Community Forum
***UPDATED 03/26/2020 - Added additional FAQs***
As of March 13th, 2020, we have announced additional steps to help ensure people stay connected to the Internet as more schools suspend classes and companies encourage employees to work from home due to the Coronavirus.
We are taking steps to implement the following new policies for the next 60 days, and other important initiatives:
- Xfinity WiFi Free For Everyone: Xfinity WiFi hotspots across the country will be available to anyone who needs them for free – including non-Xfinity Internet subscribers. For a map of Xfinity WiFi hotspots, visit www.xfinity.com/wifi. Once at a hotspot, consumers should select the “xfinitywifi” network name in the list of available hotspots and then launch a browser.
- Pausing Our Data Plan: With so many people working and educating from home, we want our customers to access the internet without thinking about data plans. While the vast majority of our customers do not come close to using 1TB of data in a month, we are pausing our data plans for 60 days giving all customers Unlimited data for no additional charge.
- No Disconnects or Late Fees: We will not disconnect a customer’s internet service or assess late fees if they contact us and let us know that they can’t pay their bills during this period. Our care teams will be available to offer flexible payment options and can help find other solutions.
- Internet Essentials Free to New Customers: As announced yesterday, it’s even easier for low-income families who live in a Comcast service area to sign-up for Internet Essentials, the nation’s largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption program. New customers will receive 60 days of complimentary Internet Essentials service, which is normally available to all qualified low-income households for $9.95/month. Additionally, for all new and existing Internet Essentials customers, the speed of the program’s Internet service was increased to 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream. That increase will go into effect for no additional fee and it will become the new base speed for the program going forward.
- News, Information and Educational Content on X1: For those with school-age students at home, we’ve created new educational collections for all grade levels in partnership with Common Sense Media. Just say “education” into your X1 or Flex voice remote. To help keep customers informed, we also have created a collection of the most current news and information on Coronavirus. Just say “Coronavirus” into your X1 or Flex voice remote.
- 24x7 Network Monitoring: Underpinning all of these efforts, Comcast’s technology and engineering teams will continue to work tirelessly to support our network operations. We engineer our network capacity to handle spikes and shifts in usage patterns, and continuously test, monitor and enhance our systems and network to ensure they are ready to support customer usage. Our engineers and technicians staff our network operations centers 24/7 to ensure network performance and reliability. We are monitoring network usage and watching the load on the network both nationally and locally, and to date it is performing well.
For an current overview of everything we are doing for our Xfinity customers, click here.
Our hearts go out to all people and families impacted by this virus. Please let us know if you have any questions related to these efforts here.
Open Hotspots Frequently Asked Questions
What hotspots are included?
Xfinity WiFi hotspots located both indoors and outdoors in places like shopping districts, parks, businesses, and train stations will be opened. Please note that hotspots located in customers’ homes will not be opened to the public.
If users do not see the Accept & Connect button and are instead asked to sign in using their Xfinity ID and/or password, they may be attempting to access an Xfinity WiFi Home hotspot. Exact hotspot locations can be found at xfinity.com/wifi/#find-a-hotspot or using the Xfinity WiFi app.
Does the free access apply to both customers and non-customers?
Yes, anyone in proximity to an Xfinity WiFi hotspot can access them.
How does someone connect to the Xfinity WiFi hotspot?
- Visit xfinity.com/wifi to see a map of Xfinity WiFi hotspots. Open hotspots, both indoor and outdoor, will be displayed on the map in a light green color.
- Once at a hotspot, customers and non-customers should select xfinitywifi from the list of available WiFi networks, and then launch a browser.
- Xfinity Internet customers can sign in using their Xfinity ID and password to be automatically connected to Xfinity WiFi hotspots in the future.
- Non-Xfinity Internet customers can connect by clicking the Accept & Connect button. Non-Xfinity customers will be able to renew their complimentary sessions every two hours.
Additional Frequently Asked Questions
How can I reach Xfinity for help with my services?
Xfinity help is always available on your smartphone, in X1, and online. For certain issues, you can even file a report online.
To protect the health and safety of our customers and employees, we have temporarily reduced the services available in stores to essential services and are limiting the in-home services provided by our technicians. We are also transitioning many of our call center representatives to work from home.
For now, we recommend managing your services, paying your bill, troubleshooting, or receiving support by using:
- Xfinity My Account app: for support, including to pay your bill, change your WiFi name and password, check for service outages, explore your TV channel lineup or troubleshoot your Xfinity equipment.
