new XFi Gateway, AC laptop and Pods

Got a new xfi gateway (the white one) and am encountering a problem. In the past, my laptop was connecting to the gateway with no issue, getting full speed (almost) over wifi. Laptop is 4 years old, but has AC modem. Since I have the new gateway, laptop connects to wifi, but always to a pod in the house, even sitting right beside the gateway. It's connects to a pod and of course, wifi speed is very limited as pods are further away. What is happening ?