madbrain76's profile

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99 Messages

Friday, July 16th, 2021 1:19 AM

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XB7 - can't set Wifi 160 MHz option. S22 Ultra supports this. Please fix it !

I recently upgraded to the XB7 . I have the xFi unlimited package.

On the wired side, all is good I get about 1400 Mbps down, as I'm using N-base T equipment (10 Gbps LAN) and the XB7 has a 2.5 Gbps LAN port.

Well, the upload is still capped at a ridiculous 40 Mbps, so all this is not good there still ...

On the Wifi side, sadly, things are not so rosy. When I configure the Wifi 5 GHz connection, I see :


Wi-Fi Mode, Security Mode, Channel Selection, Channel Mode, and Channel Bandwidth are being managed automatically to help optimize your home Wi-Fi network and improve Wi-Fi coverage. To edit your Wi-Fi Network Name & Network password, please download the Xfinity xFi app or visit xfinity.com/myxfi.

The Channel bandwidth is set to 20/40/80  . There is a 20/40/80/160 option, but it is not possible to manually select it !

The Xfi web site does not have this option available either. I followed the instructions at https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/change-wifi-mode-admin-tool-xfinity-xfi , but unfortunately, these instructions are wrong. I can't select the band or Wifi mode.

I live on a hill with neighbors far apart, so I should be able to use 160 with no problem. In fact, I already have 4 Unifi Wifi 5 APs all setup at 160 that work perfectly fine. But they are Wifi 5, so they cap at slightly lower speeds. They also have only 1 Gbps ethernet ports rather than 2.5 Gbps, so they can't go any faster than gigabit. The actual speed I get from them from my Note 20 Ultra is about 500 - 600 Mbps.

When connecting with my Note 20 Ultra to the XB7 Wifi 6 at 80 Mhz, I get about 800 Mbps. This is better, but still not what it would be at 160 MHz.

How can I force the XB7 to use 160 MHz on the 5 GHz band ?

Same question about forcing 20/40 MHz on the 2.4 GHz band.

Contributor

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99 Messages

4 years ago

So, no one, really ? It's ridiculous not to be able to set the Wifi router settings.

Problem Solver

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948 Messages

4 years ago

So your post sparked my interest, i have the luxury of being able to change the band width on my Xb7, so i did a few tests, of course not scientific, so some very interesting results came to my immediate attention, so my phone on the 20/40/80/160 Mhz selection 4 feet from the gateway, the speed was roughly 800 Mbps, 10 feet away it dropped to roughly 600 Mbps, 20 feet away it was roughly 500 Mbps, so then i set it to 20/40/80 Mhz selection, 4 feet from the gateway it jumped to roughly 900 Mbps! so the speed increase across the distances were similar,  so thanks to your post i now enjoy higher speeds by just altering the one setting, i also tried the 20/40 selection, while slower, not as much as you would imagine

Contributor

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99 Messages

@jlavaseur 

Did you have to ask Comcast for special permission to change the settings on the XB7 ? What's the magic word ?

For what it's worth, I get about 800 Mbps using the 80 Mhz channel width the XB7 decided to use. Can't test the other channel widths.

FYI, for my Ubiquiti Unifi NanoHD APs, which are 4x4 Wifi AC, and bridged wirelessly, changing to 160 MHz width has a huge impact, roughly doubling the performance from 80 MHz. This is not measured from a phone but from a desktop PC hooked up via Ethernet to a wirelessly connected AP. The desktop PC lacks a wireless NIC entirely. I wish Ubiquiti made 4x4 Wifi 6 APs with NBASE-T NICs for this use case. I guess I'll have to wait for that.

Visitor

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4 Messages

@jlavaseur  Hi, when you changed the XB7 to use 160 MHz wide channels, were you testing with an 802.11ax device?

Problem Solver

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948 Messages

4 years ago

@madbrain76  I sent you a private message

Expert

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109.1K Messages

@jlavaseur @madbrain76  

Please post any possible solutions for the issue here in the open forums so that all readers here may benefit from the exchange / info. This is in keeping with the spirit for which these public help forums were originally intended. Thank you.

I am not a Comcast Employee.
I am a Customer Expert volunteering my time to help other customers here in the Forums.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.

Was your question answered? Please mark an Accepted Answer!tick

Contributor

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99 Messages

@EG What jlavaseur suggested was not applicable to my situation. I have called Comcast but haven't found resolution. I'm very unhappy about this.

Visitor

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13 Messages

@madbrain76 

There isn't one.  After 2 1/2 hours banging on this with Xfinity yesterday to finally be told it is what it is for now.  Xfinity has hijacked the manual configuration options for both 2.4 and 5ghz channels and there is no indication xfinity is going to let end users change any settings for channels or bandwidth options for either radio.

No one is likely to force their hand as its not that kind of issue but they are lying when they say wifi6 certified.  They are disabling the very things that are why folks go to wifi6.  Can't say its certified and then turn off everything that makes it "certified".