- Xfinity Assistant: available for chat in the My Account app, Facebook Messenger (through the Xfinity Facebook page) and the xFi app, to answer a range of questions, such as how to troubleshoot.
- Xfinity Mobile app: manage your Xfinity Mobile account, view your data usage, switch your data to Unlimited or By the Gig shared data, view and pay your bill, track your order.
- X1 Voice Remote: say "Help" into your X1 Voice Remote for help and support, including troubleshooting.
- Xfinity xFi app: manage all of the devices on your network, get alerts when new devices connect, run health checks for your internet service.
- Xfinity Stream app: watch top networks and live sports on the go and get your entire channel lineup on any screen at home.
How can I find out if there's an outage or service interruption happening near me?
There can be a number of reasons why we might experience a network event, including weather and local construction. We have teams who work around the clock locally and nationally to monitor our network and address any issues, many times before they impact our customers. To check for local outages, visit the Outage Status Center. To see the status of your home network and services, sign into My Account. And you can report an issue online if you are concerned about wires in your area.
How can Xfinity help low-income Americans with affordable Internet service?
We've been looking for ways to help through our Internet Essentials program, the nation's largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption program for low-income Americans. Effective March 16, we are putting in place two substantial program enhancements to help these families deal with this crisis.
- We will make it even easier for low-income families who live in a Comcast service area to sign up by offering new customers 60 days of complimentary Internet Essentials service, which is normally available to all qualified low-income households for $9.95/month.
- We are increasing Internet speeds for the Internet Essentials service from 15/2 Mbps to 25/3 Mbps for all new and existing customers, which will be the speed of the service going forward. In this way, we will ensure that Internet Essentials customers will be able to use their Internet service for all their increased needs as a result of this health crisis.
We want to make it as fast and simple as possible to access this service:
- To receive the increased Internet speeds, existing customers will not need to do anything.
- For new customers, applicants can simply visit www.internetessentials.com. The accessible website also includes the option to video chat with customer service agents in American Sign Language. There are also two dedicated phone numbers 1-855-846-8376 for English and 1-855-765-6995 for Spanish.
Source:
https://corporate.comcast.com/covid-19
Additional Information:
https://www.xfinity.com/prepare
https://www.internetessentials.com/covid19
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Pausing Our Data Plan: With so many people working and educating from home, we want our customers to access the internet without thinking about data plans. While the vast majority of our customers do not come close to using 1TB of data in a month, we are pausing our data plans for 60 days giving all customers Unlimited data for no additional charge.
For all information on what steps Comcast is taking:
https://corporate.comcast.com/covid-19
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Comcast pauses data cap for 60 days
https://corporate.comcast.com/covid-19
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Data usage limits waived for 60 days
https://corporate.comcast.com/covid-19
https://corporate.comcast.com/covid-19
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A quick google search would have gave you
https://corporate.comcast.com/covid-19
A quick forum search would have gave you
https://forums.xfinity.com/t5/Customer-Service/Comcast-Pauses-Data-Plan/td-p/3312763
https://corporate.comcast.com/covid-19
A quick forum search would have gave you
https://forums.xfinity.com/t5/Customer-Service/Comcast-Pauses-Data-Plan/td-p/3312763
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@launcelot999 wrote:I'm a technical lead at a K-12 school district. As our schools are being shut down over COVID19 concerns, but we will still be offering classes online, I'm scrambling to find options for our students without Internet access at home. I was thrilled when Comcast released their President's message (https://corporate.comcast.com/covid-19) that xfinitywifi hotspots would be free for everyone temporarily! HOWEVER, I've been testing the xfinitywifi hotspot accessible in my neighborhood since yesterday, and every time I connect it prompts for an xfinity login or for payment (or the 1 hour limited guest access).
Anyone know when Xfinity will actually turn on this free wifi service?
As far as Im aware of, you're supposed to go the 1 hour limited guest access, but you are allowed to constantly renew the 1 hour access during this window.
