Xfinity Storm Ready WIFI

[drinkingbird]

Interesting.

https://www.xfinity.com/learn/internet-service/stormready

If you have minimum 800M service and purchase their cellular device apparently you get unlimited cell data and 4 hour battery backup. I wonder if you add your own battery on top of that if it cuts you off at some point.

 

[SomeWhereOverTheRainBow]

Interesting.

https://www.xfinity.com/learn/internet-service/stormready

If you have minimum 800M service and purchase their cellular device apparently you get unlimited cell data and 4 hour battery backup. I wonder if you add your own battery on top of that if it cuts you off at some point.

Indeed, very interesting. You wouldn't happen to know what they consider to be a compatible gateway would you?

Essentially, would someone with their own store purchased cable modem be able to use this? Or is this exclusively for people utilizing the cable providers modem.

 

[bbunge]

I read that it is a cable modem with a 4G cell modem wifi router with battery backup. A lot to go wrong. And battery's do not last. I know as my ONT power supply has a dead backup battery and my ISP refuses to replace it.

 

[drinkingbird]

Indeed, very interesting. You wouldn't happen to know what they consider to be a compatible gateway would you?

View attachment 53501

Essentially, would someone with their own store purchased cable modem be able to use this? Or is this exclusively for people utilizing the cable providers modem.

From what I read you have to have one of their latest XFi gateways, which is an AIO modem/router/wifi.

 

[Clark Griswald]

I read that it is a cable modem with a 4G cell modem wifi router with battery backup. A lot to go wrong. And battery's do not last. I know as my ONT power supply has a dead backup battery and my ISP refuses to replace it.

You are correct. When I cancelled services with them in June, they gave me "the full court press" pushing their "storm ready gateway".
EDIT: FYI we have an s33 working with 1gb/40Mb

 

[tgl]

Yeah, I'd buy a separate UPS and just plug your modem into that. Much easier to replace battery, upgrade for more runtime, etc.

Keep in mind also that if you have any other gear you'd like to stay up, you'll need a UPS anyway.

 

[dave14305]

Hypothetically speaking, if you have a home generator and the neighborhood power goes out, would the Xfinity equipment in the neighborhood also be out of power? Is that why they are suggesting a cellular solution?

 

[drinkingbird]

Yeah, I'd buy a separate UPS and just plug your modem into that. Much easier to replace battery, upgrade for more runtime, etc.

Keep in mind also that if you have any other gear you'd like to stay up, you'll need a UPS anyway.

This isn't just battery, it includes 4G LTE (30 down / 7 up) "unlimited" service. I'm curious if you ran it for a week off your own UPS/Generator if they would cut you off at some point.

 

[drinkingbird]

Hypothetically speaking, if you have a home generator and the neighborhood power goes out, would the Xfinity equipment in the neighborhood also be out of power? Is that why they are suggesting a cellular solution?

Yeah I know from experience with the storms in NH where my family lives, very often the Xfinity wires get sheared along with power. Was down for a week last xmas.

 

[tgl]

Hypothetically speaking, if you have a home generator and the neighborhood power goes out, would the Xfinity equipment in the neighborhood also be out of power? Is that why they are suggesting a cellular solution?

Maybe. They've certainly got backup generators and so on, but how long an outage they're prepared to survive is another question. There's also the question of whether your cable runs under any trees that might fall on it, etc etc; that's a failure mode that cellular hasn't got.

 

[Tech Junky]

get unlimited cell data and 4 hour battery backup

I get 16 hours on my power bank setup and don't have to use CC at all for $50/mo. Not to mention I can take it with me anywhere.

In theory though in most cases if your modem has power and the lines aren't damaged it should keep working as MTA/phone users on the same node have battery backup built into their devices for phone service per 911/FCC telco requirements.

 

[drinkingbird]

I get 16 hours on my power bank setup and don't have to use CC at all for $50/mo. Not to mention I can take it with me anywhere.

In theory though in most cases if your modem has power and the lines aren't damaged it should keep working as MTA/phone users on the same node have battery backup built into their devices for phone service per 911/FCC telco requirements.

In rural areas usually if the power lines are damaged the cable ones are too. I've seen times where it stays up but many others where it is down for days, or a week or more. NH has a lot of pine trees that love to snap under the weight of snow/ice.

The telephony modems no longer include batteries, you have to pay extra, at least around here (same with fiber ONTs). I believe those regulations have been relaxed, they just include a card that warns you it has no backup now.

For people who already have 800M+ service and are willing to pay the $250 one time fee for the hardware, it might be worthwhile. But for many just using tethered or hotspot may suffice (depending on how much data their plan has and what knowhow they possess). I'm assuming the target audience is probably average users that wouldn't be able to easily figure that out.

 

[Tech Junky]

target audience is probably average users that wouldn't be able to easily figure that out.

Kind of like common sense?

I can see wind being an issue when regions haven't figured out to bury the lines. Kind of like places that don't like central AC and realize it will eventually get toasty outside during the summer. Not to mention people living on the coast and forgetting erosion is a real thing. It's not that the tide is rising it's your land that's moving.

 

[Clark Griswald]

Xfinity is useless when the neighborhood loses power. Neighbors complain that they lose telephone, internet, and alarm/camera functionality when they lose power.
We have LAN equipment on UPS (individual and network), so we have protection from surges/brownouts and time to power down during extended outages.
Besides, power goes out, and The Family jumps to cellular.

 

[drinkingbird]

Xfinity is useless when the neighborhood loses power. Neighbors complain that they lose telephone, internet, and alarm/camera functionality when they lose power.
We have LAN equipment on UPS (individual and network), so we have protection from surges/brownouts and time to power down during extended outages.
Besides, power goes out, and The Family jumps to cellular.

I have seen it stay up during power outages (when modem and router are on UPS obviously). All depends on what caused the outage obviously. The nodes have a DC power supply full of car batteries on a pole in the neighborhood typically. Obviously that only lasts a certain amount of time though. But when branches take down above ground wires, they usually all come down.

For people who use streaming TV, IOTs, cameras, etc this could be useful. I guess we'll see what the uptake is, if not as good as they hoped (i.e. not as many people as their analysis thought would upgrade to 800M to get it) we may see them offer it to the lower tiers for a monthly or maybe usage based fee.

In reality, for most, outages are not all that long (and if this only gives you 4 hours, it obviously isn't designed for multi day events) and I'd hope that we're not at the point where people can't survive that long using their phone's data.

 

[sfx2000]

If you have minimum 800M service and purchase their cellular device apparently you get unlimited cell data and 4 hour battery backup. I wonder if you add your own battery on top of that if it cuts you off at some point.

Cox used to offer a Residential Gateway with an included Battery Backup - since they offered dialtone, and FCC required a minimum service level...

Nice to see it return, but at the same time, keeping the router and modem on a UPS kind of does the same function...

 

[drinkingbird]

Cox used to offer a Residential Gateway with an included Battery Backup - since they offered dialtone, and FCC required a minimum service level...

Nice to see it return, but at the same time, keeping the router and modem on a UPS kind of does the same function...

Yeah Xfinity's old arris telephony gateway used to come with a battery, then they took it out, same gateway just empty batter slot and a warning sticker.

The value here is more in the unlimited 4G LTE service. I wonder if they would catch on if you ran it out of your car or something . I have to guess that there is some sort of limit.