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Q. Thanks for your recent article about Amazon’s Sidewalk Wi-Fi network. It sounds similar to the Wi-Fi network Xfinity has.
I have Xfinity for my Internet at home. I wish Xfinity would let you turn off Wi-Fi sharing from its routers the way Amazon lets you turn off Sidewalk. Is there any way I can stop sharing my Xfinity Wi-Fi with other people? I don’t like the idea of complete strangers being able to use my Xfinity Wi-Fi network.
A. Good news! You can disable the hotspot feature from your Xfinity Wi-Fi router to prevent others from using Wi-Fi coming from your router (unless they have your Wi-Fi password). Disabling the hotspot feature from your Xfinity router is easy and takes just a few minutes.
See => Amazon Sidewalk Shares Your Internet with Neighbors – What You Should Know
About Xfinity Wi-Fi
If you have an Xfinity Wi-Fi or mobile account, you can use the Xfinity Wi-Fi network when you’re away from home. If you’re out shopping or at a restaurant, you may see xfinitywifi as an option for connecting to Wi-Fi. You may want to connect to the xfinitywifi network to avoid using data on your cell phone plan or when cellular coverage isn’t available.
Some Xfinity routers offer a hotspot to the xfinitywifi network so Xfinity customers can have access to Wi-Fi when they’re away from home. They can also let guests use their Wi-Fi network without sharing their personal network password with their guests (if those guests happen to be Xfinity customers too).
Xfinity explains this hotspot feature:
“We designed this feature for you and this service is completely separate from your secure, private home WiFi network and allows guests to sign in and connect without sharing your secure network password. Your Home Hotspot is included with your service at no additional charge.”
This hotspot feature is turned on by default and is available only with certain Xfinity Wi-Fi routers.
Check out => How Free Public Wi-Fi May Cost You Dearly
How to Know Whether Your Router Has an Xfinity Hotspot
Xfinity currently includes its hotspot feature on its Gateway routers. To learn whether your Xfinity router shares a hotspot with others, you can check available Wi-Fi networks when you’re at home to see whether xfinitywifi is one of the options.
Alternatively, you can check the Xfinity Gateway router page to see whether your router has Home Hotspot Capable listed as one of the included features.
How to Turn Off the Xfinity Hotspot on Your Router
If you have an Xfinity router with the hotspot feature, you can turn it off easily. If you change your mind you can turn your Xfinity hotspot back on later.
Turning Off Your Xfinity Hotspot Using the Xfinity Website
To turn off the hotspot feature from your router using the Xfinity website, go to https://customer.xfinity.com/#/settings/security/hotspot. Sign into your Xfinity account with your username and password.
There you’ll see “My WiFi Hotspot” and “Enabled”. Click Turn Off to turn off your Wi-Fi hotspot on your Xfinity router.
Xfinity will ask you to confirm your selection.
After you’ve made your selection and confirmed it, you’ll see a notice that your selection may take up to 24 hours to take effect.
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Turning Off Your Xfinity Hotspot Using the Xfinity App
If you have the Xfinity app on your mobile device, you can use it to turn off the Xfinity hotspot on your router. Open the Xfinity app and tap Internet in the bottom menu bar.
Tap the picture of your router. Toggle the slider button by Home hotspot to off.
After you’ve made your selection and confirmed it, you’ll see a notice that your selection may take up to 24 hours to take effect.
What Else You Need to Know About Your Xfinity Hotspot
You should know that having a home hotspot on your Xfinity router does not affect your network security, according to Xfinity. The company states, “The Xfinity WiFi service is designed to work on a separate network so that your home network remains entirely secure.”
Having an Xfinity hotspot on your router should not affect your network speeds, according to Xfinity.
“The broadband connection to your home will be unaffected by the Xfinity WiFi feature. We have provisioned the Xfinity WiFi feature to support robust usage, and therefore we anticipate minimal to no impact to the in-home WiFi network. WiFi uses shared wireless spectrum, and as with any shared medium, there can be some impact as more devices share the network.
Also, the usage and activities of visiting users are associated with the visitors’ accounts and therefore do not impact the homeowner.”
The choice of whether to have a hotspot shared from your Xfinity router is yours and you have the ability to turn the hotspot on or off. By turning this feature on by default, Xfinity is indicating its preference that you keep it turned on. The company says, “With the Xfinity WiFi hotspot feature, you’re helping to build a bigger network that can benefit your friends, neighbors and all Xfinity Internet customers. And it’s good for you, too, because when you need a hotspot, it’ll be there.”
But the choice is ultimately yours to make.
Your Thoughts
Did you know that some Xfinity routers had a hotspot feature that was turned on by default? Did you know that you could turn off your Xfinity Wi-Fi hotspot? Will you turn your Xfinity hotspot off or keep it turned on?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
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Blue Wi-Fi image (edited) courtesy of 200 Degrees from Pixabay
Whew, thanks for sharing this. I had a pretty hard time figuring out how to turn off Hotspot from my device. thanks for making it so easy to understand.
Hello Jay, Yes, many people who have an Xfinity router don’t realize that they can turn off the hotspot feature. I hope this helps you!