So these ISP data caps are going exactly as I expected, which is that I’m nearing the cap almost every month.
If I try really hard, I can keep it around the 600GB mark, out of 1200GB allowed. But it’s usually around 800GB-1TB.
I can upgrade to unlimited data for $30 a month. OR there’s an option to get the Xfinity Gateway router/modem combo for $25 and that includes unlimited data.
In the past I didn’t really care about unlimited because they used to give you 2 free months per year where they wouldn’t charge if you went over and the max they would charge me for going over is $50. But they changed that to 1 free month per year and up to $100 overage fee. So now the unlimited data is a little more viable, although I hate the idea of giving them more money when they’re implementing more restrictions.
Also, my annual contract is gone. I’m going to upgrade to 200Mbps (from 175Mbps), drop the TV service (box has literally been sitting in my closet the last 2 years), and it will save me $10 a month.
So I was thinking do that speed upgrade, add on the unlimited data or the Gateway router w/ unlimited data, and only spend $15 to $20 more per month compared to what I’m paying now. OR I could not get unlimited data; just go with the faster service and save $10 a month compared to what I’m paying now.
Are there any security or privacy drawbacks to using the Xfinity Gateway? If there are, could I just run a VPN and be all good? Doesn’t it all go through Xfinity anyways, so it doesn’t matter what router I’m using?
I’m just brainstorming, but any insight would be nice.
We are constantly getting new evidence that not only are these companies purposefully screwing their customers over in anyway they can but they also screw us over accidentally with their incompetence. There will be a news article in two years tops how these Xfinity Gatesways are even more of privacy/security nightmare than even we expect. Hopefully the news article that the gateway is not being used due to it performing terribly will come well before then. A VPN could potentially help some but I wouldn’t let that hardware touch my property line.
Performance is another concern of mine. I’ve had my router/modem combo for a couple years now and it’s been awesome. I’m consistently hitting advertised speeds, sometimes even better.
But when I used to live with my parents, they always just used whatever modem the ISP provided and they were consistently well below advertised speeds, especially with AT&T (who they ended up dropping because they were only getting about 1/3 of the advertised speed and after sending out repair people a few times AT&T eventually just said fuck it that’s fine because the contract says “advertised” speeds, not guaranteed).
I’m not sure if that has anything to do with the modem though, or if it’s just a bandwidth issue for different neighborhoods, wiring in their house, etc.
I used to be expert cx support for Comcast for the gateways.
1.) they enable the guest wifi without your permission and make it almost impossible to disable it
2.) the gateways themselves are god awful in terms of coverage and performance.
3.) turn them into bridge mode and add your own router but every time a FW update is pushed, settings are reverted and you have to call back in to get the gateway guest network turned off and back into bridge mode.
My advice, get a motorolla surfboard modem and attach your own router. don’t use the gateways. Don’t put up with CC bullshit.
Oh were do I start?
So I was in your position hitting my data cap.
I own my modem never had a problem with it.
Comcast was going to charge me more to have unlimited add on if I used my own modem and it was $30 cheaper to used there gateway.
I took there gateway, I put it in bridge mode to continue to use my Pfsence router. Well I have found there gateway highly unstable and I have to reboot the gateway every few days.
I been too busy to drill down the logs to see if the gateway has the problem so I can twist Comcast arm for a new gateway.
But over the years I had bad luck with Comcast gear.
If is a question of money take stability over speed. I think that policy is ludicrous and anti-consumer as hell. Comcast along with 90% of tech related companies in their base responsibility of being company depending on your definition is plain as day failure or a success based on a lie. Either go for the lower speed or pay more for the higher speed but regardless be independent as possible and raise hell for every blip of down time. Don’t take any guff from these swine.
EDIT: My apologies not speed but unlimited data. Regardless my point still stands.
I’d avoid the Xfinity gateway. You have to ask yourself, why is it $5 cheaper? Because they want to monetize the usage data they can collect from your gateway is the only answer I can come up with.
They don’t let you change the DNS server on their gateways so if you want to avoid their DNS servers you need to change it on your hosts which is a pain. If you end up doing the “unlimited” path just pay the $5 extra and stay in control.
That said, if you can do anything to reduce your usage, start there. If your router can break down your usage you may be able to reduce certain uses, install a proxy on your network, and consider a pi hole which can at least reduce ad and analytics data. If you’ve got users on your network that are causing more issues you can get a router that may let you control bandwidth by client, site, etc.