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user_5b161f
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Friday, November 18th, 2022

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802.11b

I have having trouble getting Xfinity to enable 802.11b on the XB6 cable modem. The admin console at 10.0.0.1 has the option disabled.

The XB6 does support the 802.11b protocol, but in the interest of speed Xfinity has chosen to disable it.

The firmware is controlled by Xfinity.

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3 years ago

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XfinityBenjaminM

Official Employee

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2.4K Messages

3 years ago

@user_5b161f Thank you for reaching out to us here on our Community Forums page. We certainly would like to point you to this link (https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/intro-wifi-home-network), here is where you'll find more information on the 802.11 protocol that we do support. You may need to change out your hardware if you are looking to be able to support 802.11b specifically.

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user_5b161f

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@XfinityBenjaminM​ The XB6 modem is capable of 802.11b, but that setting has been grayed out in the 10.0.0.1 admin options. The protocols are controlled at your end.

Why can this setting not be changed?

3 years ago

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XfinityBenjaminM

Official Employee

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2.4K Messages

If it is greyed out, that means it is not available. The XB6 and XB7 do not support it, we are sorry we do not have better news for you but it cannot be toggled to an active setting.

I am an Official Xfinity Employee.
Official Employees are from multiple teams within Xfinity: CARE, Product, Leadership.
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Was your question answered? Please, mark a reply as the Accepted Answer.tick

3 years ago

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XfinityBenjaminM

Official Employee

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2.4K Messages

Our firmware does not support the ability to use 802.11b. We apologize that we do not offer it as an option, it is possible that the number of devices that rely on 802.11b over the years has just been decreasing over time making it less of a desired feature. You may want to explore other hardware options to see if there is a modem/router combination you can invest in that would still be able to accommodate this need. 

I am an Official Xfinity Employee.
Official Employees are from multiple teams within Xfinity: CARE, Product, Leadership.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.
Was your question answered? Please, mark a reply as the Accepted Answer.tick

3 years ago

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XfinityBenjaminM

Official Employee

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2.4K Messages

3 years ago

We certainly appreciate the added information. Unfortunately, our XB6 modem and the model after that (XB7) do not support 802.11b with either modem. The main reason for this is that our modems are designed to toggle the strongest available connection in the home and they do this seamlessly. As we mentioned before, if you are looking to better curate what devices are connected to what frequency, you may want to try using your own hardware to see if that is a better fit for what you need.

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user_5b161f

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@XfinityBenjaminM​ Why do the specifications for the XB6 show that it supports 802.11b?

3 years ago

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NoNoBadPuppy

Problem Solver

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727 Messages

3 years ago

Many consumer devices no longer support 802.11b. as it is an 'ancient' technology and is very much unsecure.  I personally have removed all 802.11 devices long ago, for the reason I stated; it is highly unsecure, easily broken, and in most cases has not been supported or updated in a very long time.  

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Jlavaseur

Problem Solver

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948 Messages

3 years ago

What are you trying to connect to 802.11b? A older computer by any chance? 

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user_5b161f

Visitor

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@Jlavaseur​ Just Sonoff LED strip lights. Just part of a smart home project.

3 years ago

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Jlavaseur

Problem Solver

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948 Messages

3 years ago

Well the Xb6 is backwards compatible as you indicated, when I had my Xb6 my admin panel wasn’t grayed out, 802.11b was enabled by default if I remember correctly, some older devices can’t navigate the bands if the 2.4 and 5 are combined, on older WiFi cards I set the band selection to my preferred band, b, g etc instead of ‘auto’, it generally worked for me, you might want to separate the 2 bands if they are combined, just a thought… 

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user_5b161f

Visitor

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@Jlavaseur​ The are separated. The option is just grayed out. Xfinity flashes the firmware remotely. I even tried an SSH connection, but couldn't get in.

I just ordered some other lights

It really isn't worth the aggravation.

I still wish Xfinity didn't decide for us. For speed I just use the 5Hz network. I don't care if the 2.4GHz one gets slowed down.

So it goes.

Thanks for your input.

3 years ago

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