(edited)

Official Employee

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2K Messages

Hi, @madbrain76. I see you and the others here are running into the same obstacle when attempting to manually select 160MHz. I know the device can support this option; however, I see it's not open to select at this time. I do find this option is open to Gig Pro customers, and this could be something we may change in the future for all. However, I don't see any plans yet, to be honest. I know this is not what you wanted to hear, and we will certainly take everyone's feedback. I can see this is clearly important to all who posted in the thread. 

I am an Official Xfinity Employee.
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

Visitor

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4 Messages

@XfinityVianney What is a GigPro customer?  With an XB7 and a 1200Mb unlimited plan, what am I?

Visitor

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13 Messages

4 years ago

Its STILL an issue.  I went with the XB7 precisely for the advertised full wifi6 certification.  Disabling 160mhz is NOT fully wifi6 certified.

Problem Solver

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948 Messages

4 years ago

So from what I understand, the settings in the grayed out admin panel, could or could not be the actual settings be used as its changing to give the best performance, so how do you really know it’s not using 160 MHz if it sees appropriate, I can change my settings, when I change from 80 MHz to 160 MHz I lose 100 Mbps, I know not being able to change is not ideal, I have had two xb7s, one managed one not, actually the unmanaged one was slower in some instances because of the choices of settings I chose to use….

(edited)

Visitor

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13 Messages

@jlavaseur

You get to chose though.  That’s the main point.

I’m playing with an Asus AX86U/Motorola SB8611.  Being able to select channel and 160hz I’m getting 2.1gbs on wifi6 clients.  Fastest I can get with the XB7 is 1.2.  1.2 nothing to sneeze at mind you.  But its not the best performance to be had and obviously not why we spend the money to go to wifi6 modem/routers.  SB8611 has 2.5gbe WAN port.  Asus has 2.5gbe WAN port.

All it takes is a simple popup caveat.  “If you select 160mhz and have random disconnects we recommend going back to 80……”

The higher channels yes some of them are DFS channels.  Not all of them are DFS channels.  There’s several channels higher than the set that are the DFS channels.  Xfinity stops any possible channel selection at 44.  44!  

If the SB8611/AX86U remains stable the XB7 I have goes back to Xfinity today.

Problem Solver

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948 Messages

Interesting you state: Being able to select channel and 160hz I’m getting 2.1gbs on wifi6 clients, odd because Comcast is only supplying roughly 1.2 gig to your modem....

Contributor

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99 Messages

I get 1.4 Gbps download speed on wired connection. Comcast is definitely supplying more than 1.2 Gbps to the modem.

Expert

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109.1K Messages

@jlavaseur  wrote: "Interesting you state: Being able to select channel and 160hz I’m getting 2.1gbs on wifi6 clients, odd because Comcast is only supplying roughly 1.2 gig to your modem...."

Perhaps they were referring to a negotiated WiFi link speed that they saw in their network properties U.I., not the actual speed reading ?

I am not a Comcast Employee.
I am a Customer Expert volunteering my time to help other customers here in the Forums.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.

Was your question answered? Please mark an Accepted Answer!tick

Visitor

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13 Messages

@jlavaseur What about the speeds for wifi6 seem odd to you?

Visitor

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6 Messages

4 years ago

Channel bandwidth isn't as useful of an option as many believe.  In fact, its likely that these options are disabled in areas with dense population due to folks maxing the setting out and the area becoming a warzone of transmitters all using their maximum channel bandwidth, preventing any interference avoidance and basically drowning out any other devices using the band (cell phones, cordless phones, baby monitors, garage door openers, FRS radios, etc.).  In really rural areas, it doesn't harm anyone to play with the settings to see what delivers the best performance for your use case.  In large urban centers, it quickly becomes who has the highest vantage point with the hottest transmitter - everyone else be dipped.  Where I live, there is a few people using 80 MHz / 160 MHz radio modes - there is a deadman's land around their wireless networks where nothing wireless works - not even FM radio (that takes -talent- to do...).

I would not be surprised if XFinity has the feature locked to adjustment at all, or set so they are the only people who can set them on their own end.  I've heard that they are working on making newer WiFi standards more resilient to issues caused by misconfiguration, but for now - all it takes is a few people misusing things for it to really hose things for everyone.  :P

Visitor

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13 Messages

@Comrad_Durandal 

huh?  That's nonsense. 

First of all channel SELECTION is a simple matter of scanning the area and seeing what channels are or are not saturated.

Second channel bandwidth has nothing to do with anything you've posted.

You mixed channel saturation issues with bandwidth issues.

Even the issue with DFS channels and being bumped off 160mhz due to radar has been addressed in new routers. 

Xfinity by limiting channel selection eliminates being able to pick channels that are NOT saturated. 

Irrelevant for me now as the XB7 is back at Xfinity.

