How can I give unique names to the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands on my new Xfinity modem/router?

Today I exchanged our old router for the new model at the Comcast store. Back home, I have gone through the setup steps and have it up and running. In my devices' WiFi settings I now only see the one network name, which is fine for most devices (computers, mobile devices, etc.). However, some devices will only connect to a 2.4GHz network. So to get those going I need to be able to have my iPhone selectively connect in its Settings to either the 5 or the 2.4 bands (like my previous modem allowed).

On my computer, I have logged into the Gateway as "admin" and there I do see the two bands. However the message indicates that I cannot change the Network Name there - I need to download the "Xfinity xFI app." See screeenshot.

Already things are going sideways - there is no "Xfinity xFI app" - the closest I can find is the Xfinity app in the IOS app store. Is that the one I need?

Assuming that's the app I need (??) I have it up an running on my iPhone. Now where in the app do I edit the name of the 2.4 band to make it unique?

Responses

EG

Expert

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106K Messages

30 days ago

Not sure that this still works. YMMV;

https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/view-change-wifi-password

Scroll down to Xfinity app. Good luck !

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keriah

Regular Visitor

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10 Messages

@E.G., Thanks. This did provide some additional tidbits on the situation.

I have the XB7 modem/router so the information in the "Notes" (about midway down) is what applies, namely

If ... WiFi Intelligence is enabled on your account, the ability to edit your WiFi name/password through the Gateway Admin/MSO tool (10.0.0.1) is disabled and you'll need to use the Xfinity app.

In my case, I do not see the option "2.4 & 5 GHz" in the Xfinity app so (continuing in the Notes):

If the option is not there, then WiFi Intelligence has been enabled.

From this, I know that WiFi Intelligence is enabled on my system (which is what I had concluded). Sadly, the article you provided stops there ... it tells me it's enabled but doesn't say how to disable this feature.

With a bit of luck I was able (on the 3rd try) to connect to a human (James) at Comcast. (The previous attempts with the chat bot were useless for this.)

James was able to poke the hardware and, through his magic, was able to disable WiFi Intelligence. I don't know exactly what he did because our landline phone is on the account so when he cycled the modem of course the call with him dropped. But he did call back and left voicemail messages that helped me complete the process.

Once WiFi Intelligence was disabled I was able to find the place in the Xfinity iOS app where I could now give each band a unique name. From there it was easy! Yes, I had to go back and repeat yesterday's setup on all our devices to use the newly (re)named network. But now I can switch my iPhone to use the 2.4 band when the iPhone needs to talk to our various home devices via their apps on the phone: the weather station is now back online, the Roomba is happily cleaning the floors, and the security camera are blinking away.

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29 days ago

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EG

Expert

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106K Messages

29 days ago

@keriah

You are quite welcome ! And thanks for the update, and for sharing that info with the community ! In future, it will serve to help others. Glad you got things squared away ! Take care !

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keriah

How can I give unique names to the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands on my new Xfinity modem/router?

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