set an appointment out that far out on a day that nobody would be at the house, she proceeded to tell me that whatever was in the system was in fact correct information and in a professional way, insinuated that I was lying.
Two hours later, still no phone call. I decide to call back again and ask the rep if I can speak to a supervisor immediately.
The rep informed me that a supervisor was not available and that I would have to wait for a phone call later on the day. At this point, it was pm and I explained to him detail for detail my experience that day with customer service and customer support. I simply asked to speak to someone who could give me a better explanation of my situation.
The gentlemen then told me that he reviewed his notes and it shows that a supervisor in fact called me hours ago at a number on my file but the number was out of service. I asked the gentleman to read that number back to me and he repeated the number to my cellphone that I was calling him from. She was absolutely no help whatsoever and stated that the department that I actually needed was closed.
She said I would have to wait until Monday dept closed on Sunday to speak to someone to assist me with my matter. No apologies, no help, no direction no nothing. Overall, this was one of the poorest customer service experience I have ever dealt with. I was inconvenienced by wasting 4 hours of my day waiting for a technician that never came, another 2 hours dealing with a rep that told me I was a liar and dealt with a supervisor who had a horrible attitude and showed no sympathy for me at all.
The situation in its entirety still makes no sense. So now, I have no cable service in my home for 4 days on a holiday weekend where I have family flying into town. The options presented to me were 1 buy a new router, 2 come down to Comcast to rent on of theirs or 3 schedule a service call which they would charge me for if it was my equipment.
Humm… you say, well I called the Router company who troubleshot the router, determined it was online and that Comcast likely knocked if off line with recent system updates. It seems the Router folks had many similar calls a few months back. When I called Comcast back, they insisted the router was dead, but they reactivated it at my insistence and we were back on line.
I wonder how many customers threw out perfectly good routers and are now renting Comcast routers? I have had service for a year and have had no problems with connections even during snow, hail, etc etc. I still had connection but was unable to successfully get someone on the phone to make a simple service appointment. I gave up until today when a salesperson called me because my plan is going to expire soon, and felt bad because I was quite rude in saying — hey you guys need to fix my phone line — and I hung up on him.
I can understand long wait times in a service area that is relatively remote, but having trouble getting people on the phone for a simple appointment and paying more than reasonable amounts for service is really inexcusable. Call Dish back. X1 sucks. The DVR is just a communications box. The DVR used to be available even if cable was down.
I had that problem when they first went to 25 Mb. And 1 Gb is available now, here, at my house. But nobody needs that much speed. Comcast is the worst, I hope there is other service that can replace them. All Comcast service is to do best is to lie to their customers. Nothing but games. What got me to stay with them the entire time is that whenever I found out about the rate increase or added fees I would call and then they would generally make it right.
What finally made me decide to buy out of my contract is when my internet speeds drastically slowed down. Being someone who works from their computer this is unacceptable, but I was willing to try and work with them on it. After a month of troubleshooting over the phone the only options I had left was to either pay for their technician to come out and fix a problem that I was not responsible for or I could buy out of the contract. Needless to say, I am no longer a Xfinity customer, nor will I ever be in the future.
Will never use them again. We started with a specialty package, and ended up needing a new box and a spanish speaing package. We will be switching soon. Worst company in the history of companies. You know who else does that? Electric companies, gas companies, and water companies. If Comcast wants to charge like a utility they need to be regulated like one as well. Guess what that includes. Comcast is absolutely terrible. There internet service runs at a snails pace and is probably powered by mice on wheels since it kicks out and freezes about every 20 minutes.
Aside from having a corner on the market, Xfinity and Comcast are pretty terrible as a service standing alone. Everything looks pretty good when you sign up. BUT, when you want to cancel or change downgrade your plan, the headache begins. First, I tried to call customer service to downgrade my service, I was transferred three times to reach the right person, even I made the correct choice and specifically told the agent that I wanted to downgrade.
Then when I tried to do it myself online, more problems. Online chatting only got reply with non sense and irrelevant. I believe that Comcast very poor customer service will lead to there continual loss of customers. Comcast does not understand customer service at all. I cancelled service for internet and they did not do as I asked and then billed me for another month. I told them that my rental is continuing the service with them and that they are not out anything. They were incapable of seeing this simple truth this was a senior manager.
Therefore, I am cancelling my account with Comcast from now on. I am already signed up with a new carrier. Goodbye Comcast!!!!!!! Hopefully forever. At least from Xfinity. Do not buy into it! Technician installed it and we tested internet speed together using 3 of our laptops — windows and 2 Macs and never got to 1GB while technician was still in the house. We tried service for 3 months, tested speed different time of the day. The internet service was extremely patchy and drop off randomly.
I had to call back to downgrade the service. So I asked the Rep how do they feel about ripping off customers. I do not know anyone who is using hard wires at their home office. However I am not sure they actually notify customers about it and not sure if they adjust billing automatically. When i asked customer support to please send technician to fix the issue — they told me to contact support for the other device e. Ring even the 9V connection was disconnected by their technician.
Good luck! Xfinity absolutely DOES deliver the speeds that are advertised. Every speed tier Comcast offers actually tests higher than advertised, when installed correctly. Pagas un internet d alta velocidad y puedes hacer la prueba de que tan rapido te esta funcionando y es una mentira todo, llamas al servicio al cliente y solo saben decirte que lo sienten por el inconveniente y te resuelven por unos dias el problemita, y en mi caso el modem es propio porque ya una vez rente uno y era lo mismo, ademas d pagar la tarifa mensual por un servicio q no recibes como lo tienes en el contrato, te dicen cdo el modem es tuyo q es problemas del fabricante.
Seran cara dura y falta de respeto……. Horrible service! Never works! Always freezing. Have to call every other day. Have to reset modem twice a day. Talking to customer service is dreadful. Why KOA even offers this? If you pay for this stuff your throwing away money.
Time , and probably damaging your pc circuits waiting for this BS.
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