Pausing Internet access

@XfinityDemitrius​   Is this an answer? What does it mean, what devices/ security settings.    ???? 

@lmg_35c4​, I'm not an xfinity gateway user (I use my own modem and router) but what I think he's saying is that the pause function works by filtering out devices by MAC address. A MAC address is kind of like a serial number and they are how networking devices identify each other. They usually look like: 'xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx' where each 'x' is a hex digit. Unfortunately, because they are unique to a device, almost like a fingerprint, they can be used by bad actors out there to circumvent privacy protection measures on the internet.

Therefore, many newer devices, especially mobile devices like iPhones, have started generating random MAC addresses each time they join a network, which protects the user's privacy but renders the Xfinity pause function basically useless, because every time the gateway sees a particular device it looks brand new.

There are also many devices that allow users to intentionally, manually change the device's MAC, which has the same effect.

Perhaps the OP's son had discovered how to change his MAC address(es)?

{Or maybe he just googled 'How to Bypass Xfinity Wi-Fi Pause'? (wow!)}

On my network, I restrict users by creating a wifi 'guest' network that I can either restrict the operational hours of, or simply turn on and off as needed.

Hope that helps.