xfinity hotspot connectivity woes

I'm spending time between my old home and new home. Xfinity internet will be delayed at the new home (too frustrated to go into detail) therefore I was hoping to rely on the xfinitywifi hotspot in the interim. I detected an xfinitywifi hotspot of type outdoor 246 feet ( a 4 minute walk) from my new house.  It's too weak to connect. 😞Back at the old house the nearest xfinitywifi is 12 minutes away of type indoor. Works like a charm. The information collected is via my iphone Xfinity hotspots app version 6.0 (1412). 
Interference? Why does a hotspot 246 feet away fail?