Comcast is making it a whole lot easier to manage a home Wi-Fi network, introducing the new xFi platform gunning for top Wi-Fi routers.
In recent times, various companies such Eero, Google and others have made efforts to facilitate the setup and maintenance of a home network. Comcast now joins the party as well, announcing its new xFi cloud-based gateway for easy home network management.
Smart Wi-Fi For The Smart Home
Comcast's chief product officer Chris Satchell highlights that homes have become increasingly smarter, but Wi-Fi has been lagging behind. The new xFi aims to keep up with the smart home and offer an alternative to existing routers, launching today for 10 million Comcast customers.
"Your Wi-Fi should be as smart as you are. That's why we created Xfinity xFi," says Satchell.
"Available starting today, xFi reimagines your home Wi-Fi experience and gives you the coverage, control and visibility you need for your digital life."
The Comcast Xfinity xFi management system is cloud-based and leverages hardware power from the xFi Wi-Fi Gateway and the xFi Advanced Gateway, along with software apps for Android, iOS, the web and even the TV thanks to X1 with Voice control.
Using the mobile app or the website, users can easily control various aspects of their home wireless network with little to no hassle. The xFi dashboard, for instance, allows users to see their network name and password at a glance, see a list of all devices connected to the network, set up user profiles, or interrupt the connection for unrecognized devices.
Users can also see just how much data each device has sucked up in a month, which should come in handy particularly since Comcast has expanded the 1 TB data cap rollout.
Comcast xFi Setup
The Comcast xFi is designed to deliver a quality wireless experience with a setup so easy that anyone could do it. As opposed to other solutions that require at least some base tech knowledge to set up, "getting started with xFi is as easy as downloading an app," further touts Satchell.
The xFi setup process basically comes down to installing the mobile app, scanning a QR code and following the instruction prompts, so anyone could do it. Moreover, rather than issuing a random series of letters and numbers one can't remember, xFi asks users to assign a name and password themselves so that it's easy to remember the network credentials.
This simplified setup process should eliminate those long talks with support staff, keeping tabs on which lights are on or off, which are blinking, what color and so on. We already live in a mobile-driven world, and Satchell points out that using a smartphone makes the whole process easier and more streamlined.
Comcast xFi Pods Coming Soon
Comcast also has more gadgets in the works, planning to launch xFi Pods later this year for larger homes where the Wi-Fi signal may not reach every room. The xFi Pods will serve as a mesh network to extend the existing one, allowing users to rout network traffic simply by plugging in a Pod in the desired location.
The company has no specific launch date for the xFi Pods at this point, but will offer more information closer to launch. Until then, check out the video below to get a better idea of the new Xfinity xFi.
