unmetered WiFi using XB8

Since I moved from the XB7 to the XB8 WiFi Router a few months ago, I have been unable to get smartphones to automatically update applications over my home WiFi.
The reason is that my XB8 appears as a "Metered" connection and the only way to get the app updates done is to either
1) force the updates manually, essentially overriding the "Metered" information
2) set Google Play to update apps "over any network" - Undesirable, because then it keeps doing it also over cellular data when no WiFi is available, and that can gate expensive
3) override the default setting in the Network / WiFi section of the phone's settings created when pairing up with the home WiFi, from Unmetered to Metered.

The third option helps, but it needs to be repeated every time a new phone comes into my house and links with my WiFi network.
A much better solution is to change the way XB8 presents itself to devices at home, from "Metered" to "Unmetered", as it should be.

I have been unable to find any instructions on how to do that, and the mobile app suggested to manage settings in the XB8 router shows no mention of "Metered" / "Unmetered" settings.

Any suggestion?

Responses

XfinityBenny

Official Employee

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790 Messages

2 years ago

@sicconi Thanks for sharing what's going on. That is strange, we don't have that word in our database as a term, function or title. The only thing that comes close with a search is Unlimited Data, or measured, but that's not related to what you're posting. That is on the device you're using, and other users haven't seen the same thing or posted about it. The best advice we can provide is disabling the Advanced Security if it is enabled. It sounds like automatic reach to the internet is being prevented with those auto updates, so it can be related to the security. If not, we suggest contacting the support team for your phones, and seeing if there is a certain setting on your device that is preventing the auto updates. Hope that helps, and let us know the solution!

Edit: Note: You can turn enable or disable Advanced Security from the Security tab in the Xfinity app.

(edited)

5

S

sicconi

4 Messages

@XfinityBenny Thank you so much for your prompt support. I followed your suggestion to disable the Advanced Security. I restarted the router WiFi, just in case, and when it reappeared, the phones shows the WiFi connection as not metered - connected.
Out of curiosity, I enabled the Advanced Security to confirm that this was causing the problem, but the network still shows WIFi as non metered-connected.
Weird. Of course, I like it this way, but I don't know what set it to metered before.

With various XB6 and XB7 units I used over the years I never experienced this problem.

2 years ago

0

XfinityJeniece

Official Employee

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3K Messages

I am happy to hear that disabling the Advance Security settings helped with that metered setting, and I am glad you were able to toggle the Advance Security back on. It sounds like it was an issue with the settings. If you do have any issues with this in the future, you can always try turning off or toggling the Advance Settings. We appreciate your time in working with us!

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2 years ago

0

S

sicconi

4 Messages

@XfinityBenny Just to confirm. I forced a XB8 WiFi router reboot, to make sure that the metered label would not come back, With Advanced Security enabled again, the network still shows as non metered (= unmetered).
Maybe just disabling and enabling the Advanced Security support reset the router.
Thanl you!

2 years ago

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S

sicconi

4 Messages

@XfinityBenny Quick update. Unfortunately the issue with WiFi advertising itself as "Metered" came back the next day.
This time I disabled Advanced Security and left it that way. The network is now seen as "unmetered", but I lost the ability to get notified when new devices join the WiFi network.

I suspect that a change in the firmware is required, and I hope that the team designing the XB8 software may be able to use this feedback to correct the situation.

The fact is that Google Play on phones defaults to downloading (and installing) app updates automatically using WiFi. It can be switched to transfer over "Any network" to ignore my WiFi's Metered" condition, but then Google Play feels free to update apps any time, using my cellular data connection, which can be expensive. I have about 800 apps installed on a Samsung S21+, which means roughly 25 app updates every day.

The alternative is to modify the type of network Setting in the specific WiFi paired connection from "Detect Automatically" to "Unmetered". This prevents the risk of updates made over cellular networks, but it requires manual intervention on any phone used with my XB8 WiFi.

I hope that a future firmware upgrade for the XB8 will correct this. The XB6 and XB7 did not show this problem.

2 years ago

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XfinityEricB

Official Employee

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2.1K Messages

We appreciate your feedback, and I will pass it along. Should you also want to make sure your feedback gets back to us at anytime, and we appreciate any and all feedback from our customers. You can use this website to provide feedback on any service at anytime my.xfinity.com Study (iperceptions.com).

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Official Employees are from multiple teams within Xfinity: CARE, Product, Leadership.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.
Was your question answered? Please, mark a reply as the Accepted Answer. tick

2 years ago

0

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sicconi

unmetered WiFi using XB8

XfinityBenny

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XfinityJeniece

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