Hurricane Irma - XFINITY WiFi Hotspots (Florida)

[ComcastCassie]

September 6, 2017 - To help residents and emergency personnel stay connected if Hurricane Irma makes its anticipated landfall in Florida, Comcast is opening its more than 137,000 Xfinity WiFi hotspots throughout the state to anyone who needs them, including non-Xfinity customers, for free.

For a map of Xfinity WiFi hotspots, which are located both indoors and outdoors in places such as shopping districts, parks and businesses, please visit Xfinity.com/wifi.

Once in range of a hotspot, select the “xfinitywifi” network name in the list of available hotspots and then launch a browser.

Xfinity internet customers can sign in with their usernames and passwords and they will be automatically connected to Xfinity WiFi hotspots in the future.

Non-Xfinity internet subscribers should visit the “Not an Xfinity Internet Customer” section on the sign-in page to get started. Non-customers will be able to renew their complimentary sessions every 2 hours through September 20, 2017.

Comcast Preparations and Customer Tips for Hurricane Irma

Comcast is also making extensive preparations at its facilities throughout Florida, including staging emergency generators and fuel trucks as well as bringing in additional technical and network restoration teams that are ready to be deployed as the storm’s path becomes clearer.  

Comcast’s goal is to work to restore any services impacted for customers as quickly as possible and as soon as it is safe for its employees to do so.  Customers should remember that emergency management procedures in Florida dictate that power must be restored first and Comcast must receive clearance that it is safe for its crews to begin any restoration work.

If services are down in an area because of a power outage, local power must be restored before video, phone and internet services can begin working again.

Customer tips:

• The most effective way to get outage updates and information about Comcast services is to visit Xfinity.com/MyAccount or to access the Xfinity My Account app from any secure, internet-enabled mobile device.

• If customers have electrical power but Xfinity service has not yet come back on, Comcast recommends that customers restart or reset devices, including wireless gateways, modems, routers and cable boxes.

• Customers should unplug their equipment or use a surge protector to plug in TVs, modems and cable boxes so that when power is restored, those devices aren’t damaged by power surges.
• Customers can post below for further assistance.

[Robin0982]

I have been trying to get on to the free hot spot i got the hour then it shut me off now wants me to buy a package what up with that.

[ComcastFrancisc]

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@Robin0982 wrote:
I have been trying to get on to the free hot spot i got the hour then it shut me off now wants me to buy a package what up with that.

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You might need to refresh the sessions, they usually only last two hours. 

[OysterHo22]

I tried to login to my xfinity/comcast wifi app and was told

We're sorry, XFINITY WiFi is not available with your tier of service (error code:0106)

I am a customer with xfinity/comcast and set up my username and login id, so I can't even begin a session.  This isn't about the 2 hour refreshing session issue.

Thank you.

[Knaomii]

Will the free hotspots be available to people in Fort Myers?

[OysterHo22]

Knaomi, supposedly everyone in Florida and Georgia will have free wifi hotspot access.  Fort Myers has a lot of hotspots on their map. 

So they need to address the login issues for xfinity users and NON xfinity users.  They tell you to go to their page (or the app) and log in as either, depending on what you are, but its not working.

[OysterHo22]

Disappointed there is no reply yet from Comcast Xfinity.  You offer a service to people who will be affected by storms and you can't reply?

[parade1989]

I evacuated to a relatives home yesterday...

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@Robin0982 wrote:
I have been trying to get on to the free hot spot i got the hour then it shut me off now wants me to buy a package what up with that.

They're away for the summer. Last night I signed up for 1 week of xfinity wifi for $18.95 and haven't had any problems....

After hearing about free wifi becoming available, I was going to ask for a refund. But after hearing all the issues with connecting, I think my connection is well worth the $18.95!

[Klee7822]

Can't connect to hotspots, though hotspot map says I am surrounded by them

[VDorelien]

Okay, so what if I have reset my modem and I am still not receiving internet connection? The only light that won't blink on my modem is the "online" one, what should I do?

[AngelicaCzrs]

I have power where I live but my internet isn't working. It says there was an outage but I have power and I know people that have xfinity with wifi.

[Kay1204]

Everything works during the day... then around 0930 the past 2 night everything losses connection, both cable and internet..

Any reason for this???

[king7t]

There are no hotspots working in my area in Fort lauderdale and they are usually every everywhwere.  There is no service for television or internet in my neighborhood either.  My wife has read that we will be out until the 18th on other forums. I get an automated message sayin g they are working hard but nothing else.  Anyone having a better experience?

