Gen 1 POD pairing

I am having problems pairing any gen 1 xfinity PODS.     I am used to 'Extendes' to boost my WIFI signal.  First off I am using the Xkinity app to activate this POD.   I plug in this POD to 120AC and hold my cell phone atleast 6" from the outlet (sometime actually touching)    It does reconise this POD because it changes about 3 screens before it gets to the 'pairing screen'.  It seems to get stuck and it will not pair, I give it atleast 10 minutes before I get the error message.     I realise that these PODs are different from the 'extenders' that I am used to.   I will reboot my cell phone and if this does't help I will remove and then recopy that app.    At first (sence this POD has a cat. 4 port connection on it), I thought that maybe the first POD needed to 'direct connected' next to the Xfinity modum.     But I realised that this is an entirely differt concept.      Does it matter exactly where I place the first POD?  Do you have any other suggestions?            [Edited: "Personal Information"]