A little telecom networking confusion, any advice?

[SunnyOne]

I very recently moved into a furnished home rental where I'll remain until next year. My landlords are even less tech savvy than I am...hence this question.

WiFi service is included in the rent and is provided by XFinity.

It's not one of those situations where you look for your network on a list of nearby available networks, enter your PIN and you're in.

I have to select Infinity on the list, then enter an account ID and password. I haven't had problems connecting to the WiFI here with my phone or laptop.

There is a TV here, but no service...so I purchased a Roku device. There was nothing I could do to get the Roku to talk to the router - and I tried everything. I finally gave up, got an ethernet cord and hooked the Roku directly to the router using the cord - that worked.

Now I have a "problem" that whenever I step away from the laptop, even for a moment - the network disconnects me and I have to start over again to log in. not a big deal BUT
I'd like to stay connected to the WiFI here in order to avoid using my phone's data plan.
Even worse is that I get my phone hooked to the WiFi here and i get kicked back out the minute I put the phone down.

Any tips on how to stay continuously connected until I turn the devices off?
Apologize in advance if this is an ignorance question, but I truly am stumped. Thanks

 

[Whisper66]

Not clear to me what kicks you out. But wondering if you have it set up to automatically rejoin the network whenever that happens. For example, on my mac the jpg below shows how the setting looks.... If I lose my network connection, it immediately reconnects.

Edit: its also important to select you preferred network in the settings so it looks for that network first.

 

[CaptTom]

I don't have XFinity, but places I've been which do, have the WiFi router set up such that there's a "private" network which the user gives their own name (SSID) to, and a "public" network with an SSID of "XFinity." Anyone with an XFinity account can use that account to log on to "your" router under the XFinity SSID, even if they're outside the home. Your own network, under the SSID you created, is separate and private from that.

I'm not sure how XFinity is with timing out the "public" users, but I assume they'd be fairly aggressive.

You might try calling the service provider (Comcast, or whomever.) They should at least be able to tell you how it's supposed to work.

 

[MichaelB]

This sounds like wifi at some hotels. The systems are set up to host a limited number of concurrent users, so inactive current users are displaced by new users entering the network. There is no user remedy to this issue, it needs to be addressed by the host.

Where is the access point and who is providing this service? Is this network subscribed by the owner of the property, or is it a Comcast’s xfinity hotspot? It sounds like a hotspot, which is not the same as “owner provided internet”.

Edit to add - xfinity hotspots are public wifi signals Comcast provides around the country for its internet customers. They are sourced from xfinity cable modem / routers in use by customers, where Comcast promises no data is charged to the customer and service levels are not affected. Any Comcast customer can log into these networks anywhere in the country. They are not designed to replace continuous long term service. They are intended to provide temporary wifi access for Comcast customers away from home.

 

[zinger1457]

Sounds to me like the router (Xfinity wireless gateway?) in your house hasn't been configured with a private network and all you're seeing is the public Xfinity hotspot that Xfinity wireless gateways broadcast. The public hotspots aren't meant to be used as a permanent connection. Hopefully the homeowner has the manual around to help you login and configure a private network on the gateway or you'll have to contact Xfinity for help.

 

[cathy63]

I agree with the others who said you're probably using a public network.

Look at the router that you connected the Roku to. If it's provided by Comcast/Xfinity, there should be a sticker on it that gives you the default private network name and password. Try connecting to that network instead of the public Xfinity or XfinityWifi network. I'm guessing that since your landlords are not tech savvy, they've never changed the default name or password.

Some other things you can try:
- On your computer, go to xfinity.com. Select My Account and login with the account info you have. On the main screen, click Manage in the Internet section. On the next page, under WiFi Network Details, you'll see the private network name and you can click Show to display the password. Try connecting to that network instead.

- Connect your computer to the router using the Ethernet cable that you're currently using for the Roku. Find the default gateway address using the appropriate procedure for your operating system (here are some instructions https://www.purevpn.com/what-is-my-ip/default-gateway). Navigate to http://[gateway address]. Try logging in with the username "admin" and password "password". If that doesn't work, try "admin" and leave password blank. I can't be more specific without knowing more about the router, but you can poke around in the WiFi settings and hopefully see an SSID and password that you can use.

 

[tulak]

Another option might be to get your own router and plug it into their router with the ethernet cable. You can then connect to your router, which you should be able to configure any way you want.