What is the recommended way to relocate a Gen 2 Pod for better coverage and performance?

@XfinityAntoine​ Thanks for replying!

Follow-up questions...

• Can Gen 1 and Gen 2 Pods be mixed (I have two Gen 2 and three Gen 1), and if mixed pods are used, does the Gen 1 pod hamper or otherwise decrease the speed of what Gen 2 Pods can deliver? In other words, would the network's wi-fi speed default to the lowest common denominator?
  
  
• Are there any settings or adjustments I would need to make in the XB8-T with a mix of Gen 1 & 2 Pods, or does the home network (XB8-T) automatically adjust to whatever Pods/generations are used?

We are glad to work on this for you @Quantum_Streamer.  If you are finding that you are running into an issue connecting with the pods, the issue very well could be the pods themselves or your overall connectivity.  Please feel free to shoot us a private message so that we can take a closer look at this for you.

To send a "direct message" / "private message" message to Xfinity Support:

 • Click "Sign In" if necessary

 • Click the "Direct Message" icon or https://forums.xfinity.com/direct-messaging 

 • Click the "New message" (pencil and paper) icon

 • The "To:" line prompts you to "Type the name of a person". Instead, type "Xfinity Support" there

 •  - As you are typing a drop-down list appears. Select "Xfinity Support" from that list

 •  - An "Xfinity Support" graphic replaces the "To:" line

 • Type your message in the text area near the bottom of the window

 • Press Enter to send it

Thanks, I’ll be able to reply later this week with a private message when I’ve time to troubleshoot.  However, in the meantime I would find it very helpful if you could please simply provide general answers to my questions above. Thanks!

@Quantum_Streamer​  How do you figure out if your WiFi or mesh network is working?  Use a network packet sniffer.  You are trying to minimize rebroadcasts/retransmits, stubs, and runts on your network.  In other words, incoherent packets.  They degrade network performance.  

You can look at signal strength and do a site survey with something like Acrylic home WiFi to see where the dead spots are in your house without the "Pods" attached.  Then, Wireshark is free and useful for network analysis and is an open source packet sniffer utility.  There are plenty of tutorials and videos out there on the web about how to effectively use it.

With Mesh Networks and Repeaters, the goal is to keep the remote units close enough to the base (or each other with an actual mesh system that works) so they can communicate with the base without errors, but also extend the coverage to areas the base signal is weak.

Some devices work better than others, and do the hand off while roaming between remote nodes better if you are moving around your house.   Xfinity gear would be the Yugo of networking equipment with zero radio control, and limited WiFi standards while using their "Pods". 

No problem, @Quantum_Streamer! I'm not entirely sure if Gen 1 Pods can be configured or mixed with Gen 2 pods, in all honesty. When I had the Gen 1 pods in my house, they did a great job of retransmitting the 2.4 GHz signal over a mesh network to the outlying areas of my network, but the 2.4 GHz signal was limited to a connection speed of 74 Mbps. This was definitely better than the 0 Mbps I was getting before I added the pods, but the signal was always better when I was closer to the modem.

When I upgraded to Gen 2, I only needed one pod to cover the same area, and the connection speed was much better because I had both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz throughout the house. I did have to go through a bit of trial and error to find the best placement for my Gen 2 Pod because it didn't work well in the same location as any of my Gen 1 Pods. I ended up placing it one room and one wall away from my modem, which is much closer than any of the Gen 1 pods, but it seems to work better that way.

I think the strategy with Gen 1 pods was to place them in a location with the best 2.4 GHz signal from the modem, or from the previous pod. With Gen 2, the strategy was to place them in the best location for the 5 GHz signal. If your modem is on the 2nd floor, I would try to place the first pod in the room directly below it, unless your flooring blocks the signal somehow. When I did my testing, I ran a speed test on my phone in every room to determine where the best connection was from the modem alone, and I placed the pod in that room.