Do the cameras work with xfinity pods?
Yes, on the 2.5 GHz connection. No, on the 5 GHz connection. But the cameras will connect just fine.
Yes, but the xfi pods require merging the 2.4 and 5.0 bands from a dual band router into one WiFi name and a single password, which apparently allows the Gateway to decide which band will provide the better connection. They call this “band steering,” and while it had been optional for most users, it looks like it is required for xfi pod users. I am looking at other posts here in the forum and it looks like xfi pods will not allow the Wyze cams to function. I have not tested it, but maybe there is a way to position the cams in the house so that the 2.4 GHZ band is the only one available.
There is a member on here that uses the pods with 2.5 Ghz devices, including Wyze. Perhaps he will jump in and reply for you.
But just common sense says the pods work with both bands as a huge number of devices ONLY support the 2.5 band, not just Wyze.
I installed the xfi pods after a long chat with a Comcast customer service rep, who assured me it would work. I was a little skeptical, but it has been successful so far. First, the xfi app had me merge my two bands, and told me that from now on I would see the 2.4 GHZ SSID and use the password for that band. So I did not rename any connections or change any passwords. I left my Wyze cams plugged in. I had to log back in to other devices, including my laptop, phone and printer, but I did not need to log back in to Wyze, which had always been logged in that 2.4 GHZ band. I’m curious to see what happens if I need to move or restart a camera in the future and the camera needs to search for a wifi connection. So far, so good.
95% of my 70+ Wyze devices will not connect to Xfinity pods.
I have tried restarts of devices and network devices …
… minimal connections … devices connect back to the gateway which is often with weak signal whereas the pods have strong g signal
I intentionally simplified my network so. My wife could handle it when I am away. Wrong move it seems.
Any suggestions.
I get a couple of plugs and cams that will connect .. but I have not found the pattern that is repeatable for the rest of my Wyze devices.
Provider says it is not possible to split the bands on an Xfinity Network XB7 or XB8 if you are using xFi pods to extend the network reach …
I would like to escalate with Provider and / or with Wyze as there should be a mechanism to reestablish to strongest 2.4ghz signal.
Splitting the bands shouldn’t be needed, sometimes it helps during initial setup, but all you need to do for that is force your phone onto 2.4 or disable 5 in the router temporarily. The pods may not be allowing direct communication between 2.4 and 5, some extenders require traffic to loop back to the main router for that.
If you set them up on the main router, then move it to an area covered by the pods, does it now connect?
Can you confirm you have your network set to WPA2 only, not WPA2/3 or WPA3? That also causes some issues with many older IOT devices. Perhaps the pods are just hardcoded to always use WPA2/3 mode?
Honestly ISP hardware and especially xfinity is known for being problematic, especially the newer ones where they lock you out from tweaking many of the features.
As mentioned, Xfinity will not allow for a band split with their pods.
How do you force iPhone onto 2.4ghz? I did. It think this was possible.
Provider blocks access to turn off 5ghz
Yes wpa2 only
Yes all locked out. They will only unlock if you are not using pods, …
I just doublechecked network set to wpa2-psk (AES).
Is this ok?
If you set them up on the main router, then move it to an area covered by the pods, does it now connect?
They are on the XB7 gateway(router) and they will not transfer to the pods even though the signal is much stronger.
If your two bands have two different network names, that is one way. The other way is to shut off 5ghz in the router but if they don’t allow you to do that, then obviously that is not an option. Some android phones do let you disable 5ghz in the developer options, or even in the properties of the saved network, but it depends which flavor and version of the OS you have. Not sure if iOS has anything like that. However if you’ve gotten past the setup step, that isn’t necessary anyway.
The pods use the same network name (SSID) as the main router right? If they won’t connect to them, I wonder if xfinity is using some algorithm to only use the pods when the connection to the main router isn’t sufficient or something (since connecting to the main router is preferable from a bandwidth perspective). But it sounds more like a bug with the pods, maybe even though you have WPA2 on the main router they only operate in WPA2/3 or WPA3 or something.
That’s one of the many problems with ISP routers, they don’t let you tweak or configure anything. With most non-ISP mesh systems, you can bind (force) specific devices onto specific nodes.
I am making some progress. Restarting the cam looks to be moving them to pod with stronger signal which also helps with some weak wifi msgs.
So when the gateway is power recycled, many of the cams stay connected to the gateway as it takes awhile for the pods to stabilize meanwhile the cams found a home (the gateway) and stick to it.
If I recall, I think I can run a routine to restart each of the cams. I think I will try this for all of the cams that I prefer on a pod due to their location and wire mesh in some stucco & inside walls…
Next onto Nest cams, which may also shift if power cycled after pods stabilize …
I was hoping when the network stabilizes after a few days as the provider (Xfinity) describes, they would use algorithm to shift devices but perhaps Wyze cannot do this so they stay on the gateway.
I may give Wyze techs a call and see what they say …
There are a few light bulbs & plugs that need a pod shift as well .. off/on or unplug.does not seem to do this but I may need to unplug them longer ..
The vast majority of wifi devices will not “roam” until they have to (or until they’re rebooted and see a stronger signal). Some devices are more “sticky” than others. So if they see the main router first, they will connect to that and not roam until the signal becomes totally unusable. Rebooting the cam lets it rescan and choose the stronger signal. That’s not unusual or surprising.
Most mesh systems have settings where you can force it to disconnect a device (thus forcing the device to pick the stronger signal of the node), and you can even lock a device to a node so it will never connect to any other. But I’m guessing Xfinity does not let you do that.
Doesn’t make sense that the xfinity pods would need an algorithm or period of time to “stabilize” but who knows what they’re doing in there. I guess it is possible.
I wouldn’t bother with Wyze support on this, this is just how wifi operates. Some devices you can set “roaming aggressiveness” to “high” so they reconnect to stronger signals easier. But these cams don’t have that, nor do most IOT devices. Even with android, that setting is buried in developer options.
I suppose you could try to contact xfinity (or check their sub and forums) to see if there is any tweaking that can be done, but you’re probably onto something with just using an automation to reboot the cams from time to time (or just trigger it manually when you have to reboot your router).
Thanks Dave for your insights. Very helpful.
Xfinity has a network pause that does not seem to trigger a wifi strength check
They also have a troubleshoot that can be triggered for any device to check signal strength however as you said, it does not seem to move off the gateway unless really bad.
The cam restart does do it.
Agreed re not contacting Wyze folks as I do not want to side track them from upgrades, etc.!!
I had a Netgear Orbi system with satellites previously which had some of the tweaking you mention.
Shaw(Rogers) using Xfinity has almost everything on lockdown .. and contacting them takes hours of wait time on phone or chat ..
Not much in the Xfinity forums that I could find so far.
Your insights have helped the most!
Newer wifi tech helps with the roaming thing somewhat, but these cams use wifi4, very old. A couple use wifi 6 but likely do not have the new roaming protocols in them, that’s mostly for mobile devices and PCs. And the new roaming protocols they put in are half-assed. There are a couple very promising ones but very few routers have implemented them and it requires the client to support them as well.
Some day this problem will be resolved, but what you’re seeing is very common. Your better option may be to return their gateway (or if it is free, put it in bridge mode) and put your own mesh system hanging off it. At least then you can enable the features that force devices to roam to another node or even permanently stick to that node.
A 3rd party router with good external antennas may very well cover your space with no extenders/mesh needed too.
I have a single AP mounted on the ceiling of my 3rd floor (about 1250 sq ft per floor) and covers the entire house no problem, both 5ghz and 2.4.