Wifi Extender Randomly being blocked by Xfinity and multiple device disconnects a day

I have contacted Xfinity regarding this situation and the "resolution" of "maybe you might need a new box" is unacceptable.

Within our area we have had constant outages over the last few weeks, some of which have been in the middle of the day during very important times of working hours; causing us to rely on using mobile hotspots in order to do Webinars, Zoom Meetings, etc... for work. Ever since the latest outage, using our services is more of a chore than an essential part of our lives (especially with working from home).

The problem is now two-fold.

1.) We use an ethernet cable into a WiFi extender in order to connect to our printer. It does not have WiFi built into the device and this is required in order to connect to the network. As of the last week or two being able to print anything has become neigh impossible. The extender that we use is being flat out blocked by the xFi Gateway and will no longer connect. I have gone through the setup process at least three times tonight to try and get it setup. It will connect via the WPS buttons but will not be allowed to connect to the Xfinity router. It appears I am not the only user that has this problem (as seen here: https://forums.xfinity.com/conversations/your-home-network/xfinity-continues-to-block-wifi-extender-without-my-permission/60b6dc2cdb651e33b332c5cf - until Xfinity deleted the post). Again, the device connected perfectly fine about two weeks ago and was reliable to connect to; only recently has the connection been blocked by the xFi Gateway. These aren't one offs either as noted by yet another post below:

• https://forums.xfinity.com/conversations/your-home-network/wifi-extender/602daed6c5375f08cdf7abeb

2.) Over the last few months almost every device within the house has required a turn off and on of the WiFi on the computer in order to connect back to the network if not used for a bit of time (say over an hour or so). This should not be happening. No setting have been changed on the xFi Gateway and prior to the constant outages in our area. In the past we could reliably stay connected for weeks at a time without the need of disconnecting from the WiFi and reconnecting back to it on the device. This has happened to four laptops, three phones, three tablets, and one desktop so far. It is obviously not a "power settings" problem when it's happening to a desktop PC. When discussing this with the agent over the phone the only response I got was that I must have changed a setting in the router and that if I go to advanced settings I may be able to find it.

After explaining that no settings have been changed and that this has been a randomly occurring issue I was once again told that I must have changed a setting and if I look around I might be able to find it. I explained that her solution was unacceptable and that being told "you may be able to find it" and "I can't help you with the settings" from the Tech "Support" was not unsatisfactory. The only other option I was given was to swap out the equipment and set everything back up and only if that didn't work would I be able to get a technician to come out.

If I were to call this level of customer support to be substandard, I would be generous. Devices being randomly paused/disconnected is not a new phenomenon, a simple search on both here and the Comcast_Xfinity subreddit (which Xfinity employees engage on as well) show multiple topics on the issue but offering no solution to the problem. As noted in the below threads:

• https://forums.xfinity.com/conversations/xfinity-app/xfi-app-pauses-random-devices-at-random-times/602daed8c5375f08cdf805f9?commentId=60334b70c5375f08cd6f5abe
• https://forums.xfinity.com/conversations/xfinity-app/devices-keep-pausing-on-its-own/602daeffc5375f08cdfd40c7

It's as though Xfinity notices a lack of activity, cuts the devices off the network, and we can only reconnect by manually turning off and on the WiFi on our devices. This should not be happening, period.

I am hoping that I get a better solution than "download the app." Previously, the lack of proper answers when there was significant package loss for P2P connections (something the government told Xfinity to stop doing....twice) resulted in an FCC complaint and came precariously close to an escalation to my state's consumer protection regulators; I'm hoping we can avoid going down that road again.