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@launcelot999
How about helping your students by referring them to Internet Essentials. That way they’ll have something when school resumes. What did your students use before the hotspots were opened?
https://www.internetessentials.com/
How about helping your students by referring them to Internet Essentials. That way they’ll have something when school resumes. What did your students use before the hotspots were opened?
https://www.internetessentials.com/
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It has been suspended for 60 days.
https://corporate.comcast.com/covid-19
https://corporate.comcast.com/covid-19
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@adamstevens wrote:
With families like mine quarantined, with schools closed, we are spending all of our time at home and yes, using internet almost 24/7. With the exceptional and extraneous circumstances that the COVID-19 outbreak has imposed on all of us, will you please temporarily lift the 1 TB monthly cap until we get through this thing?
At the very top of this thread is your answer.
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@Dmadon wrote:
Hi, wondering why if you are doing so much for customers at this time of the pandemic you are okay with requiring clients to come into your store to wait in line and drop off old equipment ? Why are you okay with not social distancing? Why do we have to pick returning your remote or exposing ourselves and the more vulnerable? I was told by your customer service that the pandemic did not matter when it came to returning your equipment and being subject to fees.
We appreciate your feedback. We have always allowed our customer's multiple options to return their Comcast equipment. Should you need to return your rented equipment, there are four ways to do so:
Initiate your return online (recommended)
- Sign in and visit the Equipment Return page. (Note: You must have an active Xfinity profile to process your return online. If you don't, you can head directly to a UPS Store near you).
Already submitted a return request? You can track your return at the Pending Return Status page. - Check off the device(s) you'd like to return and select Continue. When returning your device(s), check the serial number on the device to ensure that it matches your selection.
Note: If you're returning a TV Box, you can click Identify Device, which will send a signal to that specific TV and display an on-screen message to let you know that this is the correct TV Box. - Choose a reason for return and press Continue.
- Select a return option, follow the listed instructions, and press Confirm.
Stop by a local UPS Store
- Visit theupsstore.com/tools/find-a-store to find a UPS Store near you.
- You may either bring your equipment to the store and a UPS representative will pack and ship your equipment back to us, or you may package the equipment yourself using a cardboard box and the prepaid UPS shipping label you printed at home.
- If a UPS Store representative packages the equipment for you, you will receive a physical receipt with your tracking number so that you can track the progress of your return at xfinity.com/returns or on UPS.com. Otherwise, you may reference the tracking number on the return label to monitor your package. Please allow up to two weeks for the return to process and your account to reflect these changes.
Stay in the Know: If you have an email address on file, you will also receive a confirmation email letting you know that the equipment was received and the date that the return was processed. Update your email address.
Visit us at a Comcast Service Center or Xfinity Store
- Find a Comcast Service Center or Xfinity Store location near you - we'd love to see you.
- Drop off your equipment at any Comcast Service Center or Xfinity Store. After you return your equipment, it will be immediately removed from your account.
- Our team at the Xfinity Store will provide you with a receipt confirming your return details.
Send your equipment back with a prepaid UPS shipping label
- Once you have followed the instructions online at xfinity.com/returns and confirmed the device(s) you are returning, choose UPS Prepaid Shipping. A prepaid shipping label will be prepared for you. Click Print Shipping Label to print the label for your package.
- Put the equipment being returned into its original box, and place your UPS prepaid shipping label on the outside. Keep the top portion of the label with the tracking number included, as this will be your receipt.
- Drop the package off anywhere that UPS shipments are accepted. Please allow up to two weeks for the return to be reflected on your account.
*If you have already contacted Comcast to disconnect your account and still need to return your equipment, you can use the Comcast Service Center/Xfinity Store or UPS Store drop-off options for your return.
Additional information about returning your equipment can be found here: https://forums.xfinity.com/t5/My-Account/ANSWERED-How-to-Return-Your-Xfinity-Equipment/ta-p/3003387
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The cap has been waived
https://corporate.comcast.com/covid-19
https://corporate.comcast.com/covid-19
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<Edited>
You should share that TP
For a map of Xfinity WiFi hotspots, visit www.xfinity.com/wifi. Once at a hotspot, consumers should select the “xfinitywifi” network name in the list of available hotspots and then launch a browser.
Only the ones listed in that map are the open ones. The ones broadcasted by customer homes will not be open.
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@RoJo10221 & @kcson,
Welcome to the Xfinity Forum and thank you for posting your question here. As mentioned in the main post on this thread, we have paused our data plans. With so many people working and educating from home, we want our customers to access the internet without thinking about data plans. While the vast majority of our customers do not come close to using 1TB of data in a month, we are pausing our data plans for 60 days giving all customers Unlimited data for no additional charge.
Please let us know if you have any additional questions.
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