WiFi range extension

Hello, @user_77b5eb, wireless extenders can help provide more coverage. You can purchase xFi Pods if you lease an Xfinity modem. These are Xfinity wireless extenders! You can take a closer look at them here. 

https://comca.st/3RStz55

Thanks. we do have early model pods and they are marginally successful. However, my question is, since we have cable that runs to almost every room, can I hook up more than one router at different locations along the cable to provide better service (I know that router settings would need changing). I read that one can interconnect routers using eathernet cable to serve as range extenders. Can't the existing coax cable be used for the same purpose?

You can search for MoCA to Ethernet adapters, they use coax.  There's powerline adapters that use the wiring in your house.  Personally, I don't like either.  If you've got Ethernet cables or can easily run them, a couple of $25 access points (AP mode) work fine for a trouble spot or two.

Pods are the Yugo of equipment.  They really don't do anything well as  you already know, and you're locked into crippled Xfinity equipment and a rental fee for your gateway.  Look at mesh Wifi instead.  Better coverage.  Work better.  Expandable.  Handle roaming better from access point to access point.

flatlander3. Thanks for your comments. Not many of us remember Yugos. I have read about wifi mesh networks and they are intriguing. However, I am unsure if they replace the existing router or not. One comment I read says that you can connect the first unit to the router, but you lose some features. In my case, with wifi provided by Xfinity using coax, I'm not sure how to connect a mesh system without keeping the existing router unless there is one that will connect the first unit directly to the cable. I understand that you can connect through a MOCA adaptler, but that's an aditional $50.

Ok, well.  Actual engineering advice?  For no consulting fee?

You are paying $14/month for crippled firmware on junk networking gear, sold by china, with ZERO quality assurance, that has been cost reduce to the point where you can't even reliably chance settings on it, and administering it with a phone app that happens to be the least secure device you own, and that doesn't even work all the time.

If you want actual advice, I'd tell you to return it.  The front end coming out of the coax is a problem.  You can fix that.  Buy a cable modem.  No Wifi.  Put it in "bridge mode".  Then run that to a firewall.  It will be a dedicated box.  2 or more Ethernet ports.  More Ethernet ports is better.  Segregate trusted vs non trusted gear. 

Streaming devices, and IOT things are non trusted -- they need to be on different subnets (different Ethernet net ports, different WiFi or access point), and keep them away from your personal gear.    The firewall has to be a 64-bit box, older hardware is OK (even Pentium II).  Maybe even something you have collecting dust/an old PC.  4G ram is fine.  A 40G SSD drive is fine.  It takes up no space.

The setup is easy.  3 Ethernet ports:  Internet <--> Firewall <--> Internal network <--> Mesh network wifi

                                                                                                                |<--> Untrusted streaming, IOT gear. A $25 access point.  Different from your mesh network.

Now every single byte of data both in and out, passes through the firewall and you can see everything.  Block anything.  Block countries.  Block people you don't like.  Block ads.  You'll have an adaptive firewall capability if you want, that blocks threats internally AND externally automatically if you want.  Whatever you want.

Firewall gets the external IP address from Xfinity.  Mesh network gets the internal network from the firewall.  What's cheap for a firewall?  Pfsense community edition -- Netgate (free) or opnsense (free open source alternative).  Both are administered from a web browser on your internal network -- that means no leaking data to the outside, on settings with critical infrastructure.

Log into a web site on your phone or browser?  To change critical infrastructure settings?  Yeah  Security Fail there.  Shame on you Xfinity.  I'd be embarrassed.

Either Pfsense or Opnsense will give a nation state attacker with unlimited resources a run for their money using the default configuration -- no open ports.  It would take quite a bit of resources -- more than anyone or a bot would expend for a comcast account.

So.  The answer to your question is you can take a mesh network with a base station, and Ethernet cable it to your insecure Xfinity gateway. Sure.  That works.  Your insecure gateway is still there pumping out it's own WiFi and MoCA signal.  But you pay $14/month for a security problem.

What you really want to do, is remove the Xfinity gateway.  That removes the "Public Hot spot" (other people can connect to your Wifi" via Xfinity hot spot, and leaky MoCA problem (Ethernet over coax)  -- Remember stealing cable?  Yeah, you can do that with an MoCA to Ethernet adapter.  Most gateways have no POE (point of entry) filter.  Rob your neighbors and p0rn surf, Do Crime!!

Up to you.  It's my opinion, and everyone has one. Do some research, there is massive documentation on firewalls I suggested.  World of information at your fingertips.