Need solution for IoT devices

I just moved into a new-construction condo with a lot of IoT devices (smart thermostats, electronic lock, various appliances, etc), and I have my own modem, a 4-port switch that feeds the ethernet ports around the condo, and a WiFi 6e meshnet. The meshnet has 2 bands -- a shared 2.4/5ghz and a 6ghz band. IoT devices need a dedicated 2.4ghz network, as using a shared 2.4/5ghz band makes some of them squirrely.

I thought about disabling the 5ghz option from that band, but not all of my non-IoT devices are capable of using the 6ghz band (my wife's MacBook Pro, for example, is not an M3 or later, so it can't talk to that band), so that's not really an option.

I decided to try connecting an old Asus router to another ethernet port, figuring that I could disable its 5ghz band and just use it as a 2.4ghz router. Since the IoT devices don't have to communicate with the rest of my networked devices, this seemed practical. But the Asus router wouldn't connect to the internet. I tried it in multiple ethernet ports -- even the one the meshnet's base unit was plugged into -- and nothing. I assumed it was a faulty router and decided to buy a cheap older model 2.4ghz-only router on Amazon. I plugged that in, and I got the same issue -- no internet.

I was finally able to get it to work in Bridge mode, but this means it's piggybacking on my existing meshnet, not actually using the ethernet at all, and I don't like that. It's also not working (so far) with some of my IoT devices. The smart lock connected to it right away -- but the smart thermostats are not happy with it. I feel like getting it into "router" mode would be a cleaner solution -- but that's still not working. I'm not seeing anything on forums about Xfinity blocking a second router, simply encouraging people not to do this for various reasons that probably don't apply here -- I'm not sharing a band at all (if I can get it working, I intend to disable the 2.4ghz band on my meshnet) and I don't care if devices on each network can talk to each other.

Anyone else in a similar boat? What did you do to get your IoT devices working?

Responses

XfinityDilary

Official Employee

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2.3K Messages

13 days ago

fallingblox Thanks for posting on our Community Forums. When it comes to third-party modems/devices we are very limited in the troubleshooting support we can provide. Have you tried reaching out to your device manufacturer for further assistance?

fallingblox

Visitor

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3 Messages

Are you saying that if I had an Xfinity-provided modem, this would not be happening? Can someone say definitively that that will be the case, because I may be willing to spend the money if I can guarantee I will not run into this problem. But I'm not going to enter into a contract to spend $25/mo over my existing bill (not sure that's the right amount; it is for Comcast Business but the home model may be less expensive?) without assurances that it will succeed and not be good money thrown after bad.

I cannot be the only person running into this problem. With the higher rate of adoption of IoT devices (which only support 2.4ghz networks) and WiFi 6e and 7 routers (which may not allow a 2.4ghz network to be on a separate band), but many endpoint devices not yet supporting 6e or 7 (meaning the combined 2.4/5ghz band must still exist), this has to be a more widespread issue that others have managed to solve.

8 days ago

strega7

Contributor

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405 Messages

8 days ago

I think that was just a disclaimer. You posted about company M's router connected to company A's router talking to a bunch of devices from other companies on a forum about Company X and Company X effectively said: Um... what??? (And to be fair, so did I.)

fallingblox

Visitor

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3 Messages

OK fair -- but is this not normal? I have Xfinity internet service; many people use a self-provided modem to save money (after checking compatibility) and even more use their own router/meshnet -- and of course none of the endpoint devices you're trying to connect are provided by Xfinity. So I would assume that a lot of the hardware people talk about on this forum is not explicitly Xfinity-provided stuff. The reason I'm on a forum is _because_ I don't expect to get direct answers from Xfinity tech support about non-Xfinity hardware.

What I'm trying to figure out is if the issue I'm running into (not being able to set up a second router) is an Xfinity policy/limitation issue or if it might be something related to the other hardware. If it turns out that Xfinity is not limiting my ability to set up a second router, I will then start troubleshooting further with the other companies. But if it turns out they are limiting that, there's no point in contacting other companies or doing further troubleshooting and I just need to figure out if there's another solution. In fairness, I may have chosen my forum poorly but I don't know where else on the wide internet to post about this. If you have any ideas, I'd love to know about them and then I'll get out of everyone's hair.

8 days ago

XfinityFrank

Official Employee

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1.4K Messages

@fallingblox, hello! We have no documentation on our end that shows there are any specific limitations to using multiple routers after the gateway/modem. The suggested solution from us, for what you're describing, is to either go into bridge mode and use your own wireless router where you can control the wifi bands, or provide your own gateway device where you can access those settings.

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6 days ago

Your Home Network

fallingblox

Need solution for IoT devices

XfinityDilary

fallingblox

strega7

fallingblox

XfinityFrank

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