(edited)

Contributor

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48 Messages

Experiencing the Same Situation with my XB7 Gateway,  My Wifi AX Devices cannot even use the 160mhz option,   i do live in a Townhome community so maybe why mine is stuck on 20/40/80 setting, and wifi 5ghz channel set to 157 most of the time

Ended up just wiring my Gaming Desktop via Cat 6

Maybe they'll eventually release a XB8 with Wifi6e compatible, and use the 6ghz band, and allow folks to fully experience the faster wifi

As Right now XB7 seems more like a Wifi 5 gateway, as can't even set it for full Wifi 6 capabilites 

(edited)

New Poster

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2 Messages

3 years ago

i had the XB6 with all settings grayed out and it was a mess.  i read a lot of these forums before going to my local xfinity store to get the XB7.  The trick is to tell them or make them activate it at the store.  DO NOT HAVE ANY app made by xfinity on your cell phone/ipad/etc.  when you you get home, plug it in and log into it with the default info on the bottom sticker.  then open a tab and go to 10.0.0.1 and log into your gateway.  ALL OPTIONS WILL BE AVAILABLE.  do not ever use any app made by xfinity, thats when they lock your gateway down.

Visitor

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1 Message

3 years ago

I don't get why comcast Says they're providing 1.2 GBPS download speeds, it is physically impossible to push any more then 1000 MBPS through coax cable. They're flat out lying to you if they tell you that you are getting any more then 1GBPS download speed, you would need fiber optic in that case.

Contributor

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99 Messages

@meatly1108 It's most certainly not impossible. I get 1.4 Gbps download speed in speedtest on a wired system with 10 Gbase-t copper NIC, and XB7 wired to Comcast with coax cable, copper also. Would post the screenshot of it even, if this forum allowed posting images.

Contributor

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99 Messages

3 years ago

This is a followup to https://forums.xfinity.com/conversations/your-home-network/xb7-no-wifi-160-mhz-option-please-fix-this/60f0de9bf692cf395dfa8446 .

The thread was incorrectly closed without any solution. To recap :

I upgraded to the XB7 . I have the xFi unlimited package.

On the wired side, all is good I get about 1400 Mbps down, as I'm using N-base T equipment (10 Gbps LAN) and the XB7 has a 2.5 Gbps LAN port.

Well, the upload is still capped at a ridiculous 40 Mbps, so all this is not good there still ...

On the Wifi side, sadly, things are not so rosy. When I configure the Wifi 5 GHz connection, I see :


Wi-Fi Mode, Security Mode, Channel Selection, Channel Mode, and Channel Bandwidth are being managed automatically to help optimize your home Wi-Fi network and improve Wi-Fi coverage. To edit your Wi-Fi Network Name & Network password, please download the Xfinity xFi app or visit xfinity.com/myxfi.

The Channel bandwidth is set to 20/40/80  . There is a 20/40/80/160 option, but it is not possible to manually select it in the admin UI !

The Xfi web site does not have this option available either.

I live on a hill with neighbors far apart, so I should be able to use 160 with no problem. In fact, I already have 5 Unifi Wifi 5 APs all setup at 160 that work. Channel scans show no interference. But they are Wifi 5, so they cap at slightly lower speeds. They also have only 1 Gbps ethernet ports rather than 2.5 Gbps, so they can't go any faster than gigabit.

When connecting with my S22 Ultra to the XB7 Wifi 6 at 80 Mhz, I get about 800 Mbps. This is not bad, but still not as good as it should be at 160 MHz. The S22 Ultra specifically supports HE160 mode, per its specs at https://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/galaxy-s22/specs/ .

How can I force the XB7 to use 160 MHz on the 5 GHz band ?

Note: This comment was created from a merged conversation originally titled XB7 - STILL no Wifi 160 MHz option S22 Ultra supports this. Please fix this !

Problem Solver

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637 Messages

Good Morning! Thank you for touching base here via our Xfinity communities!
As mentioned, in the event that the additional settings are grayed out, or the particular settings are unable to be selected that you are seeking to modify, it means that the settings are being managed automatically to provide the best performance possible and not something able to be changed.
I've included a link below that contains some helpful information when it comes to changing the Wi-Fi channel selection and modes!
https://comca.st/3OOJO2d

Though if you're experiencing any further troubles, please let us know and we'd be happy to help! 

I no longer work for Comcast.

Contributor

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23 Messages

3 years ago

So, funny story, I upgraded to the XB7 to fully take advantage of my newer computer's Intel® Wi-Fi 6 (2x2) Gig+ and Bluetooth®  5.1 wireless capabilities.  I was getting less than 600mbps over wireless. Strangely my phone (couple year old Note 10+) was getting slightly faster which seemed odd.  

Long story short I made Costco take back an almost 1 year old PC after spending 2 days on customer support with Dell and Microsoft without any resolution to the problem, having my computer wiped, losing data.

Hilarious to then come in here and see this thread and realize that the 160MHz isn't available and I wasted time and money upgrading.  Sure glad I'm paying almost $400 a month to Xfinity for such fun times. 

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