Having no luck finding a technician who can add my modem to my account

[sortakinda]

I have a Zoom 5345 modem I've been using for awhile, and while my account is active and my internet is working fine, somehow my device was erased from my account information. I have tried to have it activated by online chat, but nobody I've spoken to has been able to get it activated, and trying to get through to a person via the telephone is nigh impossible because of Covid and the reluctance of the automated system to do anything other than tell you to reset your modem over and over again. Even the callback feature doesn't work right, because when I press 1 to be connected to an agent, it doesn't register the keypress, or any other keypress for that matter. Is there anyone here who can activate a device for me? I am using Internet Essentials, if that makes any difference, and I have tried all the activation methods available to me (manually activating, using the phone system to search for new equipment and activate it, etc.). 

[CCAndrew]

As far as I know, You can’t use your own modem for internet essential, that’s probably why

[sortakinda]

Well, I did have the modem on my account when I first activated my service (and was able to add the modem to my account prior to self-activation by contacting a technician at 1-800-XFINITY). I then contacted Internet Essentials and had the technician visit cancelled, as well as the Xfinity hardware. Thus, I know it can be added by someone, I'm just not sure who I need to contact to make it happen.

[sortakinda · Accepted solution]

Okay, so just for those who might be attempting the same thing as I was, here is how I got it resolved:

1) I called Xfinity and got through to a live person in tech support (this can be difficult to achieve during Covid restrictions, but I think the easiest way is to say yes to the question about activation, then repeating "technical support" over and over until it connects you to a live person - you'll know you got there when it asks for the last 4 of your social security number).

2) If you are activating a standard Xfinity account with your own hardware, the person you are speaking to will likely be able to set up the device for you at that point, but if you're like me and activating Internet Essentials, they seem to assume you will be using their hardware, as the former Comcast employee mentioned in this thread above, so you will need to be connected to the technical support team for Internet Essentials, which the Xfinity technician should be able to transfer you to without needing to call them directly.

3) The IE technician will then set your account up for self-provided hardware, which will then allow you to set up your own hardware using xfinity.com/activate. Just connect a computer or laptop directly to your modem and power cycle the device to ensure your IP address is assigned properly. If for some reason that doesn't work, then the IE technician will have also supplied a direct number to reach the activation support staff for Internet Essentials.

After doing this, I was able to add my own hardware to my account using xfinity.com/activate

Hopefully that helps someone in my situation!