[SM99]

I cannot connect the hot spots that are offered for Florida residents.  I was able to use the pre-Hurricane Irma, and now I get an error message saying authentication error.  Not helpful at all!

[MrScott1]

We have both Comcast business at work for phones and internet, and residential internet and TV at home. Neither is running, and nobody is offering any updates. Very disappointed in the Business class service, it does not appear to get any better attention than residential. Try running a business these days without phones and internet.

[ctokarski6321]

Yes, it's great that you guys offered free access to Hotspots around town but what good does a Hot Spot do if there's no electric at that location in order to provide the Hot Spot service. Second, what good does a Hot Spot do if there's not one in range of a person's home? I can't just get up in the middle of a hurricane and walk or drive to the nearest Hot Spot. Third, what good is providing links for a person to click on to check the status of a hurricane, when they don't have internet in the first place. Fourth, what good is providing apps for a person's cell phone, when they either don't have (Xfinity) wifi or, they don't have data service because the cell phone towers have issues? Plus, they can't be downloaded if the data service is not working.

I'm in Boynton Beach and had gone through Irma. My Xfinity service, cable tv and internet went out Sunday at 11:30 am, way well before the storm's worst point. We've had summer rainstorms here that were worse than what was coming through my area at this time. So now I had no idea what was going on with the storm. Since I couldn't watch Channel 5 news on TV or watch it on the internet (streaming), I then resorted to using my cell phone for streaming the news by using the Data on my cell phone. Half hour later, that went out and now I had to resort to a battery operated radio, which is not the same. This is very frustrating and scary not knowing what is going on.

Yes, I am very thankful I had electric and A/C the entire storm, but if i had a choice, I think i would rather know what is going on with the storm for safety reasons.

Because the power went out, Xfiniity/Comcast services went out for many customers here. Don't you guys have generators at your service locations, like Publix and many gas stations? Wouldn't that make sense in order to keep the services working?

In the meantime, after the storm, I talked to four of my neighbors that had AT&T Uverse. ALL FOUR OF THEM HAD TV AND INTERNET THE ENTIRE TIME! Everyone else, ah, had Xfinity/Comcast....they basically had "NOTHING"! Hmmm, I think it's time to make a switch…

[Cars0224]

No hotspots are working in my neighborhood and it says there are numerous hotspots in my area. For days they were not even showing up on the wifi. Now it shows up but won't connect. It says no internet

[thelizirons]

the range is very small. i supposedly have one 2 apts. away, and does not reach me

[thelizirons]

nope. but i got my BILL, of course.

[cilana86]

There's no hotspots in my neighborhood in Orlando. So this doesn't help me.

[ambmiadaddy]

I am a customer and have been without cable since before the storm. I also was unable to log in to any hotspot at all...frankly never have been. I was told by customer service by end of day today to restore cable / internet but do not have faith that will happen. Weird thing is we are lucky our power never went out to not really sure what's wrong. If you're going to boast a free service....maybe it should work. Thanks

[alexmullin]

I have attempted to use your Hot Spots in zip code 33020 and I cannot connect. Fix the service once and for or add more bandwidth to you hot spots. All of your positive press releases about Hot Spots are worthless when people still cannot connect to the hot spots because you don't can't accommodate need.

[Welcome_to_Post]

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@alexmullin wrote:

I have attempted to use your Hot Spots in zip code 33020 and I cannot connect. Fix the service once and for or add more bandwidth to you hot spots. All of your positive press releases about Hot Spots are worthless when people still cannot connect to the hot spots because you don't can't accommodate need.

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How's the power restoration in your area?  Hotspots can't work without power.  We had the same issue after Hermine, and again with Irma.  We get directed to websites for updates, but without an internet connection, you can't access the websites.  Catch 22.  It's also possible, perhaps even likely, that Comcast's network was damaged, as well.

[SBTW]

I recommend you buy a small digital tv for the next storm. I have a 10" Jensen that works great. You get the basic channels and can see everything that is going on. All it needs is power. Can be charged ahead of time. And you can use your generator to charge when the storm ends. 

[ComcastJessie · Accepted solution]

If you have been impacted by Hurricane Irma and would like to request suspension of service or a credit, report a down line, need equipment replaced, or have any other questions, please complete this form. 

[wastedyouthride]

I spent over an hour on the phone with them... Got transferred to 8 different people/departments.. 8 times!! And nobody knew what the heck I was talking about so I just hung up.