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Xfinity is a division of Comcast, and it provides consumer services in the telecommunication industry to various customers. Mainly, Xfinity’s focus is on giving people access to internet, phone service, cable TV, and various wireless options that consumers might want.
Because they deal with these kinds of things, they use routers and modems as a way to bring the signals into homes or businesses that might choose to partner with Xfinity.
Based on how things are set up, some customers wonder about the numbers of routers or modems they might be able to have in their spaces. We’ll discuss the possibilities of more than one router from Xfinity having a place inside a home or business, whether there might be any problems associated with that, and some other issues related to account logistics.
We can also talk about moving the router, and if there might be ideal placements for routers in order to get the clearest signal possible.
Can You Have 2 Routers/Modems With Xfinity?
A standard setup from providers is to give you a single modem from which you can receive the signal that your carrier puts out to your home or business.
From there, you get a router, which can then take that signal and make sure it provides you with all the access you might need for all the devices in your home to use the single signal that your carrier sends you through the modem. This is the way most companies do it, and it seems to work well for most consumers.
However, some people wonder if they can have more than one of these devices. Although it is possible, this is more common when you’re using more than one provider to get different sets of services to your home or business.
In these cases, each carrier will usually give you their own equipment that they expect you to use. This is particularly true of modems, although there can be a bit more freedom when it comes to routers. Because most providers will offer bundles of services at competitive rates, it is not common to see this kind of setup, but it is out there.
Can you still do it with one provider? Yes, it is possible to use more than one router when you’ve set up your services from a single provider like Xfinity.
However, there are some caveats or recommendations that go along with this, and we will cover some of the basics. A provider may not recommend that you use more than one router depending on how things will be set up. Usually, they will cite interference or possible signal problems as the main reason.
It is true that having more than one router over the same Wi-Fi network might cause some issues that we will discuss in a later section.
Even with all of this in mind, there are occasions where you might need more than one router or some kind of signal extender in order to get the best kind of service possible for all of the devices in your house.
Some homes are large, and the range on even the best routers might not be sufficient in order to provide steady, uninterrupted coverage to all floors and areas of the home at once. In these cases, it makes sense to opt for a solution that adds another device or path to better connectivity.
How Many Routers/Modems Can You Have With Xfinity?
In theory, you could have as many routers as you desire so long as your modems can support them and your provider allows more than one router to be plugged in at a time. As we touched on earlier, there could be interference if things are not set up properly, but you could also expand your coverage area. That said, we’re here to talk about Xfinity routers or modems. It is important to make sure we understand that hardware for modems and the policies that govern modems can be different from that of routers. We’ve explained how both of these pieces of tech do their distinct jobs, but it is a good idea to go over how some providers might see the use of modems and routers in the home or office.
You could have two or more routers set up to receive a signal from Xfinity, and it is possible to configure them in such a way to be beneficial to you and limit their interference. However, Xfinity ties modems to specific accounts, and there is not a typical way to add a second modem to a single account.
If you have one account for all of your access needs with Xfinity, the modem you get with that account is the one that you’ll need to rely on for the duration of your agreement with the company, even if you add more than one router at a later date.
In short, Xfinity doesn’t recommend using more than one router with their services at a single address, but it is still possible to set up an extra router or some kind of extender.
Conversely, Xfinity doesn’t support having more than one of their modems active on a single account or at one address.
This may be less of an issue for some consumers who just want to be able to have a clear signal that reaches every part of the home or office. In such cases, routers or router placements can boost this, and there is no need to add a second signal coming into a second modem from the same provider.
What’s the Problem With Having Multiple Routers/Modems in the House?
We mentioned how Xfinity does not recommend the use of more than one router at a time at a single location, but you do still have the option of connecting an extra one if you would like to do so.
The reason Xfinity doesn’t want customers to use more than one router isn’t to be needlessly restrictive, though. Instead, they want to cut down on possible interference that could make each user’s connection less effective.
However, they don’t try to block anyone from putting up another router if they would like. Doing so does come with some things each user should be aware of, and we will cover some of the potential issues here in this section.
1. Using more than one router takes some extra configuration on the part of the user. Routers that operate on the same IP address, for example, will cause issues. To fix this, you would need to go into the router’s settings and manually set one to a different IP.
2. Two routers in close physical proximity to one another can also interfere with each other. They will be operating in such a way that some signals can get crossed. Because you may need to extend the range of your wireless signal anyway, you might alleviate this problem by placing the devices far apart.
You can also make sure they are using different frequencies and channels as a way to avoid interference.
Even if you decide to have two routers, you should still think of one as the router that is in charge of the wireless signal, and the other one can act as a helper of sorts.
Doing so will, again, mean that you need to do some special configurations of the network manually.
In short, the most likely problems with two or more routers in the home are extra configuration work, interference from being too close, or malfunctioning routers due to the configurations not working properly.
Can There Be Two Xfinity Accounts at One Address?
Some consumers might like to have more than one Xfinity account at the same address. The answer for this one is both yes and no. If you’re looking for cable service, you can only have one account per address providing this service via Xfinity.
However, you can have multiples at the same address if they are providing streaming, internet-only, or other non-cable services to the residence.
If you do choose to go for this option, it is important to let Xfinity know that you want all existing accounts to stay active.
If you don’t do this, it will treat adding new services as activating them for new tenants and close the ones you do have.
Can I Move My Xfinity Router Anywhere?
You can move your Xfinity router yourself, but you might not be able to move it just anywhere. Where you can move it to depends on the setup of your home and how it is wired.
It is fine to move your router to any room or location that has a live coax that you can then connect to the device.
Having said that, it is true that not all coax outlets have the same signal strength as each other. It is a good idea to test the signal strength for the room or outlet to which you’d like to move the router. If all seems fine, it is okay to make the switch.
Conclusion
Xfinity can provide some great services for cable TV, internet, and a host of other things that make modern life easier or more entertaining. They do this by providing you with a service plan and some hardware, much like any similar company.
While they are quite flexible in what you can do, they do have some restrictions or recommendations to help you get the clearest signals possible. If necessary, there are ways to add secondary routers as signal boosters for your home.
